Decades after the National Women’s Party pushed for the passage of their proposed Equal Rights Amendment, feminists of the 1960s and 70s rallied once again for this change in the Constitution. The amendment, simply stating that, “Equality of rights under the law shall not be abridged by the United States or any State on account of sex,” quickly gained popularity among activists in the 1970s. This support was not surprising, as this decade was a time of great change and protest. Feminist felt that just as African Americans were gaining civil rights, women, too, should be considered as equals to their counterparts. Women Right’s leaders such as Alice Paul and Gloria Steinem pushed for the passage of such major legislation. With support from Women’s Right’s groups such as the National Organization of Women, the amendment quickly made its’ way to Congress. The bill passed first in the House of Representatives in 1970, and then two years later, it passed in the Senate. As all amendments are passed, the votes then continued into the states. In order to be added to the constitution, the ERA needed to gain the support of thirty-eight states. Within one year, twenty-two states ratified the amendment. The radical pace of the passage was promising and activists were certain that in the seven-year time span Congress allotted for state ratification, the bill would be passed. Momentum slowed, however, when organized opposition came from an unlikely source. Phyllis Schlafly led a
The full text of the Equal Rights Amendment (ERA) reads as follows, “Equality of rights under the law shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any State on account of sex” (qtd. in Stewart 33). These twenty-four words would become some of the most controversial of the twentieth century. Under the nineteenth amendment, American women obtained the right to vote in 1920. This amendment inspired Alice Paul to draft the first ERA which she then introduced to the United States Congress in 1923. After this first proposal, the ERA would eventually be proposed in each succeeding session of Congress (Stewart 33). Despite its introduction every year for fifty years, the ERA did not accumulate a strong opposing force until after it
The Civil Rights Movement and Women’s Suffrage Movement are historically influential events that are still perpetuating different convictions in today’s society. The Civil Rights Movement established a foundation of equality and civil liberties for African Americans while the Women’s Suffrage Movement granted women the right to vote and contributed a sense of equality among genders. Both movements were in need of empathy and aid in order to bring about equality and change, in which were difficult to find with the majority of the appropriate public being white males who disagreed with the movements. The activists of both the Civil Rights Movement and Women’s Suffrage Movement were on the wrong side of public empathy, yet the discrimination of the public view, the protesting of the victims, and the equal rights being fought for demanded a change in the conduct and the way in which the public empathized with these people.
Possibly the most conversational amendment to every make it’s way through the Senate and the House was the Equal Rights Amendment in 1972. The Equal Rights Amendment was, “introduced through the twenties, thirties, forties, fifties, and sixties without success” (Schneir, 369). Various organizations such as the National Woman’s Party (those who proposed it), National Organization for Women, the Women’s Department of the United Auto Workers, and many other feminists worked most if not all of their lives to pass this specific amendment. In the early 1970’s, the House approved the amendment by a large ratio of 354 to 23. Additionally, in 1972, the Senate also passed the amendment by another shocking ratio of 84 to 8. Unfortunately, the amendment did not pass by its deadline of June 30th, 1982 by only thirty-five states approving it for ratification by at least thirty-eight states (Schneir, 370). There were various reasons why the amendment did not pass, and Miriam Schneir discussed several of these in the section Equal Rights Amendment in the book Feminism in Our Time.
Over a hundred years ago, one event created chaos among gender roles and here are some of the initial factors of how rights for women started as a predicament which later began to evolve into a much larger problem that involved many people around the nations. Over the course of history, many issues had change the world to what it has become today. Many problems led to social, economic, and other changes. One small event is able to cause more obstacles, which eventually leads to larger complications. Even though society had tried to resolve these issues, they still encountered many hardships that were disruptive to their own perspectives as also for other people within the community. Thus, this was an important issue because it had changed
With the advancement of suffrage to equal pay, over the last century, women’s rights have progressed immensely. Through historic marches and demonstrations across the United States, women protested for their equal place in politics and social progress. Despite the fear-mongering components used in achieving these rights, women’s rights are still thoroughly debated within society today. Over the last century, incredible and unreachable goals have been fulfilled for women, such as the right to vote and a sense of equal state in the “Free World,” and can only improve in the years to come.
Before the war, women had very little rights. A married woman could not control property that was hers before marriage, keep control of her wages, acquire property while married, she could not transfer or sell property, she couldn’t even bring a lawsuit. A husband could do anything he wished to with a woman’s material. He could sell them, break them, and his wife couldn 't sell or give away the exact same things. It was immensely unfair to women. But, they would not stay quiet for long. The sexism had to stop!
In 1921, women were granted suffrage, but suffragists were still hungry for more. Knowing that the right to vote would not eliminate sex discrimination in America, Alice Paul wrote the Equal Rights Amendment to step closer to equality. After half a century of struggle, women in America are still fighting for rights that men were given to when they were born. Even though women are just as intelligent, capable and hardworking as men, if not more, they are not considered an equal under the U.S. Constitution. Can you believe that today, in the 21st century, we still degrade women and treat them as inferiors to men? Can you believe that just because you are a woman, you are less than equal to the male population? Look around you, all those boys and girls are not equal to each other under our “just” country’s laws. As it is long overdue, the Equal Rights Amendment should be ratified because there is no other amendment that talks about sex discrimination, it would eliminate any inequality in regards to sex, and it would make the judicial stance on sex discrimination cases much clearer.
(2) In 1917 Wilson began supporting the Suffrage Movement, and the process for the bill to become a ratified amendment was set in motion. (2) In order to be ratified, an amendment has to go through one of two processes in the legislature. The amendment can be voted in either by a two-thirds majority vote in the House of Representatives and the Senate or via a constitutional convention, which first must be called upon by the Senate legislatures in a two-thirds vote as well. (1) However, none of the present 27 amendments have been ratified via a constitutional convention. (1) Once the amendment has been proposed by congress it is sent to the states to be ratified in a three-fourths vote, or 38 out of 50, and then it can officially become part of the constitution.
Since the 1920’s, women have been fighting for equal rights. Women’s groups spent decades working to pass laws that would ban gender discrimination. Finally, in 1972, the Equal Rights Amendment was passed by Congress even though
Section 3. This amendment shall take effect two years after the date of ratification.” (“Battle Over the Equal Rights Amendment” np).
Women have come a long way ever since the 19th Amendment was passed in 1920 and thereafter with the Equal Rights Amendment Act in 1972 to the U.S Constitution. After decades of struggling and protesting, the 19th Amendment was passed and ratified to grant women the right to vote. Fifty-two years later worth of revisions and persistency, the Equal Rights Amendment was ratified in which it declared that everyone had both Human and Civil rights in the States regardless of sex. Not only did these amendments have an immense impact on the lives of women and sequentially with the rest of the citizens of this nation, but on the people of today’s century. Women have done a tremendous job in proving society wrong about the roles women are
The Equal Rights Amendment began its earliest discussions in 1920. These discussions took place immediately after two-thirds of the states approved women's suffrage. The nineteenth century was intertwined with several feminist movements such as abortion, temperance, birth control and equality. Many lobbyists and political education groups formed in these times. One such organization is the Eagle Forum, who claims to lead the pro-family movement. On the opposite side of the coin is The National Organization for Women, or NOW, which takes action to better the position of women in society. Feminism is the most powerful force for change in our time. The Equal Rights Amendment has been a
Looking back with a historical lens, it’s evident that the fight for women’s rights has progressed in a step wise process. The nineteenth amendment opened a new door of opportunities for women to take advantage of. In modern times, the continued push for equal rights is evident through the fight for reproductive rights and equal pay. Even with the right to vote, women are still being under represented and out of control when it comes to their reproductive rights and in the workplace. Opposing beliefs regarding feminism have prevented the progression of more gender equality in the United States. What originally started as a plea for a political voice helped to shape the history of the nation. Women’s suffrage paved the way for countless groups and further feminist
The Equal Rights Amendment had been a major cause controversy after its initial proposal in the early nineteenth century. Feminists of that time found it especially painful when some of their fellow women opposed the amendment. The conflict focused on whether the proposal would completely fulfill the needs of women, give them more opportunities, and allow women to flourish not just in the workplace but also in all aspects of society. Despite a heavy opposition by both women and men, the National Women’s Party introduced the amendment to the Constitution in 1923. The main intentions of this movement included a resolution to the paradox of an oppressed minority. The amendment was not created to change the public’s values but to modify its behavior, much like the Fourteenth Amendment. Its purpose was to
During the 1900’s, women had a tough time becoming their own unique beings. They had little rights, almost non-existent to be honest, and no voice. Consequentially, women were forced into becoming good housewives and value the growth and developmental impacts they had on their children. Along the way, women had the voice to say enough is enough. Women wanted change and they wanted it now. This is what sparked Women’s rights movements.