Preview

Why the Equal Rights Ammendment Was Defeated

Good Essays
Open Document
Open Document
765 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
Why the Equal Rights Ammendment Was Defeated
For quite a long time, women have wanted to receive the same treatment as men. When African American men were able to vote, women wanted to be able to vote as well. When World War II was in progress, women would work in the factories while their husbands, brothers and fathers were fighting in the war. Women were tired of being treated differently and not having the same rights as men, so they wanted to conceive an amendment that would force people to treat them as equally as men and anyone else. This amendment was called the Equal Rights Amendment. On March 22, 1972, the equal rights amendment, E.R.A., was passed by the United States Senate and was sent to the states for ratification. Thirty states ratified the amendment but then a revolutionary turn took place and states were backing out of their ratification left and right. The Equal Rights Amendment was defeated for several reasons. Women’s rights for divorce and alimony and such things would be taken away, as well as co-ed activities and schools. One of the largest reasons that the E.R.A. was defeated was because of its benevolent mindset to allow a significant amount of power to the Federal Courts upon the decision of what is considered an equal right.
The Federal Court would have to handle gentle cases in which they can decide upon the definition of “equality of rights” and “sex”. This could make cases of certain principles unfair and altered depending on the way the Federal Court foresees these terms. It isn’t just for the Court to decide on cases like abortion and homosexuality with their own opinions, everything should be stated in the Constitution and laws free of judgment. People opposed the E.R.A. because of the force to have tax funding on abortion in addition to gay marriage licenses, which we all know are two of the most controversial things that people today chit chat about.
Were you aware that there are rights for unwed mothers? Well if the Equal Rights Amendment was passed, none of those would


Cited: http://wiki.answers.com/Q/Why_did_the_equal_rights_amendment_fail_to_pass http://www.eagleforum.org/psr/1986/sept86/psrsep86.html http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/equal-rights-amendment-passed-by-congress
Continue Reading
View Writing Issues

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Good Essays

    Women's Suffrage Movement Research Paper
    • 193 Words
    • 1 Page

    Women's Suffrage Movement Research Paper

    One source of opposition to the proposed amendment was the women's suffrage movement, which before and during the Civil War had made common cause with the abolitionist movement. However, with the passage of the Fourteenth Amendment, which had explicitly protected only male citizens in its second section, activists found the civil rights of women divorced from those of blacks.[14] Matters came to a head with the proposal…

    • 193 Words
    • 1 Page
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    Susan B Anthony And Women's Rights
    • 750 Words
    • 3 Pages

    Susan B Anthony And Women's Rights

    The issue regarding women’s rights is not a recent affair, there has been huge distinctive differences between men and women since the beginning. Starting from their different roles in society to stereotypical roles in the workplace as well as the home. Susan B. Anthony played a large role in the first women’s right’s movement that took place in the late 1800’s. The visual above took place in 1920’s. Three women apart of the National Women’s Party picketed the Republican Convention for its refusal to support the Susan B. Anthony Amendment, which was the Women’s Suffrage Amendment that supported women’s right to vote. It was not until 1919 that congress voted for states to consider the ratification of this Amendment. The three women included…

    • 750 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    Equal Rights Amendment Pros And Cons
    • 1108 Words
    • 5 Pages

    Equal Rights Amendment Pros And Cons

    The Equal Rights Amendment, or ERA, was a suggested amendment to the United States constitution constructed to guarantee equal rights for women. The amendment, originally written by Alice Paul and Crystal Eastman in 1923 and sponsored by the National Women’s Party, was introduced in every assembly of Congress until it passed in 1972. It stated that equality of rights under the law shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any state on account of sex. Both Republican and Democrat Parties supported the amendment. When the Senate and House passed the Equal Rights Amendment by an unequal majority, the states were predicted to ratify the amendment.…

    • 1108 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Powerful Essays

    Elizabeth Cady Stanton: The Women's Rights Movement
    • 2475 Words
    • 10 Pages

    Elizabeth Cady Stanton: The Women's Rights Movement

    Of course from the start of America there were women that wanted the right to vote. America in its youth was quite sexist, and believed that woman were at their best when they were serving their husbands and their families. Of course throughout history women had done brilliant things, but they had never had an opportunity to stop men from putting them down. Now in America equality was promised and women began to realize that they had a platform in the Declaration of Independence that supported them. The start of the movement is credited to Elizabeth Cady Stanton, who in 1848, presented at a convention in Seneca Falls. The main point that came out of the convention was that American woman were intelligent individuals who deserved the right to vote. As the movement progressed, more and more women got on board, and the main document that they could use as leverage to vote was the Declaration of Independence. The declaration promised equality for all, yet women did not receive this equality. The movement and its major actors argued that women share the same humanity as men, thus they should receive the same unalienable rights. These unalienable rights say that no one person should rule over another, yet in this case, men were ruling over women. With the ability to vote, men held the power to influence the direction and goals of the nation, and who its leaders would be, while women had to accept whatever choices the men made. Ultimately, the 19th amendment was formed which gave all persons in America, no matter gender, the right to…

    • 2475 Words
    • 10 Pages
    Powerful Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    1972 Women Good Or Bad
    • 1537 Words
    • 7 Pages

    1972 Women Good Or Bad

    The Constitution did not allow women the right to vote, own property, earn equal wages, or custody of their children. The sixties were a prime example of the unequal treatment of women. A woman was quoted stating, “The female doesn't really expect a lot from life. She's here as someone's keeper — her husband's or her children's" (Coontz). Women’s lives were not deemed equally important as men’s lives. Women have been fighting for equal rights for over 200 years. In 1972, the Equal Right Amendment for women was proposed by Congress and sent to the states for ratification on March 22. The ERA granted equality of rights for all genders, and permitted that rights cannot be limited to the account of sex, or Congress can enforce legal action onto the violating party. However, when the ratification deadline passed on June 30, 1982, only thirty-five out of the thirty-eight states ratified the amendment (Francis). Therefore, the ERA was never…

    • 1537 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Equal Rights Amendment Pros And Cons
    • 157 Words
    • 1 Page

    Equal Rights Amendment Pros And Cons

    In my own opinion, the Equal Rights Amendment was founded and supported by influential suffragists whose efforts should not die in vain. I believe that we, as a nation, should ratify this amendment. The oppositions are founded upon old ideologies that no longer fit into today's society. These oppositions are outdated and, many of which, have already occurred without even passing the amendment (not that I believe that is a bad thing at all). These oppositions are the result of outdated mindsets, fear mongering, and ignorance from lack of willingness to educate onself. In this day and age, I am honestly appalled that our nation does not have an Equal Rights Amendment. If we are to be the home of the free and the brave, we ought to educate one…

    • 157 Words
    • 1 Page
    Satisfactory Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    Pros And Cons Of The Equal Rights Amendment
    • 817 Words
    • 4 Pages

    Pros And Cons Of The Equal Rights Amendment

    Kimberly Anevay Rico John Liss History 1408-V61 June 27, 2016 Equal Rights Amendment The Equal Rights Amendment defines as, “Section 1: Equality of rights under the law shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any state on account of sex. Section 2: The Congress shall have the power to enforce, by appropriate legislation, the provisions of this article. Section 3: This amendment shall take effect two years after the date of ratification. Without the Equal Rights Amendment, the only effective right would be the right to vote equally to women and men.”…

    • 817 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Better Essays

    Was the American Dream Really Obtainable to Anyone and Everyone?
    • 3682 Words
    • 15 Pages

    Was the American Dream Really Obtainable to Anyone and Everyone?

    Our country is based on the promise that our founders wrote in the constitution; they stated that all men are created equal. However this constitution was written by men and as we read it we may notice that it was directed for the men as well. The female gender was probably the last thing on their mind when it came to writing about the rights that should be kept and respected. Women at the time were not taken in…

    • 3682 Words
    • 15 Pages
    Better Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    Women's Role In The Progressive Era
    • 552 Words
    • 3 Pages

    Women's Role In The Progressive Era

    From the progressive trailblazers who fought for suffrage in the late 19th century and early 20th century, to the fearless nurses who aided our soldiers in the first World War, women had worked tirelessly in the Progressive Era to redefine their cultural expectations and social image. Starting with the 15th amendment to the Constitution, an era of nonstop effort was made in civil rights to reform both legislation and social expectations concerning the equality of all people. Women played an integral role in this era and their efforts have helped to shape society to the way it is today. The 15th amendment, adopted between 1869 and 1870, gave African American men the right to vote.…

    • 552 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    Pros And Cons Of The Equal Rights Amendment
    • 816 Words
    • 4 Pages

    Pros And Cons Of The Equal Rights Amendment

    The Equal Rights Amendment has been trying to get ratified since 1923. It has been introduced into every congress since 1982. Section one of the amendment states, “Equality of rights under the law shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any state on account of sex.” Section two states, “The Congress shall have the power to enforce, by appropriate legislation, the provisions of this article.” Last, but not least, section three states, “this amendment shall take effect two years after the date of ratification.” Basically the Equal Rights Amendment is trying to fight for equality between men and women, which I am all for. Women have been fighting for equality for decades and this would be a huge step…

    • 816 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Better Essays

    Equal Rights Amendment Pros And Cons
    • 1648 Words
    • 7 Pages

    Equal Rights Amendment Pros And Cons

    Since 1923, activists have been trying to pass the Equal Rights Amendment or ERA, which originally stated, "Equality of rights under the law shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any State on account of sex. " The amendment was ignored during the twenty’s, thirties, and forties until it was reintroduced in 1951. The ERA was then dropped until 1970 when feminists across america fought to reestablish and expand it to not only cover gender equality but racial equity and age discrimination as well. Although the Equal Rights Amendment was passed in 1972 by both the House and senate the amendment has yet to be put into the constitution because only 35 states have ratified it since then. The same 15 states that refused to ratify…

    • 1648 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Better Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    Women In The Progressive Era
    • 380 Words
    • 2 Pages

    Women In The Progressive Era

    Women fought a lot to gain full equality during the Progressive era. The perfection of the American Revolution increased women’s suppositions, encourage some of the first straight forward requirements for impartiality and observed the formation of female institutions to enhance women’s education. According to http://www.digitalhistory.uh.edu/era.cfm?eraid=11(by the early 19th century, American women had the highest female literacy rate in the world). The American government's expanded suffrage to involve essentially all white males, nevertheless, they started contradicting the vote to free African American men and in New Jersey to women, who had temporarily won these advantages succeeding the Revolution. During the 1820s and many years after…

    • 380 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    Essay On Women's Rights Movement
    • 1939 Words
    • 8 Pages

    Essay On Women's Rights Movement

    Imagine having only one purpose in life: to serve men. Your place was to cook, clean, bear children, and look pretty. You had no right to vote or to live your own life in the way you wanted to. This is what women have faced for countless years leading up to the Women’s Rights Movement. Even though many women took on tremendous workloads and dangerous risks during the American Revolution, they still were not granted freedom. It was in early July, 1848 when action is finally take. The Women’s Rights Movement was a major event that led to an abundance of new opportunities for women and left behind an ever-lasting drive for women to continue their fight for equality.…

    • 1939 Words
    • 8 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    Why Is The Equal Rights Amendment Important
    • 758 Words
    • 4 Pages

    Why Is The Equal Rights Amendment Important

    On the contrary, the United States does not require another law to protect women from injustice, as these already exist. Passing the Equal Rights Amendment is not necessary to ensure the safety of women's rights, as doing so would transfer governmental power to Congress, undo all the progress of the Women's Rights Movement thus far, and be redundant, due to the existence of the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment. First, if the ERA passed into law, the legislative balance would tip to favor the federal government as opposed to the state governments. Section Two of the ERA states, "The…

    • 758 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    Equal Rights Amendment Ratification
    • 903 Words
    • 4 Pages

    Equal Rights Amendment Ratification

    Other opposition to the ERA included how the Amendment was to be explained. The feeling was that giving the Supreme Court and federal agencies the power to spell out the meaning of equal rights would be risky. Decisions made on such a high level would be too far to remove from the ideas of the people. Opponents had a feeling that equal rights should be dealt with on a local or state level where legislators can be voted out of position if the people do not like some of the decisions…

    • 903 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More

Related Topics