Equal Rights Amendment

The Equal Rights Amendment (ERA) was a proposed amendment to the United States Constitution which would have guaranteed equal rights under law for Americans regardless of gender.

Shift in political attitudes

The political tide changed direction in the late 1970s and throughout the 1980s. The Republican Party withdrew its earlier support for the ERA. The most prominent ERA opposition leader was Phyllis Schlafly, a conservative Republican. According to its critics, the ERA would have granted more power to Congress and to the Federal courts, a stance unpopular at a time when public opposition to expanded Federal government authority—and Federal judicial activism in particular—was growing. Opponents, and even most supporters of the ERA, agree that if freshly re-proposed by Congress, the ERA would have to start from scratch and would need to gain state ratifications all over again—the state approvals achieved during the 1970s being non-transferable.

Related Topics:
1970s - 1980s - Republican Party - Phyllis Schlafly - Conservative - Critics - Power - Federal courts - Judicial activism

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