Equal Rights Amendment Pros And Cons

On July 9, 1868, the Fourteenth amendment was formally introduced to the Constitution and granted citizenship to “all persons born or naturalized in the United States.” These words have as an ideal purpose that all levels of the federal government must operate within the law and provide fair conditions for all people. As a result, the states had a obligation to the public. Through the Fourteenth amendment, states were forbidden from denying any person “life, liberty, or property, without due process of law” or to “deny any person within jurisdiction the equal protection of laws.” By directly mentioning the role of the states, the Fourteenth amendment also expanded civil rights to African American slaves who had been emancipated after the American Civil War.

Nowhere in the Constitution does it state that women are citizens. Women have never been legally declared persons in this country, not by the Founding Fathers, not by the Constitution, not by the Supreme Court. The Fifteenth Amendment guarantees to right to vote to all U.S. citizens, whatever their race, whether they had been born free or born a slave, but it didn’t include women the right to vote. Women fought along for the abolition of slavery. When the battle was won, black men got the right to vote. Black women didn’t neither did white women. The effort to win our right to vote took 52 years, until 1920 when the 19th amendment was passed. To win the vote women ran 56 referendum campaigns; 804 campaigns in the states; 19 campaigns in 19

Roe vs. Wade is the highly publicized Supreme Court ruling that overturned a Texas interpretation of abortion law and made abortion legal in the United States. The Roe v. Wade decision held that a woman, with her doctor, has the right to choose abortion in earlier months of pregnancy without legal restriction, and with restrictions in later months, based on the right to privacy. As a result, all state laws that limited women 's access to abortions during the first trimester of pregnancy were invalidated by this particular case. State laws limiting such access during the second trimester were upheld only when the restrictions were for the purpose of protecting the health of the pregnant woman. Roe v. Wade legalized abortion in the greater United States, which was not legal at all in many states and was limited by law in others. Prior to the case it was the state that determined the legality of abortions.

The authors of this article show that the ERA will not directly affect the people but that it would indirectly effect the people. They really do not have a set stance on whether we truly need this amendment today or not. I on the other hand fully believe that we need the ERA in the Constitution. The ERA is a great foundation of economic equality and without that foundation, women will never be equal. Alice Paul, a women’s right activist, once quoted, “When you put your hand to the plow, you can’t put it down until you get to the end of the row.” Phyllis Schlafly started the campaign of ratifying the Equal Rights Amendment in 1923 and I am beyond certain that the ERA activists today will not stop until it is ratified and accepted into the constitution. At the end of ERA battle, Sonia Johnson made an incredible and uplifting statement for all women. She said, “I am sure I am not the only feminist who is occasionally clear-sighted enough to be grateful to Phyllis Schlafly for making us have to fight so hard for the Equal Rights Amendment. Whether in the end this amendment is the way women will achieve legal equality or not, it is still true that the struggle over its ratification has provided the greatest political training ground for women in the history of the world”

The Equal Rights Amendment (ERA) was a proposed amendment to the United States Constitution designed to guarantee equal rights for women. The ERA was originally written by Alice Paul and Crystal Eastman. In 1923, it was introduced in the Congress for the first time. The ERA has always been highly controversial regarding the meaning of equality for women. Middle-class women generally were supportive. Those speaking for the working class were strongly opposed, arguing that employed women needed special protections regarding working conditions and hours. In 1972, it passed both houses of Congress and was submitted to the state legislatures for ratification. It seemed headed for quick approval until Phyllis Schlafly mobilized conservative women

The Voting Rights Act was one of the most revolutionary bills ever passed by the congressional legislation in the United States. President Lyndon B. Johnson signed the bill into law on August 6th, 1965, not only as part of politics but also, a depiction of morals. Since 1965, it has protected minority voters at the polls, but it has been fifty years since the Voting Rights Act has been passed and it is still a controversial topic that is constantly debated on today. The voting rights of all minorities throughout the country are once again under attack which impacts one’s ability to exercise his or her constitutional right as a citizen.

During the years 1825-1850, in the United States, was the age of reform. A time where nationalism and pride grew in the hearts of the American people, that they struggled to bring back the true meaning upon which their country was built. Social, intellectual and religious reform movements in the United States during the years 1825-1850, caused the expansion of democratic ideals through the reformers and reform movements; such as the Women’s Rights Movement, Temperance Movement, Abolitionist Movement, Asylum Reform, Jail Reform, Transcendentalism and the Second Great Awakening, by introducing the idea in the increase of women’s rights, encouraging an abstinence from alcohol, abolishing slavery, improving the treatment of the mentally unstable,

Adding on to other limitations, women almost had no freedom in their marriage. Before the women’s rights movement, when a woman is married the “husband and wife are one person” but “that person is the husband” (Doc 7). Once a woman is married, her rights and property were governed by the husband. Married women could not make wills or dispose of any property without their husband’s consent to do so. This showed that they were invisible even in their marriage, The women’s movement promoted the support which eventually resulted in the Married Women’s Property Act. The act states what a married woman can’t and can do in a marriage (Doc 6). Something they must do is to take their husband’s name after marriage. Lucy Stone was an abolitionist and

Throughout the text it is addressed that the federal constitution says “we the people”, the government has no right to take away rights from just one gender, and that women are considered people. This is the reason why “ Women’s Rights to Suffrage” was most compelling; it explains why everyone should be equal and specifically women and men. Susan B Anthony was one of many to fight for women to have the same rights as men in today’s

The women’s rights movement being an extensive movement helped women to occupy better jobs and higher positions “Increased access to leadership positions is an important achievement because – in terms of gender – the field is more level now: some women will be allies, some are not, but no one is excluded only for being a woman”. Today, women can choose to occupy the jobs that were once titled only for men and they have an equal employment opportunity “Because of workplace rights, women enjoy freedom to work in almost any position they choose. They join the armed forces, work as cab drivers, own businesses and become executives in large corporations” Women can now become ministers, juries, senates, and even the president “1975 — In Taylor v. Louisiana, the court denies states the right to exclude women from juries….1981 — Sandra Day O’Connor is appointed as the first female U.S. Supreme Court Justice… 1997 — Madeleine Albright is sworn in as U.S. Secretary of State. She is the first woman in this position.” The women’s rights movement encouraged women to fear nothing and to refuse to be a part of the crowd or go with the flow, but to act as individuals that have values and

The women’s rights movement focused on gender equality. Liberal and conservative women disagreed on many issues that the second wave of feminism, the basis of the women’s rights movement, brought to light. Two documents reveal the differences in the opinions of the opposing sides during the women’s rights movement. In an “Interview with Phyllis Schlafly” by the Washington Star, published on January 18, 1976, Ms. Schlafly opposed both the ERA and the Women’s Rights movement. Comparatively, the “Statement of Purpose” by the National Organization for Women, published on October 29, 1966, stated that NOW stood for Women’s Rights and equality. The two documents do agree that a woman’s role of being a mother is most important, but differ in their opinions of women in the workforce.

In 1923, the ERA written by Alice, was introduced into Congress. The Amendment declared “equal rights under the law shall not be denied or abridged by the US or by any State on account of sex” (“Woman Suffrage”, 2014, para 1). The Amendment was introduced into every Congress through 1972, where it finally passed but failed ratification in 1982. Only 35 states ratified the Amendment by the 1982 deadline. After the failure, the Amendment was again presented to Congress every year, but still fails to get passed. The Amendment would make improvements in legal, economic and social restrictions for women (“Women 's Rights”, 2014, para

The people of America fought and won the Revolutionary War gaining freedom from England rule. At first America gave out freedom unjustly. They had slaves who had no freedom and women and lower class white men who were free, but didn 't have very many rights, such as, the right to vote. There were many disputes, riots, boycotting, protesting, etc.

“ A woman is human. She is not better, wiser, stronger, more intelligent, more creative, or more responsible than a man. Likewise, she is never less. Equality is a given. A woman is a human”- Vera Nazarian. In the 1920 's, women didn’t have the right to vote, which later led to the 19th amendment that gave the women the right to vote. Females all over the world have been affected by this because they still are not treated equally even though the 19th Amendment gave them hope that will soon come into place. Women weren’t able to do many things as men such as working conditions, help out with war and vote. Therefore, women should have equal rights and not be treated differently.

As the roaring twenties reached their end the battle against alcohol in the United States is just arising to a turning point. With serious controversy over the Volstead Act the country was greatly divided. There was also the extreme rising occurrences of crime, the creation of gangs and a newly established, unorganized criminal justice system. Prohibition was a disaster across America and the more reforment from the government just made things worse.