Roe V. Wade's Anti-Feminist Movement

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.

In 1972 the ERA was sent to the states to be ratified but the amendment fell two states short and was therefore not included in the constitution. In this article, many scholars argue that the ERA is needed to increase the standard of law that is now used to settle sex discrimination cases. They also believe it would help women that believe they are being denied equal rights. These assumptions

This amendment finally gave them the right they thought almost impossible to achieve. It was first drafted as the federal women suffrage amendment and took many decades of struggles (almost forty years) to be ratified (“Nineteenth Amendment”). Senator S. C. Pomeroy of Kansas was the first one to introduce it in 1868. In 1920, it was finally ratified by three- fourths of the states and in Congress (“Women Get the Vote”). It was a lengthy struggle, but it was a great success for women since they proved men how equally important and intelligent they were and this was significantly acknowledged with the 19th amendment that clearly prohibited the denial of vote based on the sex of the

The early women’s rights organization was developed based upon the standards and experiences of different endeavors to promote social justice and to enhance the human condition. These efforts are known as change. Among these were the Abolition and Temperance movements. The personal and historical connections that united, and on occasion divided the movement for women’s rights existed before 1843, have advanced over the subsequent century and a half. The 1877 Woman’s Suffrage amendment had been initially brought into U.S. Congress.

Through years of gender inequality throughout the nation, one of the most important causes for women was when they received the right to vote, as it allowed them to have a voice within the country. While looking throughout the fight for Women’s Suffrage, many would say that it ultimately ended on August 26, 1920- when the 19th Amendment was officially ratified. Although this seems accurate, many others would say that the fight ended when the Supreme Court 's ruling ultimately established the Nineteenth Amendment. This is best shown by the ratification of the 19th amendment, Leser v. Garnett, and the overall process to reach the final ruling during the case.

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 history.com’s staff explains the stages that the women of the past went through to gain them the 19th Amendment on August 26, 1920. Simplified the 19th Amendment is the right for the citizens of the United States to be able to vote and not be denied by the United States or by any State on account of their sex. It talks about when the 14th amendment was ratified in 1868, it granted all citizen the right to be able to vote. But they defined “citizen as male”, giving the right to vote to the black men. Because of this many women, including Susan B. Anthony rallied and protested the 15th amendment, believing that it could push lawmakers into making it so that women could vote along with the men.

The Woman’s Suffrage movement began in 1848, when the first women’s rights convention was held in Seneca Falls, New York. “For many years, under the leadership of Susan B. Anthony, Elizabeth Cady Stanton, and other women’s rights pioneers, suffragists circulated petitions and lobbied Congress to pass a Constitutional Amendment to enfranchise women.” (The National Women’s History Museum) According to document eight, Susan B. Anthony argues people who formed the Union, men and women, should both be allowed to vote. And in 1920, “due to the forces of the National American Woman Suffrage Association (NAWSA), the 19th Amendment, enfranchising women was finally ratified, so they could vote.

The 1970s were a rough year for African-Americans, still fighting for social and political rights in the United States. Consequently, women still did not receive equal rights. However, in 1972, “Congress approved the Equal Rights Amendment (ERA) to the Constitution, which reads: ‘Equality of rights under the law shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any state on account of sex’ (History.com Staff).” Out of the thirty-eight necessary states only twenty-two ratified it right away, it was relieving for the moment because the feminist advocates had been trying to be ratified since 1923. The First African-American woman elected into Congress was Shirley Chisholm.

Women’s rights activists are overjoyed with the passing of the amendment, as they have been actively fighting for this right for over a hundred years. Much to their delight, just weeks from now, many women are expected to exercise their right to vote for the first time in the upcoming election. The 19th amendment was first proposed in 1847, however, it was just recently ratified over 40 years later . It was passed by the House of Representatives on May

Fortunately, due to the tireless work of decades of activist’s, laws have changed, amendments added to the constitution, and rights granted to those who were previously unjustly denied. One of these victories for women’s rights occurred when women were granted the right

Despite being verbally and physically attacked by those in opposition of women’s right to vote, the women marched on, demonstrating the lengths they will go to earn their rights. The women’s march forced the woman suffrage movement to be acknowledged and taken seriously by Americans, specifically Congress. The source provided proved most useful in gaining the information discussed because it contained the most information of the event and provided multiple sources as

“These two amendments allowed men to vote, but still permitted states to deny the vote to women” (Kirk, G. & Okazawa-Rey, M. 2013). Once they submitted their votes, they immediately had a warrant out for them because women were not able to vote during this time. After they were caught, they were taken to trial, which lasted for a long year (McDavitt 1944). However, the question for women suffrage bubbled up to the service, which proved to legislation that they needed equal rights for women (McDavitt 1944). According to the textbook, Elizabeth Stanton and Susan B. Anthony formed the Woman Suffrage Association and started working towards getting the women the right to vote (Kirk, G. & Okazawa-Rey, M. 2013).

They just wanted to gain their own independence and stand up for what they believed in. Because of the feminist movement sweeping the country, the Equal Rights amendment gained a lot of support.(Henry Piatek, September 2011)) Almost 100,000 demonstrators marched in Washington D.C in support of the Equal Rights Amendment. (archive.mprnews.org) “The Equal Rights Amendment was passed in 1972 by both houses of Congress and President Richard Nixon and was sent off to be ratified into law by states.”. ( Ryan Bergeron, August 17, 2015)The Equal Rights Amendment only needed five more states to ratify it by March 1979 in order to get three-fourths approval. (Ryan Bergeron, August 17, 2015)

Anthony knew that women should have been given this right long ago, which prompted her and the others to begin a woman suffrage movement. Anthony and her good friend Stanton founded the American Equal Rights Association in 1866. However, the movement split and rejoined in 1887, creating the National American Woman Suffrage Association. Anthony went to Congress and pleaded with them to change their mind on whether women were worthy enough to vote. Not only did she advocate for the right to vote, but the property rights of women as well.