Equal Rights Amendment Passed

In 1972, Congress passed the Equal Rights Amendment and submitted it to the states for ratification. The amendment's central provision read: 'Equality of rights under the law shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any State on account of sex.' First drafted by suffragist Alice Paul in 1923, the ERA had been reintroduced in Congress for decades before finally winning the required two-thirds approval in both houses.

Ratification by the states proceeded quickly at first, but the amendment fell short of the thirty-eight states needed before the deadline extended to 1982. Organized opposition, led most prominently by Phyllis Schlafly, helped stall and reverse momentum in several legislatures. Although the ERA was never added to the Constitution, the campaign mobilized supporters and opponents alike and remained a defining issue in the debate over women's legal equality.