Linda Napikoski 1970s Feminist Analysis

The Feminist Movement in the 1960s was caused by the demand for women’s rights. When the ERA was passed by the Senate in the 22nd of March, 1972, women pushed on to convince states to ratify the amendment and accept equal rights. According to Linda Napikoski’s “1970s Feminism Timeline”, feminists pushed through acknowledging many ideas in the government, including legalizing abortion in New York in November of 1792, then on more parts of the U.S. on 1793. The next year, The Fair Housing Act of 1968 was adapted to prevent discrimination of sex, race, color, religion, and ethnicity. Women acknowledged these ideas through holding marches and conferences such as the International Feminist Planning Conference in Massachusetts as well as publishing
According to The Learning Network, the support for the ERA boosted very early as “[it] was ratified by 30 states within a year, but the ratification process slowed as anti-ERA organizations mobilized” (The Learning Network, 2012). By the 1979 deadline, conservatives reigned in victory as the ratification was three short of the necessary thirty-eight states because of their ability to convince America that the ERA will take away the support of husbands for women and their abilities. However, twenty-one states have added similar amendments to their state constitutions as inspired by what the ERA stood for (The Learning Network). As stated by U.S.History.org, “The fight over the Equal Rights Amendment did not pit women against men-- it pitted two ideologies against each other” (U.S.History.org). The women who wanted rights that were taken away by a male-dominated society, and the women who wanted to keep the rights they were granted being in the same situation, both demonstrated that no matter what ideologies they believed in, it showed that women gained a sense of power and voice because they went through tremendous efforts to achieve their goals. Additionally, the compromise led to the rise of more women’s rights and abilities to pursue their
In fact, it only strengthened their power as the failure gave them time to rethink and revise the amendment then reintroduce it to Congress. Based on Now.org, the ERA was reintroduced to Congress in 1982 but it did not pass. However, it reappeared in 1985 to 1992 to each session of Congress and held in committee, revealing the amount of efforts that women worked through to keep the ERA alive despite their defeats. Feminists also boosted their efforts by forming organizations such as the national Constitutional Equality Amendment (CEA) Committee in 1966 with the purpose to review the working draft of the CEA and spread awareness and educations about women’s rights all over the country (Now.org). The progress of women’s rights was also apparent as The Americans described how by 1983, 13.5 percent of elected state offices and 24 seats in the Congress were held by women, holding more political power compared to before the movement started. Additionally, in 1972, only 7 percent of women graduates would stop working to raise children as opposed to the 70 percent in 1965 (Danzer 780). Therefore, even though the ERA was not legalized, women still thrived for it as many went on to prioritize the idea of the amendment and worked to improve it as well as their own being. However, conservatives also shared their impact in the aftermath of the