Why the Equal Rights Ammendment Was Defeated
For quite a long time, women have wanted to receive the same treatment as men. When African American men were able to vote, women wanted to be able to vote as well. When World War II was in progress, women would work in the factories while their husbands, brothers and fathers were fighting in the war. Women were tired of being treated differently and not having the same rights as men, so they wanted to conceive an amendment that would force people to treat them as equally as men and anyone else. This amendment was called the Equal Rights Amendment. On March 22, 1972, the equal rights amendment, E.R.A., was passed by the United States Senate and was sent to the states for ratification. Thirty states ratified the amendment but then a revolutionary turn took place and states were backing out of their ratification left and right. The Equal Rights Amendment was defeated for several reasons. Women’s rights for divorce and alimony and such things would be taken away, as well as co-ed activities and schools. One of the largest reasons that the E.R.A. was defeated was because of its benevolent mindset to allow a significant amount of power to the Federal Courts upon the decision of what is considered an equal right.
The Federal Court would have to handle gentle cases in which they can decide upon the definition of “equality of rights” and “sex”. This could make cases of certain principles unfair and altered depending on the way the Federal Court foresees these terms. It isn’t just for the Court to decide on cases like abortion and homosexuality with their own opinions, everything should be stated in the Constitution and laws free of judgment. People opposed the E.R.A. because of the force to have tax funding on abortion in addition to gay marriage licenses, which we all know are two of the most controversial things that people today chit chat about.
Were you aware that there are rights for unwed mothers? Well if the Equal Rights Amendment was passed, none of those would
Cited: http://wiki.answers.com/Q/Why_did_the_equal_rights_amendment_fail_to_pass
http://www.eagleforum.org/psr/1986/sept86/psrsep86.html
http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/equal-rights-amendment-passed-by-congress