The Equal Rights Amendment (ERA) is a proposed amendment to the U.S. Constitution that would, if added, explicitly prohibit sex discrimination. It was written by Alice Paul and Crystal Eastman and introduced in Congress in December 1923 as a proposed amendment to the United States Constitution. The purpose of the ERA is to guarantee equal legal rights for all American citizens regardless of sex. Proponents assert it would end legal distinctions between men and women in matters of divorce, property, employment, and other matters. Opponents originally argued it would remove protections that women needed. In the 21st century, opponents argue it is no longer needed and some disapprove of its potential effects on abortion and transgender rights.
Sonia Ann Johnson, is an American feminist activist and writer. She was an outspoken supporter of the Equal Rights Amendment (ERA) and in the late 1970s was publicly critical of the position of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, of which she was a member, against the proposed amendment. She was eventually excommunicated from the church for her activities. She went on to publish several radical feminist books, ran for president in 1984, and become a popular feminist speaker.
Phyllis Stewart Schlafly was an American attorney, conservative activist, and anti-feminist who was nationally prominent in conservatism. She held paleoconservative social and political views, opposed feminism, gay rights, and abortion, and successfully campaigned against ratification of the Equal Rights Amendment to the U.S. Constitution.
Alice Stokes Paul was an American Quaker, suffragist, feminist, and women's rights activist, and one of the foremost leaders and strategists of the campaign for the Nineteenth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, which prohibits sex discrimination in the right to vote. Paul initiated, and along with Lucy Burns and others, strategized events such as the Woman Suffrage Procession and the Silent Sentinels, which were part of the successful campaign that resulted in the amendment's passage in August 1920.
Eleanor Marie Smeal is an American women's rights activist. She is the president and a cofounder of the Feminist Majority Foundation and has served as president of the National Organization for Women for three terms, in addition to her work as an activist, grassroots organizer, lobbyist, and political analyst.
The Congressional Union for Woman Suffrage was an American organization formed in 1913 led by Alice Paul and Lucy Burns to campaign for a constitutional amendment guaranteeing women's suffrage. It was inspired by the United Kingdom's suffragette movement, which Paul and Burns had taken part in. Their continuous campaigning drew attention from congressmen, and in 1914 they were successful in forcing the amendment onto the floor for the first time in decades.
The National Organization for Women (NOW) is an American feminist organization. Founded in 1966, it is legally a 501(c)(4) social welfare organization. The organization consists of 550 chapters in all 50 U.S. states and in Washington, D.C. It is the largest feminist organization in the United States with around 500,000 members. NOW is regarded as one of the main liberal feminist organizations in the US, and primarily lobbies for gender equality within the existing political system. NOW campaigns for constitutional equality, economic justice, reproductive rights, LGBTQIA+ rights and racial justice, and against violence against women.
Maureen Fiedler, SL is an American progressive activist, radio host, and a member of the Sisters of Loretto. She has a long history working with interfaith coalitions on a variety of issues including: social justice, peace, anti-racism work, gender equality, human rights and female ordination in the Catholic Church. She holds a doctorate in Government from Georgetown University. She is the executive producer and host of the radio show Interfaith Voices, which she originated.
Zoe Nicholson is a feminist activist, author, and a longtime member of the National Organization for Women. Openly lesbian, she is known for her work as an independent historian of Alice Paul as well as her role in the campaign for the Equal Rights Amendment.
Betty Gram Swing, born Myrtle Eveline Gram, was an American militant suffragist.
From the 1960s through the 1980s, proponents of the Equal Rights Amendment (ERA) were seeking ratification in each state throughout the United States. Although the Senate approved an unamended version on March 22, 1972, attempts at ratification of the amendment in the state of Utah repeatedly failed. Organizations formed and took positions on both sides of the issue, including the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, which was one of the major opponents of the ERA. The Church organized women and other church members in opposition, while also networking with other anti-ERA organizations. The Utah Legislature officially voted down the amendment in 1975. However, Utah still houses a wide variety of organized groups and opinions for and against the Equal Rights Amendment, which remains unratified to the present.
Berenice Anita Carroll was an American political scientist and activist specialized in peace and conflict studies, feminist theory, and women's studies. Carroll led the creation of the women's studies program at University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign and served as director of the Purdue University women's studies program. She initiated the establishment of the Coordinating Committee on Women in the Historical Profession in 1969.
Georgia Fuller is a women's rights activist who was heavily involved in the political struggle for the Equal Rights Amendment in the 1980s. She was a member of the Congressional Union, a feminist group in the 1980s, and was co-founder of the Arlington, Virginia chapter of the National Organization for Women (NOW).
Grassroots Group of Second Class Citizens was a political organization of feminist women created in the early 1980s to undertake non-violent direct action tactics to raise awareness for the need of an Equal Rights Amendment. The group also advocated for reproductive rights and lasted throughout the 1980s.
A Group of Women was an American feminist organization in the 1980s who committed a series of actions in support of the ratification of the Equal Rights Amendment. Sonia Johnson was a notable member of this organization that advocated for the use of civil disobedience to raise awareness about the need for the ERA.
Joan M. Martin is a Protestant feminist theologian. Martin has been politically active with a number of different feminist causes and is notable for her 1978 congressional testimony on behalf of the Equal Rights Amendment.
Mormons for ERA was a feminist organization that lobbied on behalf of the Equal Rights Amendment (ERA) in the 1970s and 1980s. The group was led by Sonia Johnson.
Mary Lee Sargent is a professor and feminist activist notable for her direct action political protests on behalf of the Equal Rights Amendment in the early 1980s.
The Day of Rebellion for the ERA was an event in 1982 organized by activists in support of the Equal Rights Amendment during the final struggle for ratification in Illinois.
Women Rising in Resistance was a militant feminist group in Illinois in the 1980s. The group emerged after the defeat of the Equal Rights Amendment in 1982. It was formed in 1983 and lasted until 1992.
