From the beginnings of this country, women have had to ask men not to forget about us in the democratic process. Abigail Adams famously wrote her husband John, “. . .I desire you would remember the ladies and be more generous and favorable to them than your ancestors. . .If particular care and attention is not paid to the ladies, we are determined to foment a rebellion, and will not hold ourselves bound by any laws in which we have no voice or representation.”
Were women remembered? No! Did women rebel? Yes! Do we progress? Yes, but very slowly.
Women had to rely on men to vote, first in Congress and then in the state legislatures, for the 19th Amendment to pass, providing women the right to vote. Of note, Florida did not ratify this Amendment until it did so symbolically on May 13, 1969 – 50 years after the first group of states ratified it! For that matter, it wasn’t until the revised 1968 Florida Constitution was passed that equal rights for the state’s citizens was even mentioned: “All natural persons are equal before the law.”
The fight for the Equal Rights Amendment (ERA) is even longer (98 years) than the fight for the 19th Amendment (considered to be 78 years). Alice Paul did not rest after fighting for passage of the 19th Amendment! She immediately started working on the ERA. The first version, written by Paul and Crystal Eastman, was introduced in 1923 in the House by Rep. Daniel Anthony, nephew of suffragist leader Susan B. Anthony. Of note, the LWV did not support the ERA in its early years!
While the ERA was repeatedly revised and reintroduced, it wasn’t until March 22, 1972 that a revised ERA passed the US Congress: “Equality of rights under the law shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any State on account of sex.” Twenty-four words – that is all we are asking for!
Why is it important? Because without a constitutional amendment, women’s rights are gained piecemeal, one piece of legislation at a time. During the 1960s, we often focused on the Civil Rights Act of 1965, which outlawed discriminatory voting practices. But it was the Civil Rights Act of 1964 that benefited both Black Americans AND women because it banned workplace discrimination not only on the basis of race, religion, and national origin, but also on the basis of sex. Guess who was doing the lobbying to get “sex” included? None other than Alice Paul, as it was the National Woman’s Party who initiated the request, but equal credit goes to Michigan Rep. Martha Griffiths. Others who helped lobby for the inclusion of sex include Coretta Scott King and Pauli Murray. https://www.jofreeman.com/lawandpolicy/titlevii.htm
When women didn’t achieve the equality expected from the Equal Pay Act of 1963 or Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, Betty Friedan and a group of activists formed the National Organization for Women (NOW). In 1967, perhaps at the urging of Alice Paul, NOW endorsed the ERA. Finally, in 1972, Michigan Rep. Martha Griffiths introduced the ERA (again) and it passed Congress. Now it just needed ratification by 38 states.
The Florida House of Representatives voted to ratify the ERA four times, but it never passed in the Senate, meaning Florida has not ratified the Equal Rights Amendment. However, it is introduced routinely. This year Broward County Rep. Patricia H. Williams co-sponsored HCR475 with Rep. Dotie Joseph (Miami-Dade County). The bill has had its first reading, but don’t expect it to go anywhere.
The required 38 states have ratified the ERA. However, due to a time limit provision for ratification in the original bill and a revised bill, it is still not the law of the land. Will 2021 be the year we celebrate passage of the ERA? Maybe. If a concurrent joint resolution that would remove the timeline for ratification is passed in the current Congress, the ERA would finally become part of the U.S. Constitution, almost 50 years after the ERA was passed by Congress.
Do women progress in our democracy? Yes, but very slowly. We can't give up fighting for our rights!