The issue of equality had always been a debate between both female and male back in the old days. The ERA, short for Equal Rights Amendment, was an amendment that was designed to guarantee equal rights for women. It was a proposed amendment to the United States Constitution and was originally written by Alice Paul and Crystal Eastman. Both Paul and Eastman believed that in order to have freedom from legal sex discrimination, it was required to have an Equal Rights Amendment that would affirm the equal application of the Constitution to all U.S. citizens. In the year of 1923, the Equal Rights Amendment was introduced by the Congress for the first time. However, equality being a constitutional amendment states that “Equality of rights under the …show more content…
As I mentioned before, the “idea” of ERA was first introduced by Alice Paul, a woman who fought hard with many others for what they believed was right. Women had their first victory against government conflicts in the 1920s with the 19th amendment being accepted. This amendment gave women the right to vote, yet Alice Paul believed that women should be given more rather than just the right to vote. Women in the 1920s were freer, they rebelled against society by wearing heavy makeup, shorter skirts, and bobbed hair. These women symbolized the liberation of women during the 1920s (qtd by Mr. Liss). Those who were for the ERA organized labor and protested until their voice was heard. So, the ERA is needed to affirm constitutionally the main principles of our democracy — "all men are created equal," "liberty and justice for all," "equal justice under law," "government of the people, by the people, and for the people" — apply equally to women”, (Why we Need the Equal Rights Amendment par. 9). Hence, gender should not be an obstacle for the better future of one. Women have been fighting against discrimination for over a century now, and this fighting comes with conflicts regarding social issues. The professions they had were motherhood and wifehood. It was hard and impossible for people to believe that us, women, could be able to work and even get an education. This leads to my last
In 1923, the Equal Rights Amendment was drafted by Alice Paul and subsequently introduced to Congress. Paul and the National Organization for Women began campaigning for its passage in 1967. In 1972, Congress passed the ERA and the states began to evaluate it for ratification, with a seven-year deadline. It garnered the support of 22 states in the first year, but the level of support slowly dwindled as time went on. The opposition against the ERA was headed by Phyllis Schlafly, the leader of Stop ERA. Opponents were effective in persuading states to abando...
The Equal Rights Amendment began its earliest discussions in 1920. These discussions took place immediately after two-thirds of the states approved women's suffrage. The nineteenth century was intertwined with several feminist movements such as abortion, temperance, birth control and equality. Many lobbyists and political education groups formed in these times. One such organization is the Eagle Forum, who claims to lead the pro-family movement. On the opposite side of the coin is The National Organization for Women, or NOW, which takes action to better the position of women in society. Feminism is the most powerful force for change in our time. The Equal Rights Amendment has been a powerfully debated subject for decades. Having passed the Senate with a vote of 84-8, it failed to get the requisite thirty-eight states to ratify it. Many discussions and arguments arise over the continued push for the Equal Rights Amendment. The need for change must be a consensus and achieved both nationally and at the state level. The attempt to ratify the Equal Rights Amendment continues, but with few supports left, it appears to have lost its momentum.
In summary, oppression of women is a serious issue because many women are not treated as men and withheld from every opportunity. However, because of these outcomes, women are prevented from achieving higher goals, such as getting an education, pursuing a career, and having word of their own. Therefore, women have to stand up for their rights and fight back to show men that women are not only housekeepers, but they are equal and smart as men are. Women will continue to waste their talents if they get used to the idea that they have to achieve their feminine roles because of oppression of man.
There are many theories as to why the Equal Rights Amendment failed. The Equal Rights Amendment (or E.R.A.) was passed by the Senate on March 22nd, 1972 which proposed banning discrimination based by gender. The E.R.A. got sent to the states to be ratified; however, it missed the three-fourths validation it needed. The E.R.A. each time failed to be accepted and was forgotten by the next few years after it was issued. So, why did the Equal Rights Amendment fail? People concerned about the E.R.A. – whether they be for or against the very thought of the idea of prohibiting gender-related prejudice – all have their own opinion and views toward the reason why the E.R.A. failed. Some believe it was because of the favoring from others toward the amendment, others believe it failed because it was more gender specific when choosing to support it, but very few think that it was the persuasive influence of others’ thick judgment.
Democracy stresses the equality of all individuals and insists that all men are created equal. Democracy does not persist on an equality of condition for all people or argue that all persons have a right to an equal share of worldly goods. Rather, its concept of equality insists that all are entitled to equality of opportunity and equality before the law. The democratic concept of equality holds that no person should be held back for any such arbitrary reasons as those based on race, color, religion, or gender. This concept of equality holds that each person must be free to develop himself or herself as fully as he or she can or cares to and that each person should be treated as the equal of all other persons by the law. We have come a great distance toward reaching the goal of equality for all in this country, but however close we are we are still at a considerable distance from a genuine universally recognized and respected equality for all. I will go into more details giving more information and making it clear to understand equality and civil rights for all and it affects everyone.
The entire Women’s Movement in the United States has been quite extensive. It can be traced back to 1848, when the first women’s rights convention was held in Seneca Falls, New York. After two days of discussions, 100 men and women signed the Declaration of Sentiments. Drafted by Elizabeth Cady Stanton, this document called for equal treatment of women and men under the law and voting rights for women. This gathering set the agenda for the rest of the Women’s Movement long ago (Imbornoni). Over the next 100 years, many women played a part in supporting equal treatment for women, most notably leading to the ratification of the 19th Amendment to the Constitution, which allowed women the right to vote.
When the Equal Rights Amendment was first introduced, in 1923, it was just a few years after the 19th amendment had been passed. It continued to be reintroduced every year for the next 48 years without any success. The ERA had no major union backing it until the 1970’s, it lacked the support of the President’s Commission on the Status of Women, and even the National Organization for Women did not endorse the ERA at its founding. In The fact that the Equal Rights Amendment was introduced every year for decades shows how persistent women’s rights activists throughout the 20th century in their pursuit of legal equality
The writers of this amendment wanted them to be given the same opportunities as men. During America’s ancient history, women were completely denied. They were not given the key rights given to male. For instance, married women couldn’t own property and they had no legal demand to money they could earn (Matthew, 2017). Even though they had rules and courts, the women whose money was forcefully taken from them by their husbands (or other people), couldn’t sue anyone. Instead, they were blamed for working. Furthermore, women were supposed to be at home and be a house wife, though men could go out and work. Men could also be a part of government and work freely. Women, instead of working had to be source of energy for working by cleaning and cooking for males (Green, 2013). So, women were compelled to have their rights to
purpose of the ERA was to prohibit any person from acting on this belief. Alice
Insurance is more expensive for women. Women must serve more time for crimes than men. According to this document there are about 1,795 laws that are against women’s rights as people. Equal rights amendment will bring all sorts of rights for women. According to this document It will help stop discrimination about sex, allow women to have their own credit and benefits, become a legal person under law, and stop law from discriminating against women. This document is important because it shows how far women's rights have come since the 1970s. Women now have the right to get a credit card in their own name. Women have the right to hold public office. Women can now serve in the military and they can also do so much more.The equal rights amendment was the stepping stool for women to achieve rights and freedoms. Throughout American history we see different groups longing to have the stake at American Freedom. Women have had a hard journey to make all the progress they have. This document is not only important because we can see
One problem that Americans are facing is the inequality between men and women, whether it is in everyday life or in a professional atmosphere. One step that has been taken toward equality was introduced with the Equal Pay Act of 1963, signed by President John F. Kennedy. This law was the first affecting the amount of job opportunities available for women and allowing them to work in traditionally male dominated fields. On the outside, this would sound like a solution where nothing could possibly go wrong, but it is not.
Laura Bassett, a reporter from the Huffington Post, explains that in today’s society women are paid 77 cents for every dollar that a man earns, resulting in women being paid an average of $37,800 a year compared to men who are paid an average of $49,400 per year in 2012 (Women Still Earned 77 Cents On Men's Dollar In 2012: Report). Also, when a man and a woman apply for the same job, the man will almost always be chosen. This has resulted in the amount of full-time working males increasing by 1 million within a years time, and the number for full-time working women remained nearly the same. To this day, females are not treated equally to males even though almost a century has gone by from 1920 when women gained their deserved suffrage rights and other rights of equivalent importance. Both men and women are standing up to spread the awareness of the meager changes to women’s rights throughout the years. One way to raise awareness is to write a book, and many books have been made about the lack of equality rights for women. In the novel The Secret Life of Bees by Sue Monk Kidd, the main character Lily witnesses several equality rights between men and woman in the way that females are treated by males, which has become a major social issue in today’s society.
Ever since the currently Proposed Equal Rights Amendment was created, there has been conflict about weather or not it should be approved. For almost a century, the side that supports the amendment have fought to get it officially put in place. One person writes, “Since 1923, activists have been trying to pass the Equal Rights Amendment, which states, ‘Equality of rights under the law shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any State on account of sex’” (Document B). This provides an example of how the ERA would establish a basic idea with a very simple set of rules and end up making a big difference when
In conclusion, if women are brave enough to destroy their own barriers and are with people that really help them, women can attain successful in the workplace; moreover, they will see less sexism in their workplace. In the past, women fought for the right to vote, and they fought for civil rights. Now, women and other people can fight to eliminate discrimination against women in the workplace. The United States fought for the right to eliminate discrimination many times such as after the Civil War and the World War II, and now as a country people have to fight to eliminate the discrimination against women in order to be called “The country of Freedom and Civil Rights.”
Throughout the 19th century, feminism played a huge role in society and women’s everyday lifestyle. Women had been living in a very restrictive society, and soon became tired of being told how they could and couldn’t live their lives. Soon, they all realized that they didn’t have to take it anymore, and as a whole they had enough power to make a change. That is when feminism started to change women’s roles in society. Before, women had little to no rights, while men, on the other hand, had all the rights. The feminist movement helped earn women the right to vote, but even then it wasn’t enough to get accepted into the workforce. They were given the strength to fight by the journey for equality and social justice. There has been known to be