Equal Rights Amendment — proposed amendment to the Constitution of the United States of America
The ERA's 1972 Senate passage and subsequent ratification struggle defined modern debates over constitutional sex equality in the United States.
Key Facts
- First introduced in Congress
- December 1923
- Original authors
- Alice Paul and Crystal Eastman
- House approval year
- 1971
- Senate approval date
- March 22, 1972
- States required for ratification
- 38
- Extended deadline
- 1982
By the Numbers
Location
Cause → Event → Consequence
The rise of the women's movement in the United States during the 1960s renewed momentum for the ERA, which had first been introduced in Congress in 1923. Representative Martha Griffiths reintroduced the amendment in 1971, winning House approval that year and building bipartisan support ahead of a Senate vote.
On March 22, 1972, the U.S. Senate approved the Equal Rights Amendment, which would explicitly prohibit sex discrimination under the Constitution. Congress submitted the amendment to state legislatures for ratification with an initial seven-year deadline of 1979, later extended to 1982 by a simple congressional majority.
The ERA fell three states short of the 38 needed for ratification before both deadlines expired, leaving it outside the Constitution. Its defeat prompted lasting legal and political controversy over the proper means of securing sex equality, and ratification efforts have continued into the twenty-first century.