The Equal Rights Amendment, why didn't it pass? 

By Jackie Turner 

As America has developed and grown, it still lacks one thing. That one thing is equal rights for everyone. America has a stigma about traditions and keeping things the way we know and are used to. Even if it means unfairness and inequality to a certain type of people. The Equal Rights Amendment was written in 1921.^[1] The amendment did not pass, it was not accepted and ratified by enough states. Only 35 approved the amendment. It needed 38 to pass. It was going to be the 28th amendment if it passed. For the amendment to seem like such a liberating and great idea, the women then began fearing it would limit them more than help them.^[2] The interpretation was that it would limit women’s freedom, as women. Meaning that because men and women would have to be equal in every way, it was feared that women would be forced to join the military draft. As well as lose some special privileges that only women received. Such as  custody of children in divorce. It just seems unfair to these women that they held themselves down in the beginning, at the same time in the early 20th century things were different than today. The men in that time probably would have twisted and turned around the amendment in unjust ways. But something that stands out to me was, when the Equal Rights Amendment was created in 1921 it was only understood to be for women. It was not really specified in the amendment that it was just for them. So it kinda gives me a true look into the past by hearing the cases of this time. Further more since slavery was so big during this time, it kinda gives a true account of how unfair they were treated. Just because they were not even considered as being incorporated into the almost 28th amendment, at this time. They weren’t even considered people it seems like. The fight to incorporate the Equal Rights Amendment still is a fight today. Women are treated fairly in a lot of ways but there is still bias between the sexes. Our culture seems to have had a lot to do with that. With the music industry and the television shows and movies that desensitize our minds, shaping us to believe that seeing women degraded is just normal and okay. On the positive side of it all, the fact that the current Equal Rights Amendment addressed equality among every single type of person. Regardless if you are a woman or not and that's what 'equal' really should mean. 

1. unknown, . National Organization for women, "The equal rights amendment." Last modified 1995-2012. Accessed February 24, 2014. http://www.now.org/issues/economic/eratext.html.

2. Contributor, Gissellejj. Wiki Answers, "Why did the equal amendment right fail to pass?." Accessed February 24, 2014. http://wiki.answers.com/Q/Why_did_the_equal_rights_amendment_fail_to_pass?