The US government may not restrict liberties because of sex
According to Section One of the Equality Amendment. According to Section 2 of the same amendment, the Congress has the authority to propose suitable legislation and to uphold constitutional rights. The anti-slavery movements of the 19th and early 20th centuries and the equality amendments of the 1970s are categorized by historians as the two main waves of equality advocacy. Between 1972 and 1982, there was a post-suffrage Equal Rights amendment that was marked by picketing, demonstrations, and hunger strikes. In the past, women were handled according to American customs and the English Common Law. Generally, they were not allowed to vote, keep their own money or own assets. The constitution stipulated rights that were not enjoyed equally and instead, only certain White males were considered superior. The research paper discusses the history of equal rights struggle and its resulting effects on gender equity in the United States.
19th Century Women Rights Struggles (1848)
According to Roberta, the first public demand for equality occurred in 1848 when women rights activists such as Elizabeth Stanton a Woman Right’s Convention in New York (2). The two-day summit comprised of 300 men and women whose aim was to pressure the government for justice and gender equity in a social order where individuals of the woman gender were barred from the rights and privileges enjoyed by the male dominated society. Among other declarations, 11 major resolutions were agreed on and the tender for suffrage was approved after moving speech by Stanton and Frederick Douglas. The movement advocated for the right to vote and the right to own property. After the 1860s Civil War, Stanton, Sojourner and Susan Anthony fought for the inclusion of constitutional amendments that assured formed slaves of equal rights. For the first time the constitution included the word male and as a result, women were denied voting rights (Ginsburg 1013). In 1872, the polls were carried out and Susan Anthony tried to defy the new laws by going to the polling center, only for her to be arrested, convicted and fined. These movements formed the basis of the equality movements in the coming years.
Victory for Equality (1919)
The 20th century saw intense revolution because women were allowed to join the workforce and therefore it meant that the movement was in a progressive social reform. Before the 1919 conventions, women groups representing factory workers had long pushed for protective legislation to mitigate from industrial ills such as unregulated hours and dangerous working conditions. Emerson et al argues that organizations such as the National Women Suffrage Association were on the forefront in lobbying millions of women at every level of government (910). Debates sapped women’s movements and by the end of the decade, Supreme Court had classified women as ‘herself’ as opposed to previous generalizations that put women in the same umbrella as children. The concept of Equal rights movement coerced the Congress to enforce legal equality between both genders and this was required to be done through constitutional amendments (Roberta 3). Eventually, in 1919 more than half of the Congress ratified the 19th amendment which affirmed women rights to vote. As a result, women entered into the workforce throughout the World War II and they could be able to perform duties that were previously considered as sex-segregated.
The Equal Rights Amendment (ERA of 1972)
After success of the women suffrage law, focus shifted to the equal rights amendment. The idea was that women needed freedom from legal sex discrimination. Essentially, women rights activists such as Alice Paul advocated to equal application of other legal rights other than voting and property ownership (Emerson et al., 909). Consequently, the Democrats and Republicans supported the course in the early 1940s. Despite the support, their rights were still stifled by external and internal forces from both inside and outside the government. Over a decade later, official end of slavery as stipulated in the laws encouraged the first wave of human rights movements. The 1960s saw women organize meetings that demanded their birth rights as citizens and independent persons in the country. Ultimately, the organized labor waves and joining of large numbers of mainstream groups jointly called for the ERA (equality rights movements) and the politicians to introduce the bill to the Senate. Like the previous amendment, ERA barreled out of the Congress and they managed to win 22 out of 38 state ratifications. In 1972, the ERA was passed by the U.S. Senate and the House of Representatives. However, in the 1980s, pro-ERA advocacy was dimmed by the political tide that turned out to be more conservative (United States Congress 2). The Republican Party removed ERA support from its platform and this formed the basis for election of Ronald Reagan. Despite these challenges, pro-ERA activists increased lobbying through countdown rallies, walkathons, fundraisers and suffragists tactics such as civil disobedience and White House picketing.
Importance of Equal Rights
Essentially, the new laws allowed women to vote, own properties, get into competitive jobs and they could enroll into combat. Also privacy rights were established and in fact, they were accorded the right to abortion under certain circumstances. The Supreme Court also banned sex-segregated “help wanted” advertising. Moreover, housing and credit discrimination was outlawed by the Congress (United States Congress 2). In 1974, the law rendered it illegal to force pregnant women from going to walk by assuming that they were incapable of working. Moreover, the amendment ensured that States allowed women to participate in juries. The right to politics was granted to women. In 1980, Paula Hawkins was elected the first woman Senator without following her husband or father as it was required in the previous laws. The same year saw the appointment of Sandra O’Connor as the first woman to serve in the Supreme Court. In 1994, the Violence against Women Act was enacted and funding was provided for the victims of domestic violence and other inhumane acts such as rape. Moreover, the right for equality has removed barriers for the both educated women and those seeking political and professional success. In the 21st century, Women such as Hillary Clinton have been a major political force and a record 104 House Members and 21 senators are female in the current Senate (United States Commission on Civil Rights. 2).
Conclusion
From the discussion, it is evident that proponents of equal rights began their course in the 19th century and it took almost two centuries for equality to be established. The whole idea of equality was linked to political and economic rights. The paper discusses equal rights by referring to the history and chronological movements by both men and women in a bit to create a more acceptable society. Women were the subject of discussion in the fight for equality because they were considered the less privileged gender. The 14th and 19th amendment form the basis of the rights to equality in the United States.
Works Cited
Draper, Hal, and Stephen F. Diamond. The Hidden History of the Equal RightsAmendment.Alameda, California: Center for Socialist History, 2013. Print.
Emerson, Thomas, Brown Barbara, Freedman, Ann and Falk Gail. The Equal Rights Amendment: A Constitutional Basis for Equal Rights for Women. Yale Law School, 2016.
Ginsburg, Ruth. The Need for Equal Rights Ammendment. Journal on Equal Rights. 2003.
Marcus, Eric. Making History: The Struggle for Gay and Lesbian Equal Rights, 1945-1990 : an Oral History. New York, NY: HarperCollins, 1992.
Roberta, Francis. The History behind Equal Rights Movement. National Council of Women’s Organization, 2013.
United States Commission on Civil Rights. Statement on the Equal Rights Amendment. Washington: The Commission. , 2016.
United States Congress. Equal Rights Amendment Extension: Hearings Before the Subcommittee on the Constitution of the Committee on the Judiciary, United States Senate, Ninety-Fifth Congress, Second Session, on S.j. Res. 134 ... August 2, 3, and 4, 1978. Washington: U.S. Govt. Print. Off, 1979. Print.
