Scope and Introduction
Library of Congress Subject
Headings and Browsing Areas
Reference Books
Bibliographies
Books
Journals and Journal Articles
Government Documents
Manuscripts
Databases
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Books
Becker, Susan D. The
Origins of the Equal Rights Amendment: American Feminism between the Wars.
Westport, CT: Greenwood Press, 1981.
UNC Davis Library Stacks Floor 5 HQ 1426 .B393
Written before the end of the ratification process. Author looks
at the history of ERA. She examines the origins of the ERA, National
Woman’s Party activities, why people supported ERA or opposed it, and what
the American feminist movement during the 1920’s and 1930’s was like.
Berry, Mary Frances. Why ERA Failed: Politics, Women’s Rights,
and the Amending Process of the Constitution. Bloomington, IN:
Indiana University Press, 1986.
UNC Davis Library Stacks Floor 6 KF 4758 .B45 1986
Berry begins by discussing the process of amending the Constitution,
then examines the progress of several proposed amendments: income tax, prohibition,
woman suffrage, and child labor. She compares ERA to these previous
amendments and concludes that ERA failed because “supporters did too little,
too late of what is required for ratification of a substantive proposal”.
Boles, Janet K. The Politics of the Equal Rights Amendment:
Conflict and the Decision Process. New York: Longman, Inc., 1979.
UNC Davis Library Stacks Floor 5 HQ 1426 .B68
The author conducted a case study in Texas, Georgia, and Illinois to
determine whether the community conflict and traditional interest group
politics models were applicable to ERA ratification politics. The
book was written before the ratification process ended. The author
wanted to find out why the ERA, which was popular, had such a difficult time
being ratified by the states.
Eisler, Riane Tennenhaus. The Equal Rights Amendment Handbook.
New York: Avon Books, 1978.
UNC Davis Library Stacks Floor 5 HQ 1426 .E4
This is a great primary source. A detailed how-to manual for people
interested in getting the ERA ratified in the three remaining states.
It was written during the ratification process by an ERA advocate and lawyer
who consulted with many activists. One of the author’s main purposes
was to correct misperceptions of the amendment. The “Strategy Guide
and Action Checklist” is especially interesting for people studying activism.
Mansbridge, Jane J. Why We Lost the ERA. Chicago:
University of Chicago Press, 1986.
UNC Davis Library Stacks Floor 5 HQ 1236.5 .U6 M37 1986
Mansbridge was a participant in the ratification struggle and studied
it when she realized it would fail and after ratification failed.
She argues that the American public did not want a substantial change in
gender roles and that the Supreme Court would probably not take advantage
of the amendment. She argues that proponents were unwilling to compromise
because they were ideologically committed to equality.
Mathews, Donald G. and Jane Sherron DeHart. Sex, Gender, and
the Politics of ERA: A State and the Nation. New York: Oxford
University Press, 1990.
UNC Davis Library Stacks Floor 5 HQ 1236.5 .U6 M38 1990.
The authors studied the ratification process in North Carolina, but
argue that North Carolina is representative of the nation. They argue
that the conflict over ratification is about gender. The text begins
with a narrative of the history of ERA and the second half examines the
feelings of pro- and anti-ERA women and the North Carolina General Assembly.
Steiner, Gilbert Y. Constitutional Inequality: The Political
Fortunes of the Equal Rights Amendment. Washington, D.C.: Brookings
Institution, 1985.
UNC Davis Library Stacks Floor 6 KF 4758 .S73 1985
A study of why ERA was not ratified. Steiner focuses on the period
from 1971 to 1982. The author, a senior fellow in the Governmental
Studies program of the Brookings institution, concludes that ERA failed because
advocates missed their window of opportunity, which was only open for a
very brief period of time.
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