Which states rescinded the Equal Rights Amendment?
Asked by: Daniela Stracke | Last update: June 6, 2026Score: 4.8/5 (70 votes)
Five states—Nebraska, Tennessee, Idaho, Kentucky, and South Dakota—voted to rescind their ratification of the Equal Rights Amendment (ERA) in the 1970s, though the legal validity of these rescissions is highly disputed, with many legal scholars arguing they are not permissible under the Constitution's Article V.
What states have rescinded the Equal Rights Amendment?
Five states—Nebraska, Tennessee, Idaho, Kentucky, and South Dakota—voted to rescind their ratification in the 1970s, which has raised legal questions, with many legal scholars rejecting the validity of rescinding a ratification.
How many states voted against the Equal Rights Amendment?
The 15 states whose legislatures did not ratify the Equal Rights Amendment by the 1982 deadline are: Alabama, Arizona, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, Nevada, North Carolina, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Utah, and Virginia.
Who stopped the Equal Rights Amendment?
Phyllis Schlafly. Phyllis Stewart Schlafly (/ˈʃlæfli/; born Phyllis McAlpin Stewart; August 15, 1924 – September 5, 2016) was an American attorney and activist who was nationally prominent in conservatism.
Why did the states not ratify the Equal Rights Amendment?
Support in the states that had not ratified fell below 50%. Public opinion in key states shifted against the ERA as its opponents, operating on the local and state levels, won over the public. The state legislators in battleground states followed public opinion in rejecting the ERA.
The Equal Rights Amendment (ERA) Explained
What was the leading reason that the Equal Rights Amendment failed to gain ratification?
Despite winning congressional approval, the proposed amendment was not ratified by the required two-thirds majority of the states, in part because critics feared that protecting against gender discrimination would confuse gender distinctions and, therefore, legitimize homosexuality.
Why should the ERA not be passed?
The ERA would likely endanger women's equality. The reason is that the ERA would likely prohibit government from acting “on account of sex” and, therefore, from acting on account of or in response to sex inequality. Put simply, government would have to ignore sex, including sex inequality. Consider race.
Who opposed the Equal rights Act?
Phyllis Schlafly, a conservative activist, commentator, and author, led a successful campaign against the ratification of the Equal Rights Amendment in the 1970s.
Who was a key opponent of the Equal Rights Amendment?
The primary figure for the ERA's opposition was Phyllis Schlafly and her STOP ERA organization. STOP ERA stood for Stop Taking Our Privileges Equal Rights Amendment. Schlafly held demonstrations before the legislature and rallied women to persuade legislators to oppose the amendment in strategic states.
Why has the Equality Act not been passed?
The Equality Act would need at least 67 votes in the Senate, where Democrats have a slim majority, to overcome a filibuster. The bill failed to garner enough bipartisan support in the upper chamber after it was passed by the House in 2021, and the current version of the bill, introduced in June by Sen.
What percentage of Americans support the Equal Rights Amendment?
According to a recent poll, 85% of Americans across party lines support the Equal Rights Amendment.
Which two states originally rejected the Constitution?
Securing the ninth state was not going to be an easy task. In fact, North Carolina and Rhode Island did not ratify the Constitution until November 1789 and May 1790, respectively. They did so only after the First Congress sent 12 amendment proposals to the states for ratification.
What states did not ratify women's right to vote?
Much of the opposition to the amendment came from Southern Democrats; only two former Confederate states (Texas and Arkansas) and three border states voted for ratification, with Kentucky and West Virginia not doing so until 1920. Alabama and Georgia were the first states to defeat ratification.
Which state never ratified the Equal Rights Amendment?
The 15 states that did not ratify the Equal Rights Amendment before the 1982 deadline were Alabama, Arizona, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, Nevada, North Carolina, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Utah, and Virginia.
Why did the Equal Rights Amendment fail in 1923?
The equality rhetoric of the ERA and its proponents could not overcome the fears engendered by the campaign against its ratification. The sight of traditional women vocalizing their opposition to the amendment altered the political dynamic in enough states to cause the ERA's failure.
How many states ended up ratifying the Equal Rights Amendment?
Although this time period was subsequently extended, only 35 states ratified the amendment by the new 1982 deadline, fewer than the three-fourths or 38 states required by Article V of the Constitution for adoption. Supporters of the ERA continued to seek its ratification after the 1982 deadline.
Did Reagan support the Equal Rights Amendment?
As President, Reagan opposed the Equal Rights Amendment (ERA) because he thought that women were already protected by the 14th Amendment, although he had supported the amendment and offered to help women's groups achieve its ratification while serving as Governor of California.
Which party supported equal rights?
While the text of the ERA varied over the decades, the goal remained the same: ensuring that women and men have equal rights under the law. In 1940, the Republican Party became the first major party to endorse the amendment in its platform.
Why hasn't the ERA been ratified?
The Equal Rights Amendment (ERA) wasn't ratified by the 1982 deadline due to a successful conservative opposition movement led by Phyllis Schlafly, which argued it would disrupt traditional gender roles, lead to gender-neutral bathrooms, same-sex marriage, and women in combat, causing public support to wane and state ratifications to stall, falling three states short of the required 38. Though Virginia ratified it in 2020, making 38 states, legal challenges regarding the expired deadline and rescissions remain, preventing its official adoption.
Which two states did not ratify prohibition?
Eventually, only two states—Connecticut and Rhode Island—opted out of ratifying it. On October 28, 1919, Congress passed enabling legislation, known as the Volstead Act, to enforce the Eighteenth Amendment when it went into effect in 1920.
What party opposed women's right to vote?
Perhaps the president's speech would win the support of senators known to oppose the measure, a coalition of southern Democrats and northeastern Republicans known as the “unholy alliance.” Collectively, they opposed women's suffrage for a variety of reasons.
Did southern Democrats oppose the Civil Rights Act?
Johnson signed the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the Voting Rights Act of 1965. These actions led to heavy opposition from Southern Democrats. 1964 Republican nominee Barry Goldwater voted against the Civil Rights Act, which caused Goldwater to sweep the Deep South even though he lost badly outside the South.
What was the primary purpose of the failed equal rights?
Eliminate all legal distinctions based on sex.
Who does not have equal rights in America?
The U.S. Constitution does not explicitly guarantee equal rights regardless of sex. That means sex discrimination doesn't get the same legal protection as other types of discrimination—like those based on race, religion, or national origin.
Who led the opposition to the Equal Rights Amendment?
Image courtesy of the Library of Congress Anti-feminist speaker and lobbyist Phyllis Schlafly led the opposition to the Equal Rights Amendment.