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Home Learn Classroom Primary Source Sets Primary Source Set: Equal Rights Amendment (ERA) in Florida

Primary Source Set
Equal Rights Amendment (ERA) in Florida

From 1972 to 1982, Florida lawmakers addressed the question of whether to ratify the Equal Rights Amendment (ERA). The amendment proposed that “Equality of rights under the law shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any State on account of sex.” Floridians’ response to the ERA mirrored the national divide over the amendment’s message on gender equality.

In 1920, the 19th Amendment gave women the right to vote. The ERA, written by Alice Paul and Crystal Eastman, was introduced in Congress in 1923. Not until 1972 was the ERA approved by both the U.S. House and Senate. It then went to the states for ratification, where it would need a three-fourths majority approval to become law.

By the original ratification deadline of 1979 (later extended to 1982), 35 state legislatures had approved the amendment. The ERA was three states shy of the 38 states needed to amend the U.S. Constitution.

Though the amendment passed the Florida House of Representatives on several occasions, it never passed the Senate. The final vote in 1982, the last session before the time period for ratification expired, was 60-58 in favor of ratification in the House and 22-16 against ratification in the Senate. 

Photo credit: ERA supporters holding up their signs during a demonstration at the Capitol in Tallahassee.

(State Archives of Florida)


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Documents

Postcard to Senator Bruce Smathers Regarding Equal Rights Amendment, 1972

Postcard to Senator Bruce Smathers Regarding Equal Rights Amendment, 1972

House Rules Committee listening to arguments of

House Rules Committee listening to arguments of "Unisex" amendment supporter.

Rep. Elaine Gordon celebrates as the ERA passes in the House - Tallahassee, Florida.

Rep. Elaine Gordon celebrates as the ERA passes in the House - Tallahassee, Florida.

League of Women Voters of Florida Pro-ERA pamphlet

League of Women Voters of Florida Pro-ERA pamphlet

The Church, Religion, and the Equal Rights Amendment

The Church, Religion, and the Equal Rights Amendment

Woman and daughter in favor of the ERA.

Woman and daughter in favor of the ERA.

Florida house representative William Gibson reading a newpaper

Florida house representative William Gibson reading a newpaper

Letter from Louis and Jeanie Putney of the Citizens Against Women's Draft, ca. 1974

Letter from Louis and Jeanie Putney of the Citizens Against Women's Draft, ca. 1974

Letter from Luann Bennett to Senator Bruce Smathers Regarding Equal Rights Amendment, 1974

Letter from Luann Bennett to Senator Bruce Smathers Regarding Equal Rights Amendment, 1974

ERA a bread and butter issue

ERA a bread and butter issue

Postcard from Mrs. S. A. Thomas to Senator Bruce Smathers, 1974

Postcard from Mrs. S. A. Thomas to Senator Bruce Smathers, 1974

Representative Jim Foster wearing an anti-ERA button - Tallahassee, Florida.

Representative Jim Foster wearing an anti-ERA button - Tallahassee, Florida.

Equal Rights Amendment

Equal Rights Amendment

National Organization for Women ERA pamphlet

National Organization for Women ERA pamphlet

Florida Parades for the ERA by WFSU-TV, 1975

Florida Parades for the ERA by WFSU-TV, 1975

Pro-ERA forces march up Tallahassee's Apalachee Parkway to the capitol to show their support for the controversial amendment - Tallahassee, Florida.

Pro-ERA forces march up Tallahassee's Apalachee Parkway to the capitol to show their support for the controversial amendment - Tallahassee, Florida.

Florida Voter ERA pamphlet

Florida Voter ERA pamphlet

"'We, the Women...' The Florida Women's Conference" in Orlando by WMFE-TV, 1977

ERA demonstration between the Capitol and Supreme Court building.

ERA demonstration between the Capitol and Supreme Court building.

You Can't Fool Mother Nature - Stop the ERA

You Can't Fool Mother Nature - Stop the ERA

Senator Lori Wilson wipes a tear from her eye following the defeat of the ERA in the Senate - Tallahassee, Florida.

Senator Lori Wilson wipes a tear from her eye following the defeat of the ERA in the Senate - Tallahassee, Florida.

Postcard from M.E. Rios Martin to Governor Bob Graham, February 14, 1982

Postcard from M.E. Rios Martin to Governor Bob Graham, February 14, 1982

Letter from James R. Stout to Governor Bob Graham, April 28, 1980

Letter from James R. Stout to Governor Bob Graham, April 28, 1980

  • Research Starter
  • Teacher's Guide

Floridiana Articles

  • Roxcy Bolton: A Force for Equality
  • Florida and the Ratification of the Equal Rights Amendment
  • Florida Remembers Janet Reno
  • Letters to Governor Bob Graham
  • August 26th: Women's Equality Day
  • Women's Equality Day: The First Ladies of Florida Politics

    Video

    • “We, the Women…” The Florida Women’s Conference, Orlando

    State Archives of Florida

    • Finding Aids, A Guide to Women's History Collection
    • Archival Collection, S79: Records of the Governor's Commission on the Status of Women, 1974-1985
    • Archival Collection, S 850: Governor Bob Graham Issue Correspondence, 1979-84, especially Boxes 14-25.

    State Library of Florida

    • Bibliography, Women's History in Florida

    Published Sources

    Carver, Joan S. “The Equal Rights Amendment and the Florida Legislature.” Florida Historical Quarterly 60, no. 4 (1982): 455-481.

    Guiding Questions

    • What did supporters of the ERA hope that it would accomplish?
    • What reasons did citizens and politicians give for opposing the ERA?
    • How did the struggle over the ERA reflect the changing status of women in the United States?

    Next Generation Sunshine State Standards

    SS.4.A.1.1: Analyze primary and secondary resources to identify significant individuals and events throughout Florida history.

    SS.912.A.7.3: Examine the changing status of women in the United States from post-World War II to present.

    SS.912.A.7.5: Compare nonviolent and violent approaches utilized by groups (African Americans, women, Native Americans, Hispanics) to achieve civil rights.

    SS.912.A.7.7: Assess the building of coalitions between African Americans, whites, and other groups in achieving integration and equal rights.

    SS.912.A.7.17: Examine key events and key people in Florida history as they relate to United States history.

    Document Analysis Worksheets from the National Archives

    Document analysis is the first step in working with primary sources. Teach your students to think through primary source documents for contextual understanding and to extract information to make informed judgments. The document analysis worksheets created by the National Archives and Records Administrationare in the public domain.

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