In 1923, Representative Daniel Anthony, nephew of suffragist leader Susan B. Anthony, introduced the Equal Rights Amendment in the House, while Senator Charles Curtis introduced it in the Senate. In 1972, Congress finally passed a reworded version: "Equal Rights under the law shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any State on account of sex."
Records of the U.S. House of Representatives, National Archives and Records Administration
H.J. Res. 75, Proposing the Equal Rights Amendment, December 13, 1923
Seeking Equality Under the Law
Following ratification of the 19th Amendment, which secured voting rights for women in 1920, suffragist Alice Paul drafted a constitutional amendment to guarantee equality for women in all areas of the law. Paul's Equal Rights Amendment was introduced in Congress in 1923 and reintroduced in every succeeding Congress until it finally passed both chambers in 1972. When the congressionally mandated deadline for ratification expired in 1982, 35 states had ratified it—three states short of the three-fourths required.
In 1923, Representative Daniel Anthony, nephew of suffragist leader Susan B. Anthony, introduced the Equal Rights Amendment in the House, while Senator Charles Curtis introduced it in the Senate. In 1972, Congress finally passed a reworded version: "Equal Rights under the law shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any State on account of sex."
Records of the U.S. House of Representatives, National Archives and Records Administration
