| dc.description.abstract | The Equal Rights Amendment (ERA), which would give men and women equal legal rights, was passed in Congress in 1972, much to the pleasure of many women’s rights activists and lawmakers. State legislatures raced to be among the first to ratify the ERA. One year later, 30 of the needed 38 states had ratified the proposed amendment. However, at the same time, grassroots conservative movements were mobilizing very quickly, in large numbers, to defeat the ERA. Anti-ERA sentiment grew notably high in the South and Midwest. Before the one-year anniversary of Congress passing the ERA, Oklahoma became the first state to reject the amendment, giving birth to the anti-ERA movement. Later, Nebraska became the first state to rescind its prior ratification.
Sandwiched between these two states was Kansas, a traditionally red state with an unusually progressive history. Resolutions were consistently introduced in the Kansas legislature from 1973-1980. But every anti-ERA legislation brought forth was promptly struck down. This study will conduct a case study into the rescission efforts in Kansas and why they were, ultimately, not victorious. The ERA in Kansas reveals a greater theme about the state’s political makeup at the time. As the ERA’s popularity fell throughout the country, Kansas remained in favor of the amendment showing the state as a moderate holdout to the rising conservatism. At the same time, it also reiterates a common thread throughout the state's history: a disdain for extremism. While the ERA died out in 1982, it was never rescinded in Kansas. | en_US |
