Equal Rights Amendment collection, 1933-1948
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Summary
- Creator:
- Sallie Bingham Center for Women's History and Culture
- Abstract:
- The Equal Rights Amendment is an amendment proposed to the United States Constitution which would seek to guarantee equal rights to all American citizens regardless of their sex. It was first proposed in Congress in 1923 by Alice Paul and Crystal Eastman, and was reintroduced at every congressional session until it was finally passed by the 92nd Congress in 1972. This collection consists of printed materials and circulated literature both supporting and opposing early iterations of the Equal Rights Amendment, largely dating from the 1930s-1940s.
- Extent:
- 0.25 Linear Feet (1 box)
- Language:
- Materials in English.
- Collection ID:
- RL.13022
Background
- Scope and content:
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Collection consists of circulated pamphlets, handouts, and literature issued both opposing and supporting the Equal Rights Amendment. Materials date from the early and mid-twentieth century and discuss the different legal opinions between the adopting the ERA versus adopting or upholding additional protective legislation for women. These materials appear to have been received by Duke University Libraries as subscriptions in the 1940s, and added to the Perkins Library Pamphlet Collection. They were later transferred to Rubenstein Library.
- Biographical / historical:
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The Equal Rights Amendment is an amendment proposed to the United States Constitution which would seek to guarantee equal rights to all American citizens regardless of their sex. It was first proposed in Congress in 1923 by Alice Paul and Crystal Eastman, platformed by the National Woman's Party. Paul tweaked the ERA language in 1943 to match language of the 15th and 19th amendments. Throughout the early and mid twentieth century, the ERA was reintroduced at every session of Congress. It was finally passed by both sides of Congress in 1972 and approved by President Nixon, but then failed to receive the necessary numbers of states' ratifications.
- Acquisition information:
- The Equal Rights Amendment collection was received by the David M. Rubenstein Rare Book Manuscript Library as a transfer from Perkins Library in an unknown year (probably in the early 2000s).
- Processing information:
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Processed by Meghan Lyon, September 2023
Accessions described in this collection guide: 2022-0199
- Rules or conventions:
- Describing Archives: A Content Standard
Subjects
Click on terms below to find related finding aids on this site. For other related materials in the Duke University Libraries, search for these terms in the Catalog.
Contents
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Using These Materials
- Restrictions:
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Collection is open for research.
- Terms of access:
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The copyright interests in this collection have not been transferred to Duke University. For more information, consult the Rubenstein Library's Citations, Permissions, and Copyright guide.
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- Preferred citation:
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[Identification of item], Equal Rights Amendment Collection, David M. Rubenstein Rare Book & Manuscript Library, Duke University.
- Permalink:
- https://idn.duke.edu/ark:/87924/m1f45k