MIDDLE SCHOOL - LESSON PLANS
MIDDLE SCHOOL
Equality for All: Do we need an Equal Rights Amendment? (Lesson Choice A)
Overview: Students will learn about the history and current relevance of the Equal Rights Amendment
and participate in a mini debate on the topic.
Note to lawyer in the classroom: You may want to make students aware of what their own state constitution mandates regarding equal rights. Twenty-two states currently provide either inclusive or partial
guarantees of equal rights on the basis of sex in their constitutions.
Warm-up
Have students take a stand. Ask students to decide if they agree or disagree with the following statement. Tell students to agree to go to one corner of the room, those who disagree can go to the opposite
corner, and those who are not absolutely decided can go in the middle.
Statement: Women and men have equal rights under the law in this country. Have students in
each group share reasons why they agreed, disagreed, or were undecided. Note reasons on the board
for referral later. After the discussion students can return to their seats.
Introduce the brief history of the Equal Rights Amendment (ERA) to students.
Be sure to post the ERA text for students to see and reference.
Brief History of the Equal Rights Amendment
The Equal Rights Amendment (ERA) was written by suffragist leader Alice Paul.
(http://www.alicepaul.org/alicepaul.htm)
Alice Paul was born into a Quaker family in Mt. Laurel, New Jersey, in 1885. The Quaker faith strongly supported equality among men and women and this had a lasting impact on Alice. She was the founder of
the National Women’s Party and led protests at the White House, and was even jailed in her efforts to
fight for women’s right to vote. In 1920 the 19th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution was ratified and
guaranteed the right to vote for all American women. Alice believed that the Equal Rights Amendment
was the next necessary step to achieve equal rights for both men and women.
The ERA was first introduced in Congress in 1923 and reintroduced every year until it was passed by Congress in 1972 and sent to the states with a seven-year deadline for ratification. Phyllis Schlafly
(http://www.eagleforum.org/about/bio.html) founded the National Committee to Stop ERA in 1972. Congress extended the ratification deadline to June 30, 1982 and the ERA received only 35 of the necessary
38 state ratifications. The amendment has been reintroduced in every session of Congress since that
time.
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MIDDLE SCHOOL - LESSON PLANS
Phyllis Schlafly has been a national leader of the conservative movement since the publication of her
1964 book, A Choice Not An Echo, on the history of the Republican National Conventions. She founded
Eagle forum, a national volunteer organization. In 1972, she led the pro-family movement and organized
the Stop ERA campaign to prevent further state ratification of the amendment. Phyllis argued that the
ERA would take away certain gender specific privileges for women.
Text from the ERA
Section 1. Equality of rights under the law shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any
state on account of sex.
Section 2. The Congress shall have the power to enforce, by appropriate legislation, the provisions of
this article.
Section 3. This amendment shall take effect two years after the date of ratification.
ERA Vocabulary Terms
Suffragist – a person who supports the right to vote for a particular group, for example, to women.
Amendment – a revision
Legislation – the making of laws or the process of writing and passing laws
Ratification – agreement or approval
Class Debate: Should the ERA be added to the United States Constitution?
Note to lawyer in the classroom– It is important to inform students that during this debate they will be
making arguments based on assigned groups and not their own opinions. It is alright if they personally disagree with the side they are assigned to. They will have an opportunity to share their own opinions at the
end of the debate.
This is an exercise to help students think about the issue, articulate their ideas, and consider
different view-points. It is not a mock trial.
Phase 1
Divide the class into three groups—Group A, Group B, and Group C. Have students review the arguments for and against the ERA. Groups may also want to refer to the following websites:
Pro ERA: www.equalrightsamendment.org
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MIDDLE SCHOOL - LESSON PLANS
Anti- ERA: www.eagleforum.org/era/
2. Ask Group A to imagine that they are advocating equal rights to women on the basis of the Equal
Rights Amendment (ERA) to a group of delegates at a Constitution Convention. Ask Group B to imagine
that they are arguing a viewpoint opposite to that of Group A to the delegates. The two sides are debating if the Equal Rights Amendment should be added to the United States Constitution.
3. Instruct both groups to review and discuss the arguments for their position carefully. Have groups
write down the most important points that they want to present to the delegates. Assist them in their discussion. Remind students to refer to the arguments they brainstormed in taking a stand. They will need to
support arguments with facts.
4. Instruct Group C about their roles, duties, and responsibilities as delegates at a Constitutional Convention. The delegates will need to listen carefully to all arguments presented. They will be making their decision based on the information presented and not their personal opinions. After both sides have presented
the delegates will discuss which side they are in favor of and why.
5. Instruct Group A and Group B to choose two people as their spokespersons. Group C should choose
two presiding delegates. The presiding delegates will deliver their final decision to the entire class.
Phase 2: The Debate
1) Ask the spokesperson from Group A to present their views before the delegates.
2) Ask the spokesperson from Group B to present their views before the delegates.
3) Give the groups time for preparing and presenting two rounds of rebuttal.
Phase 3: The Verdict
1) Ask the delegates to discuss aloud the debates and to draw a conclusion.
2) Instruct Groups A and B to observe the delegates’ decision-making process, without intervening.
3) Invite the presiding delegates to pronounce the delegates’ decision.
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MIDDLE SCHOOL - LESSON PLANS
Concluding Discussion
Encourage students to share their own thoughts on the issue outside of the assigned group roles. Ask
students to repeat Take a Stand. Has anyone changed their view since the beginning of the class? Why
or why not?
• Do you think we still need the ERA if the 14th Amendment guarantees all citizens equal protection
of the laws?
• Do you think it would significantly impact women’s current or future role in the military?
• What would be the two most significant reasons to pass the ERA? What would be the two most
significant reasons not to pass the ERA?
Arguments to Support the Equal Rights Amendment
The Fourteenth Amendment of the U.S. Constitution guarantees equal protection of the laws to all U.S.
citizens. However, when legal cases involving women who are discriminated against based on gender
come up before the courts across the country, the judgments are often contradictory and not uniform.
The ERA offers a legal standard by which complaints based on gender discrimination may be judged in
the same way.
The ERA would clarify the legal status of sex discrimination for the courts, where decisions still deal inconsistently with such claims. For the first time, sex would be considered a suspect classification, as race currently is.
Without the ERA, the Constitution does not directly state that the rights it protects are held equally by all
citizens without regard to sex. The first – and still the only – right specifically affirmed as equal for women
and men is the right to vote.
The ERA would provide a strong legal defense against a decision that would violate significant advances
made in women’s rights made in the past 50 years. Without it, Congress can weaken or replace existing
laws on women’s rights.
Without the ERA, women regularly and men occasionally have to fight long, expensive, and difficult legal
battles in an effort to prove that their rights are equal to those of the other sex.
The ERA would improve the United States’ human rights standing in the world community. The governing
documents of many other countries state the legal gender equality including countries constitutions have
been written under the direction of the U.S. government.
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MIDDLE SCHOOL - LESSON PLANS
Arguments Against the Equal Rights Amendment
U.S. Supreme Court has itself interpreted the federal constitution as prohibiting sex discrimination, without needing the ERA.
The ERA will invalidate all state laws, designed to protect the family and will be replaced by laws making
women equally liable for financial responsibilities. The stability of families will be undermined by this drastic
change in wives' legal status.
The ERA would mean that women would also be treated the same as men in a military draft and forced
into combat.
The ERA will lower the social security benefits for wives, mothers, and widows. When a husband and wife
reach retirement age, the husband receives his social security check based on his earnings, and his wife
additionally receives a social security check that is 50% of the benefits paid to her husband. If her husband passes away and she becomes a widow then she will receive the full amount previously paid to her
husband. If the ERA was added to the Constitution social security benefits would only go to individuals
with paying jobs, not stay at home mothers or wives.
The ERA will eliminate privacy between the sexes in hospitals, prisons, schools, or other public accommodations.
The ERA will wipe out state labor laws and guidelines which benefit women in industry who do heavy,
manual work.
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