| In the 1950's-60's and increasing number of married women entered the labor force. The problem was that women only made 63% of what a man made. Women had already fought a lot for their rights in the 1800's but they slowly faded out after they won the right to vote in 1920. Now women of the middle class began a new, second wave, of the Feminist Movement. |
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| In 1964 feminists proposed a civil rights bill. They hoped to defeat the entire thing by proposing an amendment to outlaw discrimination on the basis of gender as well as race. This gave women the legal tool they needed to secure their rights. Feminist activists pressed for ratification of an Equal Rights Amendment (ERA) to the constitution. The ERA, passed in 1972, declared ''Equality of right under law shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by a state on account of sex'' 35 states of the 38 needed ratified it. In 1973 Roe v. Wade sanctioned women's right to abortion. | |
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