Iowa Women Against the Equal Rights Amendment records

Collection

Identifier: IWA0018

Staff Only
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Scope and Contents

The records of Iowa Women Against the Equal Rights Amendment measure 2 linear inches and date from 1972 to 1980. The records consist primarily of flyers, pamphlets, and leaflets explaining why the amendment should be opposed. Much of the material either came directly from or was copied from material distributed by national groups opposed to the equal rights amendment, such as Eagle Forum and Concerned Women for America. Two 1980 newspaper clippings from the Des Moines Register are also included: an anti-E.R.A. advertisement and an article featuring a debate on the E.R.A. between Donna Leporte, president of Iowa Women Against the Equal Rights Amendment, and Peg Anderson, who chaired the Iowa E.R.A. Coalition.

Audiovisual material consists of a cassette tape entitled "The Fraud Called ERA" and two 35 mm filmstrips, one dealing with federal, one with state implications of the amendment. A few anti-E.R.A. bumper stickers and buttons are also contained in the collection.

Dates

Creation: 1972-1980

Creator

Iowa Women Against the Equal Rights Amendment (Organization)

Conditions Governing Access

The records are open for research.

Biographical / Historical

Iowa Women Against the Equal Rights Amendment was formed in 1972 as a grassroots organization opposed to Iowa's ratification of the proposed equal rights amendment (E.R.A.) to the United States Constitution. The group distributed literature, mounted letter-writing campaigns, and otherwise advocated rescission by Iowa of its ratification of the amendment. In 1975 a resolution to rescind was filed by State Senator Eugene Hill. The Iowa Senate defeated Senator Hill's resolution by a simple majority. Iowa Women Against the ERA also worked to defeat passage of a state ERA.

In 1978 and 1979, the Iowa State Legislature passed a state equal rights amendment. This fulfilled the requirement of Iowa state law that a constitutional amendment must first be passed by two consecutive legislative sessions, after which it may be submitted for popular vote. Iowa Women Against the Equal Rights Amendment successfully mobilized opposition to the state amendment, which only received approximately 44 percent of the popular vote.