The Equal Rights Amendment always had support from a majority of Americans, both men and women. However, ratifying a constitutional amendment requires more than majority support. It requires that proponents secure majority support in each of three-fourths of the states. An amendment must have extraordinarily broad support and little concerted opposition. Opponents of the ERA were able to emphasize several key issues that stopped ratification. These issues were most important in conservative southern states. Many Americans feared changes in the roles of men and women, especially in families. Phyllis Schlafly, a politically active conservative woman, organized the STOP ERA campaign based on these concerns. Opponents convinced people that the ERA would bring radical changes to their lives: an end to husbands' obligations to support their wives and families, single-sex bathrooms, the drafting of women into the military. These claims about the effects of the...