LESSON PLAN: Second Wave Feminism, the Equal Rights Amendment and Phyllis Schlafly

This 13-minute video documents the struggle by feminists to pass the Equal Rights Amendment, and the successful conservative response, led by Phyllis Schlafly, to prevent states from ratifying it after Congress approved it. It is useful for any lesson designed to introduce students to the ERA. The video clarifies for students how modern American politics came to be polarized around cultural controversies, and how the modern conservative movement organized itself into a political coalition that would lead to the election of Ronald Reagan as President in 1980. This short documentary, which includes interviews with Gloria Steinem and Phyllis Schlafly, helps students see the relationship between modern struggles over gender equality and the battle over the ERA in the 70s and 80s. From RetroReport.org