the equal rights amendment is a proposed amendment to the united states constitution in the 1970s and 1980s. it would give men and women full equality under the law. alice paul first wrote the era. in 1923, it was introduced in the congress for the first time. it passed both houses of congress in 1972 after the national organization for women protested outside the united states senate. some people opposed it because women were already becoming equal in most areas, and women did not want to be drafted into the vietnam war. though 35 states ratified it, the amendment did not pass (38 were needed). most of the states that did not ratify it were in the southern united states, which is the most conservative and religious part of the country.