ABSTRACT

The 1961 decision was consistent with previous rulings on the constitutional status of women. In 1920, after a long campaign, the ratification of the 19th Amendment secured voting rights for women. But voting was the only right affected. The court acknowledged “vast changes in the social and legal position of women.” The social and legal upheavals of the 1960’s were history. The court developed a legal theory to explain and justify its acceptance of certain kinds of discrimination over others. “Law and order” and “strict construction” were the judicial slogans of the day. According to myth, the Constitution is beyond the reach of transitory political and social events. Gender equality under the Constitution remains unsettled. The defeat of the proposed Equal Rights Amendment during the 1970’s left the US Supreme Court to ponder the degree to which the equal protection clause of the 14th Amendment bans sex discrimination.