ABSTRACT
But the ERA was never ratifi ed. After years of deliberation, the U.S. Senate defeated the bill for the fi rst time in 1943. Alice Paul reintroduced the ERA at every new session of Congress, albeit to no avail. The ERA fi nally received house approval in 1971 and Senate approval in 1972. When it went to the states to be ratifi ed by the mandatory three-fourths majority by the 1982 deadline, the ERA fell short by three states.
