What was a key reason the Equal Rights Amendment (ERA) failed to be ratified?

What was a key reason the Equal Rights Amendment (ERA) failed to be ratified?

• A. It required ratification by 38 states.
• B. Only 37 states ratified, so ERA failed.
• C. The amendment was ruled unconstitutional by the Supreme Court.
• D. It failed due to a national popular vote.

Answer: (B)

The main idea is how amendments are adopted: they must be ratified by a required number of states within a set time frame. For the ERA, 38 states needed to ratify. By the end of the ratification period, the count stood at 37, so the amendment did not meet the threshold and could not become part of the Constitution. There was no Supreme Court ruling declaring it unconstitutional, and ratification is not decided by a national popular vote, so those factors don’t explain the failure. Some states did ratify after the deadline, but those later actions didn’t count toward the original requirement.

The main idea is how amendments are adopted: they must be ratified by a required number of states within a set time frame. For the ERA, 38 states needed to ratify. By the end of the ratification period, the count stood at 37, so the amendment did not meet the threshold and could not become part of the Constitution. There was no Supreme Court ruling declaring it unconstitutional, and ratification is not decided by a national popular vote, so those factors don’t explain the failure. Some states did ratify after the deadline, but those later actions didn’t count toward the original requirement.