Speaker marjorie j. Spruill an authority on the womens right movement. She is a professor of history and the awe thursday of the new women of the new south. She edited one woman one vote, rediscovering the suffrage moment. Which in fact, the New York Historical society will be screening on august 15th as a part of our centennial summer celebration. Professor spruill has served as an advise r for many museum exhibtions, documentaries and films. She is a former president of the Southern Association for womens hoist attorney. Her new book is divided we stand, dividing of women rights. Ladies and gentlemen, professor marjorie spruill. Well, this is an amazing venue i must say. It is so wonderful to be here. This is such a great tradition that this institution, these pair institutions has to get book lovers out here on these nice warm Summer Nights together with authors and talk about books, im pleased and honored to be a part of it and have a chance to talk with you about my new book. Divided we stand is about the role of women and womens issues in american politics. It tells the story of both the modern Womens Movement, which in the early 70s enjoy tremendous success and a story of conservator Womens Movement that organized opposition and became more powerful as the decade progressed. Now of course i have tried to load it with juicy an tech doets and color contractors and believe me there were people and thing that happened that you just cant make up. So theres high drama and i hope youll find it a good read. Its somewhat unusual among books about politics because it puts women at the center of the story. Its unusual in books about womens history because it deals with both feminists and conservator women in the same volume. My own identification through the womens Rights Movement no doubt shows through but it has been my goal to describe as fairly and accurately the idea of both the women on both sides. My goal of what to say and emphasize is to shed light, not turn up the heat on the subjects covered, because as you know theres been plenty of that already. Because this book is about something that is seriously disturbing, something we need to understand a whole lot better, and that is the transformation of american politics and origins of this highly partisan deeply poll rised political culture in which we now live. I am squibsed the great debates of the 1970s over womens rights and goal plays a crucially underrecognized role of that trans forge. Now over the dozen or more years i have been working on this book it has seemed more and more relevant to temporary affairs, but never more during this 2016 election when the level of polarization reached a point none of us imagined. The focal point of divided we stand is a focal point of that became lightning rods for cultural politics. They were called International Womens year or iwy coverages because of their u. N. Origins. They were inspired by a Worldwide Movement which declared 1975 to be International Womens year. President jerry ford observed the year, two Staff Members are sitting here in the audience who have written their own inside story about this that you should read. He appointed a republican feminist, jill roll kug house as priding officer. That year was a International Year conference, a Truly International one that took place in mexico city. They urged participating nations to hold conferences to involve the women of their countries indrafting policy on womens issues. American feminist leaders, such as new york congresswoman bell who attended the conference were inspired greatly, by participation they were eager to have these kinds of gatherings, believing that involving women all over the country in this process of formulating recommendations, was going to help to introduce them to the Womens Movement to expand its reach and to diverse fie the movement itself. So, late in 1975, Congress Approved a bill that shed introduce that mandated and funded these meetings that would then be held in 56 states and territories and they are people would coming to, anybody who was a resident of the state over 18 could coming to, debate the issues and vote about resolutions and elect delegates. Then theyd go on to a culminating womens conference that eventually to be place in november 1947, 40 years ago in houston, texas and theyre idea was to put together a plan of action that was divide the future policies in this country. It was spoken of sometimes as a blueprint for future action that congress and the president was suppose to respond to. Now, that final houston conference and those preliminary 56 state and territorial meetings leading up to it, proved to be thoroughly polar rising events. As women supporters put aside their differences and came together behind a set of feminists goals, conservator women opposed to any or all of those goals, joined forces to oppose them with enduring consequences for the nation. Now, curiously these iwdy coverages that im arguing are hugely important and attracted a feeding frenzy among the press at the time had been largely forgotten except by people who participated. And yet both feminists and conservator leaders regarded them as water shed events in American History. Feminist leader gloria speaks of a National Conference as a quote, Constitutional Convention of women or a sort of milestone that divides our time. To my delight and to that of my i had for and publisher of blooms berry who is with us tonight, she also made that point in her recent book. Her autobiography, my life on the rode. She told an interviewer from the new yorker coverage quote, may well take the prize as the most important event that nobody knows about. On the other hand, conservator leader who made no die just this past of september of the age of 92, insisted through the her long life that the iw irk she called it a battle of midway, a war between thfeminists and socl conservators that quote, sealed the fate of the era even as it gave rise to the pro Family Movement. End quote. To me, the fact that post sides assigned the iwy such tremendous significance and both stories claimed it as a victory really caution my attention and suggested this as an important story that needed to be investigated. And i became more and more convinced of this as i plunged into the sea of primary sources that were generated by this historic event. And i interviewed leading participants, including gloria, phyllis, jimmy and rose land carter and in fact jimmy carters presidency, political foreig fortunes and legacy i believe were greatly affected by the iwy. I realize in order to understand these events of 77, i have to go back to the early 70s and to the evident that set off this historic contest that was celebrated as the first federally funded revolution, and was denounced as federal sponsorship of one side of a national debate. In the process i rediscovered an era in our recent past in my own adult life so different from the culture of the day, the political culture of today as to be almost forgotten. An era when the modern womens Rights Movement was enjoying widespread support among republicans and democrats alike, and politicians who were seeking to rally conservator support, focused on race or economics or Foreign Policy but not on gender. I also needed to look at the period immediately following, the iwdy conferences, 1978 to 1980 to understand the climate developed in those years when the two parties chose up side in an increasingly volatile debate about womens rights and family values. These were years when a shift in American Political Culture, one that had been revealed and encouraged by these iwy conferences of 77 became increasingly evident. So, the early parts of the book, leading up to the 77 conferences, described the widening divisions among the american women in the 1970s. I began by describing the rise of the womens Rights Movement to a pique period of influence to the decade. This was a remarkable period in which feminists were highly visible in both parties and working together through the bipartisan National Women political caucus founded in 1971, and conservator women have yet to become organized and active. All three branchs of the federal government acted in support of feminist goals. I know you find this hard to believe or to remember, but even richard nixon, an old friend of feminism, he was referred to as americans number one shove insist pig felt obliged to cater to them believes thats what women voters wanted. During congress which was 1971 to 72 more womens rights sessions were passed, more womens rights goals were passed than in all previous legislative sessions combined. That included one that we all talk about all the time which was title nine, which ban sex discrimination and education. People seem to remember it all the time particularly for its impact on sports but it banned every form of sex discrimination from k through university level. Now, the most dramatic evidence of congressional support from womens rights came in 1972. By its approval by overwhelming margins of the proposed equal rights amendment, that had the support from the left and the right, from republicans and from democrats, the vote in the house was 350, yes, and 15 no. It was senate it was 84 for, and 8 against. Within a year, 30 of the 38 states that were needed for ratification had approved it. Then the next year, 1973, the Supreme Court acted issuing the ray Decision Making abortion legal. And there was widespread support for it. 1975, gallop poll showed three out of four americans believed abortions should be legal in some circumstances. Meanwhile, conservator women were quietly simmering as National Politicians seemed to accept feminists as speaking for all american women. Congressional approval of the e. R. A. Was the last straw that turned their anger to action. Phyllis, a season republican activists quickly emerged as the leader of conservators and founded an organization which was stop e. Rchl average which stood for stop taking or privilege. A year later it had been pushed aside as leaders for republican women as nelson rack fell rock fela. She was the author of that famous booklet called a choice not an echo which convinced large numbers of republicans to support his candidacy. Now being pushed out of this leadership role in her party put her in an ideal position to lead what became a bipartisan movement against the e. R. A. Now as she took up the cause, she already had a large group of followers, experienced activists with whom she communicated through what the news later called the phyllis report. These activists couldnt have done the job without a large body of foot soldier. Most of them, christian conservator women, completely new to politics saw themselves as defender of traditional morality and empowered by the conviction that god was on their side. By middecade conservator had managed to stall the e. R. A. Band wagon, short of votes needed for the ratification and for the fir time its success seemed in jeopardy. Fill lus created an organization which she offered a quote, alternative to womens live. She pledged not only to stop the e. R. A. But roll back over feminists gangs and this is still an Organization Organization still flourishing. The Womens Movement still to have support in congress, and president jerry ford whose wife betty was a femmeny was solidly behind it. Conservator women were appalled and angry at the establishment of this feminist dominated International Womens prom which congress then, as i mentioned mandated with a 5 million appropriation. So the book then turns back to this, to this iwy program. A fight that heighten tensions between the two sides that had been brewing and profoundly poll rising. Much of the conflict came before the houston conference and took place at the states leading up to National Women conference, that took place for a very steamy and controversial conference in 1977. Armageddon state by state, out of the kitchen and into the counter revolution, and mama said thered be days like this, and ascribe this astounding sometimes physical violence conflict that ensued as these war in Womens Movement turned out their troops, forged coalition, armed themselves with rules and continued to control the state galleries and to speak for american women. My central arguments are these, in creating the iwy program, congress had done something very unusual and with huge unintended consequences. This unique invitation from congress propelled feminist and conservators already em battled of the proposed e. R. A. And claiming to representative the majority of american women into a formalized high stakes, competition for influence. Feminists had convinced congress to create the iwy program and jerry ford, later jimmy carter appointed feminists from their parties to lead it. And so, this success of feminist, in gaining this man gait from the conferences from congress, and from two president s, fuelled the fires of conservator resistance. The iwy coverages of 77, ledly ab zuck had another crucial event. Before 1977, many feminist strategies had fought to disassociate the e. R. A. From controversy sall issues including abortion and gay rights. During iwy they chose a different course, formally embracing many issues. And also, taking a new and dramatic step, which to add to the feminist agenda, the protection of the lesbian and gay rights. That of course was a brand new and extremely volatile political issue in this crucial year of 1977, thank to anita brie yans, save our children campaign, originated out of dade, florida in 1977 and spread throughout the country. And, the fact that the iwy program had ties to the united nations, alarmed conservators who were deeply distrustful of that organization. As the iwy program proceeded through the years 1977, the campaign that had been organized by phyllis in 72 to block e. R. A. E ratification blew into a full blown issue. Particularly, religious conservators and an unprecedented display of unity among conservator catholics and prod stents, Orthodox Jews and mormons. This was the cutting edge to into politics. This was the precursor to what would soon be known as the religious right and which new right leaders would take the credit or blame. Conservator coalitions contesting feminist leadership of this conferences vary from state to state but in some areas they tracted support from far right groups including the john Better Society and the american party. Even more shocking the ku klux klan leaders seem to filtrate their words. And in some states including utah, oklahoma, mississippi, and alabama conservators gained total control. They offered a challenge to feminists even in such states as massachusetts, california, hawaii and the great state of new york where rumors that the conservators were trying to take over the conference and turned out large numbers, led huge numbers of feminists to change their plans and head for all that needed to participate in that event. One of the most important developments of these battles between feminists and conservators for control of these state meetings and be able to take send voters to the National Conference and dominate the National Plan of action, was that an alliance was forged for the first time between the im e. R. A. And the antiabortion or Pro Life Movements, which previously in their effort to attract as wide a range of supporters as possible has chosen to remain single issue movements. Conservatorives when all the smoke cleared in the summer was over they succeeded in electing only 20 delegates of the houston conference. They likened it to the victory of david over goliath. The next section and the one that many readers have said is there favorite, and i have to admit is mine also, focuses on the houston conference. On this grand, culminating star spangled National Womens conference in houston or november of 77. One of the most dramatic and inspirational moments of the history in Womens Movement sometimes referred to as the crest of the second waver. The conference and a massive conservator counter conference that took place across the county houston in the arena in 1977 put on display around the world, the national and produced a consciousness raising experience of massive proportions. Outside the conference, as the delegates arrived they saw protesters denouncing in signs the National Womens conference has a 5 million tax rip off for lesbians, lob yans, antiabortion and antichristian women. Women distinctioned in many other fields were eagle to attend. It received extraordinary publicity that were over 1,500 Police Vehicles for press credentials. Ranging from far in crest to small town papers. Alist journalists flock to houston. In the glare of national, indeed International Publicity the delegat delegates arrived with this cast of celebrities. Maya ang lieu, belly king, margaret meade, Jean Stapleton who as some of you recall played edith bunker, the most beloved housewife in america on the popular sitcom, all in the family. From a political perspective, former first lady, lady berg johnson, democratic, betty ford, republican, joined on the podium, as well as the first lady of the civil Rights Movement, colorado coret that scott king. The two feminists included some of their goals what thats they hoped to achieve, moving the movement beyond its white middle class base and moving it past the ideological wrangling that would played the movement in the near decade. Coretta scottki king surroundey women of africanamerican, latin women who claim there is a new sisterhood and justice taz been born here and we will not be divided and defeated again. And then most of the audience stood and joined hands and as they swayed back and forth saying, we shall overcome, many of them with tears streaming down their cheeks, betty fordan who in the past had warned against feminist shocked audiences when she stood and before the cameras seconded the resolution to include gay rights in the National Plan of action. That then prompted conservative delegates to stand and turn their backs to the podium dropping their heads as if in prayer. This National Plan of action that they adopted was a historically significant document that incorporated the moderated goals of the founding mothers of the 60s and the more radic radical women who had cam into the museum through war and civil rights museum, which propose salas written 40 years ago, nonetheless seems please yant today, which included the end of the deportation of undocumented women and children. When near the end of the conference, delegates adopted the plank calling for the ratification of the e. R. A. People went wild. There could be no more Business Done for the day they were hugging and singing and marching. The day was over. Feminist leaders celebrated the new sense of solidarity among people but solidarity of feminist was not the same as solidarity among other women, which some of the conservatives made Crystal Clear to the audiences across the nation. Protesters who had come from all over the nation, on buses and planes and cars and vans to a massive rally, which according to the press sing more like a religious revival than a political rally, denouncing quote, federally funned feminism and condemning the participation of the first lady at events that they said endorsed preversion and murder of mothers babies in their mothers woman. And ininsisting they had somebody on their side far more powerful than the president of the United States and made it clear that feminists did not speak for them. Embolden by the success of having this tremendous turn out, they denounced the determination to roll back feminists gang and restore a moral and strength through what they called a pro Family Movement. So, the last chapters tell us what happened when these grueling groups of activists, feminists on one hand, conservatives on the other and all fired up by their iwy experience, left houston, wen home and ranched up their competition for political influence in the period between november 77 and the november 1980 president ial election. Feminists were extremely hopeful about the impledges of the National Plan which would face many disappointments. A down turn in the economy left little room for the expand federal programs that theyd hope for. When the president was criticized publicly he fired her abruptly as head of her Advisory Committee for women and made her into a feminist mar for. Now refusing to endorse for nomination. And when carter lost, his aid Hamilton Jordan said that feminist had gotten in Ronald Reagan, quote, what they richly deserved. End quote. Carter continued to reach out to womens rights at voekds and at the same time try to mend fences with social conservatives by seemed to alienate both in the process. When i interviewed him and asked him about that he went off on a tirade about how upset he was that the feminists were so upset with him. His neck got red, he clinched his face and was saying, if i didnt agree with him on everything they gave me credit for being with them on nothing. And i said, but hold on hold on, you know, the essential skecons turns against you too. He go, yeah, but that doesnt hurt my feelings. As for the other party the houston republican feminists faced major problems while women of the pro Family Movement made major gains. Pro family women who applied their political skills to greet effect in these years worked hard for their nomination of their champion Ronald Reagan who fully embraced their positions. They worked with new york leaders who for upcoming election. The success in politicizing and uniting religious services kr expounded the right who found fighting federally funded feminists acontractive. This included many white southerners, bitter over years, eager to take back their country. Shrewd political strategists pointing out the prom nance of africanamerican, civil rights advocates as well as, quote, aborti abortionist and per verts at the womens conference using the iwy as a rallys cry, means of appealing to white southerners. Trying to successfully hang around carters next the iwy. Never mind it had been started by a republican administration, and promoted the grand all party as the best means for conservatives to take back their country. Indeed, a major point of the book is this, that in the late 70s, genre issues began to replace racial issues as socially acceptable rallying points who believe in aspiring in differences and natural hierarchies. Many pro family women were successful in gaining leadership on the platform and led the republican part to address its record for the support of the civil rights amendment and to adopt a pro life. Republican feminists were overcome, shocked, dismayed, former allies including george windchill factor bush who supported the e. R. A. And had a moderate opinion on abortion, was no help to them. Bush agreed to accept the feminists platform positions as the price of becoming reagans running mate. Republican feminist tanya megan of the north condemned her decision to let the religion right dictate on issues. So what a difference a decade had made, whereas the 1970, both party supported the womens right movement. In 1980, the republicanings chose to take side with the other Womens Movement, one that took womens rights as family values. The platforms of americas two Major National party in 1980 revealed just how the nation had become over gender issues. Id like to say just a couple of things about what happened from that point forward. Blooms mary asked me to bring the story in one epilogue up from 1980 to the present. Now, i was doing this in the midst of last summer, and again the contemporary relevance of this story was clear there. I cant go into all of it, i recommend that 30page epilogue to read but let me just say a couple of highlights. In 1980, that election revealed a couple of trends that have proved to be enduring and shaped or politics ever since. One, women voted greater than men at that time. And democrats and contribute this womens gap to the Womens Movement which has talking women to see their own values in political terms. Feminists were quick to identify and publicize this gap in a last ditch effort to save the e. Rchl a. And generally enhance their political cloud. Early in the 80s, it was declared carters defeat a lesson for the democrats, books published predicting the gap that will lead to major advances in womens and feminists goals and warned that politicians ignored it. Republicans were put on defensive. You may remember reagan adviser lee at water. He worried that this could be seeing a sex based political realignment and advised republicans to be, and youll love this, very careful in their public expressions and not alienate women. What he also suggest is how Many Political scientists every since that the gender rap could and the result of mens reference for a real mans man like reagan. Gop strategists also took comfort in the idea that this was more of a marriage gap than a gender gap, perhaps even a racial gap pointing out that most white married women tended to vote for republicans. Gop leaders understood the enhanced importance of womens votes, but for the most part since 1980, they have tried to one womens votes, not by changing politician positions but they embracing policies and appealed to their pro family base. As democrats, particularly white southerners that signed on with gop the Republican Party game more universally conservative and the Democratic Party more uniformly liberal. Democrats continue to support womens right as long as with civil rights for africanamericans and hispanic and became increasingly supportive for whats known as the lgbt community. Republicans became for racial and double down on its defense of traditional family. And attacks on feminism, or put differently, defense of family values proved to be politically useful, especially in the south. Antifeminism offered a new and successful southern strategy that helped these republicans to turn the south red. Feminists have continued to insist that democrats honor their commitment to womens rights. Support for womens rights to legal abortion long ago became a requirement for the partys nomination for the presidency. The two democratic president since 1980, bill clinton and barack obama clearly identified with the feminist movement. Both appointed a Record Number of women to their parties. Obama clearly wanted Hillary Clinton to succeed him calling her the most qualified her honor to ever run for president. Both sides made gain wen their party was in power and experienced losses when they were not. One of the clearest examples of that was the socalled mexico city policy on the gag rule that prohibits foreign aid with any agency with any connection to abortion. Implemented by reagan, maintained by bush, lifted immediately by clinton and reinstated immediately by george w. Bush, lifted obama and reinstated by trump. On the other hand, the women of the pro Family Movement and their political descendants, have kept the republicans feet to the fire. Punish dance, who in years past often express wonder that given the increasingly large gender gaps that still the gop didnt track to the left on womens issues, these punish dants seem not to notice that the gop base include not only white men but angry white women as well. And in the 1970s those were the women who had demanded a politician stop backing feminism. And in the modern era they were not about to back down. Slaply working with a tech savvy well armed continue to be a force into politics. By the 2016 election, like many on the gops right, she was bitter that the Party Establishment had refused to nominate the most conservative candidate in every election since reagan. She and others on the right were determined this past year that they and not the gop establishment would pick the nominee. And when she endorsed trump early in 2016, after meeting with him and obtaining a promise to honor the platform request of the religious right, she then played a major role in selecting him over cruz as the gop nominee. She laply was a major factor i am claiming here in his getting the nomination. And then, as we know, Kellyanne Conway helped trump pull victory from the jaws of defeat late in the campaign. And then white married women, especially noncollege women made his victory possible. In closing, let me say this. By 1980, the polarization of feminist and conservatives led to two enduring policy of women and families. For the rest of the 20th century and into the 21st, the past debate on gender issues proved to be transform tifr. As the personal game political, and the political became personal, and issues lay den with religious or moral significance laid in the fo forefront of the debates, politicians found that devalue, senseless and income with democrats and politicians lined up on either side of these volatile related issues they tend to nonenize their opponents and find issues strictly in partisan terms, a situation as we foe contributed to dread lock. So as politicians and scholars struggle to understand women in politics today, to understand them as voters and candidates, they would do well to pay more tension to the developments of the 1970s when the polarization of feminists and antifeminists also poll rise American Political Culture giving rise to the politics of the today. It is my hope that this book will contribute to the national conversation, by shedding light on the origins of this prolonged period of partisanship and polarization that continues to keep our leaders from dealing with many pressing issues facing our nation and world today. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you for that enlightning presentation. Im sure theres some questions from the audience. Anyone whods a question you can come up here to the microphone and professor spruill will take the question. Dont be shy. Could you comment about the impact that both the civil Rights Movement and the Antiwar Movement had in terms of sort of generating activity on either side of the questions gender that youre talking about if. Yes. As i was mentioning the modern womens Rights Movement as i talk about in the book comes about as a result of many factors, but it begins in the early 60s with the Kennedy Commission that all women that studied the issues and made recommendations, and got the government involved for the first time and really addressing these situations, the problems, and pretty soon that there were these kmcommissions in every state. But, these as i said were largely moderate, pragmatic middle class and older women who were then joined by a new group that came of younger women, many of them were radical women that were inspired or lets just say, had some grievances as a result of the civil Rights Movement and the new left, Antiwar Movement failing to take their issues seriously enough. Many of them were africanamerican women as well as white women and in both cases inspired by the examples of many africanamerican women who were star wars of the civil Rights Movement, so that was very important. Also, the civil Rights Movement took many of its tactics and imulated many of the strategies that many of the civil Rights Movement made. They clearly realized they were building on the successes of the civil Rights Movement. As we mentioned there were those that believe that now organization for women needed to be formed, so the Womens Museum would have an Advocacy Group similar to the naacp that was press out the movement for change. So, if that way theres two movements. Ones becoming a Mass Movement ahead of the other, inspired and influenced the other. And, by the time the Womens Museum is really getting under way in the late 60s and early 70s there are wisdom who had been supportive in the civil Rights Movement, even going down to risk her life to defend willy mcgee, a black man accused of raining a white woman who was executed, a very i greejs act. I believe the federal government do for the Womens Movement what they had done to bring about social change when came to race. There was a strong connection between the two movements. Also, i might add the wrap on the Womens Museum that it was also from the beginning of middle class, White Movement but it was also much more diverse than that. During the International Womens year coverages, the leaders were making a very strong effort to diverse fie it even more, that act of congress, southwesterpec spelled out that the delegates to houston, who had participate in formulating the National Plan of action, had to represent the racial make up of their states. And, there was huge amount of effort to make the delegations there diverse ethically, religious and in terms of economic situations. And women of color, including many heroes of the civil Rights Movement were very prominently engaged in that movement. In a way, it seemed as if in houston that the goal seemed to merge the womens right movement and the civil Rights Movement into a massive human Rights Movement that included defense of the rights of the gays and lesbians as well. In a way, you might say that all of these movements came together to form the modern Democratic Party in a way, because the modern Democratic Party has stood for working for the rights of these groups. Okay, so that really made a lot of people mad, and a lot of what i saw in the movement against the womens Rights Movement, it seem as though a whole lot of the same people who had resisted the civil Rights Movement were engaged. And a lot of the tactics that they used were similar. Sam irving for example, the senator from north carolina, who had used all of his political skills to resist the civil Rights Movement for so many years. He put every bit of that into trying to fight the e. R. A. As i mention in here, that in each one of the states, some more than others, that the White Nationalist groups became very involved, many of the women who were leading the effort against iwy, where women who had been part of the movement to stop the civil Rights Movement. Most notably an organization that few people ever heard of called women for constructional governme Constitutional Government that started in mississippi and spread to become a national organization. Its striking to me that the numbers of the women who remember hart of this movement to might the iwy who was part of that movement. I think there were lots of ways these things were intercheck requested there were radical statements that came out of the iwy of women working together who in the end concluded that fighting against racism, gender and prejudice were really fighting something that was the same thing. Thank you for your question. Thank you for a wonderful lecture. My question deals with rowe verse wade. Despite the gain that the branch was made, sfiet the fact they had conservative president s they have yet to overturn it. They have in some states heard it and had in the Supreme Court rejected those things. Do you see them ever overturns rowe v wade and if so is it going to be a yore problem to pay for that . He is saying for years the trying to jofr turn rowe v wade havent done that that theres a possibility that that might happen. Absolutely i think that is, definitely. One of the key things that was up in the air in the last political length was the issue of the Supreme Court. And many people who were passionately concerned about the Supreme Court, that was the issue that was upper most in their minds. So, from 1980 on, from the point at which lafley believed they had killed the e. R. A. , she turned her attention to trying to get the Supreme Court in the hands of the conservatives. They started working to get people in the pipelines who would be able to be appointed. And the 1980 gop platform that dropped the 40 year record of support for the e. R. Average also put the gop formally on record as about Pro Life Party or as they call it, the party of life. They endorsed the idea of the human life amendment and they called for a lit nus test for all federal appointees, judges on the they must have pro life positions. Of course reagan nominated sandra day owe conner. Now trump has trumsed that if he gets another appointment that it will be someone who would take a pro life decision. So absolutely that could happen. Wouldnt that be wouldnt there be a tremendous cause to that, overthrowing something that existed for 45 years . As we saw with the healthcare issue. I think that absolutely there would be a tremendous you saw the january 21st marches in the street. If that happen i think youd see about twice that many people show up. Absolutely, i believe its something that a whole generation of people have grown up with believing that that issue was resolved. And not there has been a tremendous increase in support for the Pro Life Movement in part as the years go by since people remember a huge number of babies found in fetuses in trash cans, women bleeding to death from back alley abortions. As those instances have faded from memory, and as it has been put in a position in which there is less emphasize on punishing women but seeing women who seek to get abortions as victims who should be supported. And as the stigma of unwed motherhood has faded in an effort to keep people from getting abortions, theres been a shift in thinking, and the one of the major victories of the pro Family Movement has been to increase the am of support for ending abortion. But at the same time, every National Poll indicates that the majority of americans continue to believe that abortion should be legal in some form and that its largely decided between a woman and her doctor. And so, yes, i absolutely think that it would be there are you know there are sinnics that say the republicans dont really want to get rid of rowe v. Wade bauds contributions would dry up. I take at least the activists more at their word that this is something that really matters to them, its something they care about. It definitely would be a huge upheaval and its almost a hard reaction to image what that will bring. Thank you. I also want to thank you for an interesting riveting lecture. This is not my question but ive always considered race the kind of dog whistle issue, you know in this country. And to hear to sort of hear a gender take on it is provocative and interesting. So thank you for that. My question has to do with the time that you undoubtedly spent sort of living the iwy conference and putting your revisionist history hat on, which im sure you hate to do but im going to ask you because its a public form. Is there anything you think they could have done differently to really sort of, you know, forstall the rise of the eagle forum . Could they have not taken all these issues into their platform or emphasize Economic Issues . What do you think could have been done differently . Thats an excellent question. There has been times when people reacted to all of this by saying, wait a minute, so youre blaming all this on the women, youre blaming this on the feminists . Did they really make a straight people blame everything on us, this is the reaction ive gotten. That is not at all my intent. I definitely believe there was a strong counter reaction to the fact that feminists came together with this broad platform in which they put their stamp of approval on these and created a wide target. There were people, and youll remember this, that thought that all this maybe wasnt such a great idea. One over the things i discovered and put in the book was that the republicans feminist who were heading the National Commission of the observes advance on the iwy was not quite so sure this was a good idea. I think sensing that if you open these meetings up to anybody that anything can happen and being very aware by that time of how determined and capable phyllis was, and she very quickly announced her determination to either stop these coverages from happening, or if not, to quote, make the livers sorry they ever had them. Thats what she said. So was it a strategic era. I dont know. Because the thing is i mentioned at beginning, both sides claimed victory. This National Conference did a great deal for the National Womens right movement. When gloria said it was the most important thing that no one knows about, what shes talking about is that it exposed huge numbers of people all around the country to the Womens Movement, to as they said, real feminist rather than media created stereo types. And in towns all over the country, women who feel like they were the only one who had feminist perspectives and felt the world should change and wanted to work for womens right suddenly made allies and built networks. They were encouraged and psychologically supported and they got to work. One study of this report shows there was not hardly a soul that was a delegate in houston that didnt lobby actively to try to get the action done. I mean, they were really fired up. And you might notice if you were to look at that National Plan of action that the goals that they endorsed at that time are still ones that the Womens Movement is working on achieving today. And a whole lot of them have been achieved. There has been a lot of progress. You also have to always realize when a platform formed you really have accomplished something. And i would also say the civil Rights Movement created in spite of really big backlash, should they have not done it . Should they not have tried . I dont believe that and i dont believe you do either. Thank you for that answer. I like that. Okay. You have to come to the microphone. We cant hear you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you so much for being here, marjorie. Thank you. I recently saw a film called equal means equal. Its a documentary, have you seen it . One of the most disturbing films about women i have ever seen. And ive seen an awful lot of documentaries in my life. So im wondering, one of the things that i learned is that the equal rights amendment has never been passed. So what do you believe, if anything, needs to happen for that amendment to be revived and passed . When you see this film equal means equal, you would be very, very interested in seeing this film. So i would recommend highly that you you probably can watch it on the line. Okay. Is it a film about what would have happened had the no. Its about its a documentary about women and how not far weve come. Basically. First of all, i personally think we have come a very long way. And i do not think the feminist movement lost. And i do not think that the feminist movement not being able to get the e. R. A. Passed meant that we lost. It was so much a symbol of the womens Rights Movement that huge numbers of people have taken its failure to mean that we lost. And we didnt. No, of course not. The main thing that the i think the two main accomplishments of the conservative Womens Movement since the 1980s have been to restrict, greatly restrict, access to abortion. And the other one to make feminism a dirty word. And the way that they did that was to take the utterances of the most extreme less people with points of view that are very unpopular and paint the entire movement as if there were no such thing as a moderate feminist. It was like they refused to recognize it even existed. And to try to discredit that movement. And its amazing how effective they were in doing that, for many years. But as you know, in recent years all of the sudden the feminism has become cool again. And popular again. And there are people with different ideas about what it means and everyone from laura bush to sarah palin to emma watson to beyonce are all embracing the term. But at any rate, even that victory has not been a lasting one. Okay. But the equal rights amendment, there is a lot of speculation about why the impact of it not becoming added to the constitution. Now, scalia, before he died, would give speeches at law schools in which he said that the principle of womens equality is not in the constitution. But large numbers of other people whether they were for womens rights or against would say that they are and that they were in there through the 14th amendment. The trouble was that until the 1970s, none of the courts interpreted it that way. And so as a result people were believing that in the 70s there should be a twofold strategy. One is to get an e. R. A. Which alice paul envisioned as a blanket amendment that in one fail swoop would cause all of the discrimination to go away. And there were others such as Ruth Bader Ginsburg who was in the 70s leading a Program Sponsored by the aclu, womens equity project, in which she would take up issues case by case by case, all with the goal of getting womens rights to equal protection recognized and that 14th amendment provisions applied to them too. And that was done. And the irony was that in the fight over the equal rights amendment there were people who said you dont need an equal rights amendment because the courts are always are already ruling over and over again in your favor. And a friend of mine, aretha segal, a yale constitutional law professor written a rule called the de facto e. R. A. In which she says we have an e. R. A. For all intents and purposes because in the fight over the e. R. A. Even the e. R. A. Opponents conceded the principle of womens equality and said you dont need an e. R. A. Because youve got equality anyway. The other side of that of course is that, and were seeing some reasons for this today, that once power changes and you have different people who are making legislative decisions, Controlling Congress and the white house, that without the e. R. A. Those gains are at risk. It always puzzled me that conservatives are very much against big government. And government, you know, bloat, they talk about government bloat and government being too much regulation and interfering in our lives, but in the case of legalized abortion they seem to be in our bedrooms. So i cant seem to get my head wrapped around that. On the one hand, you know, its too much big government, but on the other hand they want to interfere with our private lives. So i wish you would like you to comment on that. Well, all i can say is i understand your point that each side wants the government to do something different. And then just have to say that points out one of the Biggest Challenges to us ever getting past the polarization of our country and that is that there are some issues about which people feel so strongly and feel at the core of their being that theyre loaded with moral and religious significance and that they cannot compromise on. And people and that particular issue is seems to be perhaps even more than the gay rights issue one about which there is an impasse. And i dont know where that would go. During the 90s, clinton proposed, you know, safe, legal and rare. But to people who are prolife, the fact that they have all each one is a murder and a sin and is not supposed to happen and so i just dont know how were going to ever get past that. I think there are many issues about which people fight and dont compromise which they ought to be able to and that we ought to find ways. Lets listen to each other, try to not demonize our opponents and be reasonable. That one is for the reasons you say its a tough one. And i dont know where were going with that. Anybody else . [ applause ] i want to thank you, professor. My pleasure. Thank you. Thank you for your patience and questions. Coming up on cspan3s American History tv. A look at the salem witch trials. Salem State University took an indepth look into the history of salem and how the witch trials continue to impact the town today. Then a look at legal documents from the trials. And later, a discussion on how salem, massachusetts, became known as the witch city. Next, author and salem State University professor Emerson Baker with an indepth look into the history of salem. He explores how it went from a