Sign-In
Cart
Elusive Victory: The Equal Rights Amendment Fight in Illinois
Hardcover
General Political ScienceRegional: Midwest
ISBN13: 9780809340071
Publisher: Southern Illinois University Press
Published: Nov 5 2026
Pages: 346
Weight: 0.14
Language: English
Inside the Illinois showdown that derailed the Equal Rights Amendment
In this gripping account of one of the most consequential political battles of the twentieth century, Mark R. DePue takes readers inside the fight that halted the Equal Rights Amendment. Drawing upon hundreds of hours of original oral history interviews, DePue reconstructs the drama, strategy, and emotion of the ERA showdown in Illinois, the state that became the amendment's most critical battleground.
First introduced in Congress in 1923, the Equal Rights Amendment has endured for more than a century as one of the most debated yet still unratified proposals in American constitutional history. Its ratification seemed closer than ever when Congress passed the ERA in 1972 and sent it to the states with a seven-year deadline, but in Illinois, a constitutional quirk stalled its momentum. Optimism faltered, and what followed was a political war like no other the state had ever seen. Illinois' state legislature in Springfield became the epicenter of a national struggle over gender, power, and the future of the Constitution.
At the center of the storm stood Phyllis Schlafly, the formidable conservative activist from Alton, Illinois, whose STOP ERA movement transformed a faltering amendment into a rallying cry for the New Right. Opposing her and her allies was an array of feminist organizers, legislators, celebrities, clergy, union members, and grassroots activists--often divided among themselves--who believed that equality under the law was within reach. Bringing creativity, passion, and persistence to the cause, they staged inventive demonstrations, lobbied relentlessly, and fought for every vote.
What sets this book apart are its extraordinary cast of characters and the chance DePue gives them to speak for themselves. Through vivid first-person testimony gathered at the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library and the University of Illinois Springfield, supporters and opponents alike reflect on their motivations, fears, strategies, and regrets. Their voices bring to life the packed committee hearings, late-night strategy sessions, and personal sacrifices behind the headlines.
By 1982, the amendment fell three states short of ratification nationwide. Illinois never delivered the votes that might have changed history.
More than a political chronicle, this is a story of conviction and conflict, ambition and compromise. It is the story of how a century-old amendment came tantalizingly close to becoming law--and how, in one state capitol, the battle over women's equality reshaped a movement and left a constitutional promise still unfinished.
Also in
Regional: Midwest
Twin Cities by Trolley: The Streetcar Era in Minneapolis and St. Paul
Diers, John W.
Isaacs, Aaron
Hardcover
Lake Minnetonka
Excelsior-Lake Minnetonka Historical Society
Wayzata Historical Society
Westonka Historical Society
Paperback
Scandinavians in the State House: How Nordic Immigrants Shaped Minnesota Politics
Bergman, Klas
Paperback
The Devil in the White City: Murder, Magic, and Madness at the Fair that Changed America
Larson, Erik
Paperback
The Worst Hard Time: The Untold Story of Those Who Survived the Great American Dust Bowl
Egan, Timothy
Paperback
The Pioneers: The Heroic Story of the Settlers Who Brought the American Ideal West
McCullough, David
Paperback
Sea of Grass: The Conquest, Ruin, and Redemption of Nature on the American Prairie
Marcotty, Josephine
Hage, Dave
Hardcover
The Devil in the White City: Murder, Magic, and Madness at the Fair That Changed America
Larson, Erik
Hardcover
Black Wall Street: From Riot to Renaissance in Tulsa's Historic Greenwood District
Johnson, Hannibal B.
Paperback
Spooky Michigan: Tales of Hauntings, Strange Happenings, and Other Local Lore
Schlosser, S. E.
Paperback
The Broken Heart of America: St. Louis and the Violent History of the United States
Johnson, Walter
Paperback
Heart of American Darkness: A Story of Murder and Revolution on the Early Frontier
Parkinson, Robert G.
Paperback
Shadow of the Bridge: The Delphi Murders and the Dark Side of the American Heartland
Cain, Áine
Greenlee, Kevin
Hardcover
The Dawn of Detroit: A Chronicle of Slavery and Freedom in the City of the Straits
Miles, Tiya
Paperback
White Pines and Stone: The Hunt for the Springfield Three
Whitcomb, Christopher
McDermott, Dylan
Hardcover
Wrecked: The Edmund Fitzgerald and the Sinking of the American Economy
Podair, Jerald
Nelson, Thomas M.
Paperback
The Great Black Swamp: Toxic Algae, Toxic Relationships, and the Most Interesting Place in America That Nobody's Ever Heard of
Wensink, Patrick
Paperback
Death in the Haymarket: A Story of Chicago, the First Labor Movement and the Bombing That Divided Gilded Age America
Green, James
Paperback
What's the Deal with Dead Man's Curve?: And Other Really Good Questions about Cleveland
Sweeney, Jim
Paperback
Lake Michigan Gales & Tales: Vanishing Ships, Tragic Wrecks, and Historic Rescues
Passwater, Michael
Paperback
One Shot at Forever: A Small Town, an Unlikely Coach, and a Magical Baseball Season
Ballard, Chris
Paperback
Brooding Upon the Waters: A Memoir of Farming, Fishing, and Failure in America's Lost Landscape
Schaap, Howard
Paperback
Wilder Weather: What Laura Ingalls Wilder Teaches Us about the Weather, Climate, and Protecting What We Cherish
Boustead, Barbara
Paperback
Spooky Great Lakes: Tales of Hauntings, Strange Happenings, and Other Local Lore
Schlosser, S. E.
Paperback
It Happened in Nebraska: Stories of Events and People That Shaped Cornhusker State History
Partsch, Tammy
Paperback
The Containment: Detroit, the Supreme Court, and the Battle for Racial Justice in the North
Adams, Michelle
Hardcover
The Containment: Detroit, the Supreme Court, and the Battle for Racial Justice in the North
Adams, Michelle
Paperback
Spooky Wisconsin: Tales of Hauntings, Strange Happenings, and Other Local Lore
Schlosser, S. E.
Paperback
Girl Without a Country: The Untold Story of a Landmark Fight for U.S. Citizenship
Ramseyer, Rick
Paperback
The Maid and the Socialite: The Brave Women Behind Green Bay's Scandalous Minahan Trials
Drews, Lynda
Paperback
Daniel Burnham and Louis Sullivan: Personal Histories of Two Icons of American Architecture
Thoreson, Trygve
Paperback
Shipwrecks and Lost Treasures: Great Lakes: Legends And Lore, Pirates And More!
Varhola, Michael
Paperback
The Girls of Murder City: Fame, Lust, and the Beautiful Killers Who Inspired Chicago
Perry, Douglas
Paperback
A Keg of Their Best: Brewing in the Beer State Capital--From the Beer Baron Era to Modern Microbrews
Shepard, Robin
Paperback
Dodge City: Wyatt Earp, Bat Masterson, and the Wickedest Town in the American West
Clavin, Tom
Paperback
Chicago's Great Fire: The Destruction and Resurrection of an Iconic American City
Smith, Carl
Paperback
The Origins of the Urban Crisis: Race and Inequality in Postwar Detroit - Updated Edition
Sugrue, Thomas J.
Paperback
It Happened in Michigan: Stories of Events and People That Shaped Great Lakes State History
Burcar, Colleen
Paperback
City of Champions: A History of Triumph and Defeat in Detroit
Szymanski, Stefan
Weineck, Silke-Maria
Hardcover
Spooky Indiana: Tales Of Hauntings, Strange Happenings, And Other Local Lore, First Edition
Schlosser, S. E.
Hoffman, Paul G.
Paperback
The Politics of Resentment: Rural Consciousness in Wisconsin and the Rise of Scott Walker
Cramer, Katherine J.
Paperback
Fishes of the Chicago Region: A Field Guide
Pescitelli, Stephen M.
Willink, Philip W.
Veraldi, Francis M.
Paperback
The Nastiest Saloon in Iowa: Murder, Prostitution, and Corruption in the Heartland
Donovan, David P.
Donovan, Rose M.
Paperback
Evanston Speaks: Oral Histories of Transformation and Triumph from a Progressive City
Hurtig, Elliott
Hardcover
Murder at Minnesota Point: Unraveling the Captivating Mystery of a Long-Forgotten True Crime
Sauve, Jeffrey M.
Paperback
When Democrats Won the Heartland: Progressive Populism in the Age of Reagan, 1978-1992
Haala, Cory
Paperback
Sin in the Second City: Madams, Ministers, Playboys, and the Battle for America's Soul
Abbott, Karen
Paperback
Vintage Cavs: A Warm Look Back at the Cavaliers of the Cleveland Arena and Richfield Coliseum Years
Pluto, Terry
Paperback
Glory Days in Tribe Town: The Cleveland Indians and Jacobs Field 1994-1997
Pluto, Terry
Hamilton, Tom
Paperback
Retracing the Dragoon Trail in Iowa: Environmental Transformation Along the Des Moines River
Mason, Kevin T.
Paperback
Land of the Burnt Thigh: A Lively Story of Women Homesteaders on the South Dakota Frontier
Kohl, Edith Eudora
Paperback
The Lions Finally Roar: The Detroit Lions and the Road to Redemption in the NFL
Morris, Bill
Paperback
The Pioneers: The Heroic Story of the Settlers Who Brought the American Ideal West
McCullough, David
Hardcover
Crime & Corruption on the Michigan Railroad: Stories from the Victorian Era
Delaware, Michael
Paperback
Lumberjack: Inside an Era in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan - 70th Anniversary Edition
Crowe, William S.
Paperback
We Had a Little Real Estate Problem: The Unheralded Story of Native Americans & Comedy
Nesteroff, Kliph
Paperback
Lincoln's Last Trial: The Murder Case That Propelled Him to the Presidency
Abrams, Dan
Fisher, David
Paperback