Phyllis Shlafly Case

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Primary Document 08: Phyllis Schlafly - The Fraud of the Equal Rights Amendment (1972)
1) Why does Phyllis Schlafly oppose the Equal Rights Amendment? Is she justified (please make sure you understand what “justified” means)? Why or why not?
Women have dealt with and lost to inequality prior to the 1970s. However, the 1970s marked the first major conservative victories with the defeat of the Equal Rights Amendment (ERA). The ERA urged to update the Constitution to amend, “equality of rights under the law” could not be abridged because of sex.” The measure was first passed by Congress in 1972, but soon after received negativity from people who claimed it ruined the reputation of housewives. Phyllis Schlafly, a conservative activist, opposed …show more content…

Petroleum is a natural resource abundant in Middle Eastern countries which became imperative to the U.S. and England. England and the British Petroleum (BP) had control over the oil fields in Iran and did not distribute the benefits among the people. In 1940s, popular politician, Mosaddegh led a strike in favor of the poor Iranians. In 1951, Mosaddegh was appointed as Prime Minister of Iran and attempted to nationalize the oil fields. In 1953, the British and U.S. spy agencies released Operation Ajax on the Iranian government. In result, General Mohammad-Reza seized power as a Shah and acted as an absolute monarch. The Shah was a fascist puppet of the U.S. government and used a secret police organization called SAVAK to force allegiance. The SAVAK censored media, forced intrusive surveillance, tortured and murdered opponents. In 1979, religious fundamentalists dethroned the Shah and took 66 American hostages from the U.S. embassy. The group would return the hostages in exchange for the Shah’s return to Iran in order to stand trial for his crimes. President Jimmy Carter attempted diplomacy and a military rescue of the hostages but did not succeed. Carter became aware of the consequences of the nation’s dependence on foreign oil and delivered a State of the Union Address. Carter stated, “Our excessive dependence on foreign oil is a clear and present danger to our Nation 's security.” The dependence on foreign oil escalated to endangerment of American lives. The United States needed to find an alternative energy in order to secure the safety of the nation. Carter stated the nation should, “develop solar power, realistic pricing based on the true value of oil, strong incentives for the production of coal and other fossil fuels… investment in the development of synthetic fuels.” With the addition of alternative energies, the US involvement in foreign soil would decrease and in