The Right Fight? The LDS Campaign Against the Equal Rights Amendment

In her soon-to-be released book, Pedestals and Podiums: Utah Women, Religious Authority, and Equal Rights, Martha Bradley examines the history of Utah and Mormon women’s involvement in the battle over the Equal Rights Amendment, which formed the basis of a rhetorical political war that divided women like nothing since the fight for suffrage. During the decade between 1972 and 1982, when ratification efforts had failed, the United Nations created a National Commission to organize a National Women’s Year, a national convention for women, and state conventions to study the key issues impacting the lives of American women. How were these battles fought? What are their enduring legacies?

MARTHA SONNTAG BRADLEY