Women's Movement

The1964 Civil Rights Act ended public segregation and discrimination based on race, color, religion or nation origin but a title regarding sexual discrimination in the workplace was introduced on the House floor at the last minute of debate in February of ’64 but undoubtably backfired on Rep. Howard Smith of Virginia.  He lead his argument on the back’s of Nebraskan spinsters crying foul via world wars killing off their supply of eligible bachelor’s (1). With resolute support, Katherine St. George of New York announced to Congress:

 “We do not want special privilege... We outlive you. We nag you to death...I believe that we can hold our own. We are entitled to this little crumb of equality.”

Other Southern politicians claimed that this addition to the bill could actually discriminate white females over black. And many Southern politicians actually believed the nonsense that they were spewing.  President Johnson was against it as a measure of precaution, he believed that only identical bills in the House and Senate would ensure passage.  

The year before, Betty Friedan published The Feminine Mystique; the women’s equality movement began to rise.  At the 1968 Miss American Pageant was actively protested; bras, lipstick and high-heels were burned on the Atlantic City boardwalk. (2) The Equal Right Amendment was passed by two-thirds of the House and Senate in 1972 but failed to receive the require votes state-by-state for passage.(3)  

Courtesy of Google Images 

The women’s movement of the 1970’s has clever connections to major political party realignment of the 1960's: For the next time, George Wallace, Barry Goldwater and LBJ face off at the 1964 Democratic National Convention at The Atlantic City Cow Palace. 

(1) Taylor Branch, Pillar of Fire (New York: Simon and Schuster Paperbacks, 1998) pg. 212 or 232.
(2) John D'Emilio and Estelle B. Freedman, Intimate Matters: A History of Sexuality in America (New York: Harper & Row Publishers, 1988), pg. 302.
(3) Robert Griffith and Paula Baker. Major Problems in American History Since 1945 (New York: Houghton Mifflin Company, 2007), pgs. 280-323.