ELWYN B. ROBINSON DEPARTMENT OF SPECIAL COLLECTIONS
CHESTER FRITZ LIBRARY
UNIVERSITY OF NORTH DAKOTA
GRAND FORKS, NORTH DAKOTA 58202
COLLECTION: OGL #289
DATES: 1848-1980; Bulk Dates: 1973-1975
SIZE: 3.75 linear feet
ACQUISITION: The North Dakota Coordinating Council for the Equal Rights Amendment Records were deposited in the Orin G. Libby Manuscript Collection by Donna Chalimonczyk, Fargo, North Dakota, in April 1975 and June 1981 (Acc.#81-777).
ACCESS: Open for inspection under the rules and regulations of the Department of Special Collections.
The Equal Rights Amendment (ERA) was first presented to Congress in 1923. It was sponsored by Daniel Anthony, a representative of Kansas who was Susan B. Anthony's nephew. Attempts to push the bill through Congress were unsuccessful in 1923, and were so until 1970. This was due chiefly to the efforts of New York representative Emanuel Celler, the powerful chair of the House Judiciary Committee, who strongly opposed the bill.
In 1970, the Amendment was finally forced out of the Judiciary Committee through the efforts of Martha Griffith, a representative from Michigan. It was then approved by the House of Representatives on August 10, 1970 by a vote of 350-15. The Senate approved the bill by a vote of 84-8 on March 22, 1972.
For the Equal Rights Amendment to become law, it still needed to be ratified by three-fourths of the states. Hawaii became the first to ratify the amendment, taking only 30 minutes to do so. By August 1974, the amendment had been ratified by 33 of the required 38 states. By June 1978, the number had climbed to 35. Congress had originally set a ratification deadline of March 1979, but this deadline was extended to June 30, 1982. By the time the extension was up, the bill was still three states short of ratification, and failed to become law.
In North Dakota, efforts to pass ERA fell to the Coordinating Council for the Equal Rights Amendment (CCERA). The CCERA was composed of many different political, economic, religious, and social oragnizations, all of which were supportive of the amendment. Some of the groups included: the YWCA, the League of Women Voters, the North Dakota Federation of Business and Professional Women's Clubs, the American Association of University Women, and the National Organization for Women.
The first attempt at ratifying the amendment failed. In the 1973 session, the amendment was passed by a 30-20 vote in the North Dakota Senate, and by a 51-49 vote in the House. The margin in the House, however, fell one vote short of a constitutional majority, so CCERA was forced to begin again during the next legislative session.
Following an immense lobbying and informational campaign by CCERA, the amendment was ratified in North Dakota in February 1975. It passed the Senate by a 28-22 vote on January 24, 1975. On February 3, 1975, the House voted in favor of the amendment 52-49, which did represent a constitutional majority. CCERA was instrumental in preventing a potential reconsideration vote two days later, on February 5. CCERA rounded up enough supporters to flood the phone lines at the capital in an attempt to forestall a reconsideration vote. Their efforts were successful, and the reconsideration vote failed. In doing so, North Dakota became the 34th state to ratify the Equal Rights Amendment.
The Coordinating Council for the Equal Rights Amendment (CCERA) Records consist of material related to the campaign to ensure ratification in North Dakota. Newsletters and pamphlets created by CCERA are included, as are numerous press releases. Material produced by the many groups and organizations that were a part of CCERA are present. In addition, material from the ratification campaigns in other states is also included. Meeting minutes, correspondence, newspaper and periodical clippings are also part of the collection. Material regarding workshops and lobbying techniques is available as well. The majority of the collection dates from the years 1973-1975.
Folder 1. General correspondence: 1973-1977
2. CCERA correspondence: 1974-1975
3. Constituent correspondence: 1975
4. Correspondence to the Legislature regarding ERA: 1974-1975
5. Miscellaneous correspondence: September 1974-February 1975 (mostly that of
Donna Chalimonczyk)
6. Letters for Senate Judiciary and Donna Chalimonczyk
7. Personal messages to Donna Chalimonczyk
8. Financial material: 1974-1975
9. CCERA financial statement: February 22, 1975
10. Organizational meeting minutes: May 11, 1974
11. Board meeting minutes, memos to board members, questionnaire: May-December
1974
12. Petitions for ERA: 1974
13. Petitions for referendum: March 1974
14. Poll of legislature and legislative candidates on ERA: 1974
15. Profiles of North Dakota legislators: 1974-1975
16. Strategy: 1974
17. CCERA survey: 1972-1977
18. Successful candidate surveys: 1974
19. Unsuccessful candidate surveys: 1974
20. Testifier: 1975
21. True/False Questionnaire: 1973
22. You’ve Come a Long Way, Baby (true/false informational survey): July 1971
23. ERA promotional material from various national groups
24. ERA coalitions in other states: May 1974
25. Groups in favor of or opposed to ERA: November 1974-January 1975
26. Men for ERA, mailing and membership lists: undated
27. CCERA Newsletter: June 1974-February 1975
28. Various newsletters from political groups in North Dakota, 1974-1975
29. The Greeter (Bismarck promotional magazine): March 1978
30. The ERA--News and Views: March 1974
31. ND Now: 1977
32. Newsletters from other states regarding ERA: 1975
33. Federal and state labor bulletins: 1972-1973
34. Examples of Pro-ERA form letters: 1974-1975
35. Miscellaneous notes taken down during the debate surrounding ERA
36. Notes on potential pro-ERA lobbyists: October 1974
37. ERA supporting documents, including campaign strategy and ERA Coloring
Book: undated
Folder 1. Donna Chalimonczyk’s Calls Diary: September 1974-January 1975
2. Pro-ERA pamphlets: undated
3. American Psychiatric Association statement on ERA: 1974
4. Citizen’s Advisory Council on the Status of Women: undated
5. Commission on the Status of Women: 1974-1975
6. CCERA meeting minutes and newsletters: 1974-1975
7. CCERA press release: February 22, 1975
8. 1974 ERA Ratification Council Newsletter
9. Memos, press releases and newsletters from the League of Women Voters:
1973-1975
10. Lobbying and campaigning materials from League of Women Voters: 1973
11. Montana ERA materials: 1973
12. Newsletters from National Commission on the Observance of International’s
Women’s Year: 1977-1978
13. North Dakota Council of Churches: 1975
14. Press releases from the CCERA Regional Coordinators: 1974-1975
15. Women in Politics workshop: September 22-23, 1973
16. Women’s Coalition: 1974-1975
17. CCERA Resource File: 1974-1975
18. Arguments for and against ERA: March 1974
19. ERA bibliography: June 1974
20. The Constitution Study Group of North Dakota Inc. Bulletin: November 21,
1976
21. Declaration of Sentiments and Resolutions from Seneca Falls Convention,
July 19, 1848
22. Miscellaneous articles, papers and pamphlets regarding ERA
23. Miscellaneous flyers regarding ERA
24. CCERA Guidelines for presenting information to the media
25. ERA Handbook: undated
26. Press release: ERA History in North Dakota: November 26, 1974
27. RSVPs to March 22, 1975 CCERA meeting
28. Issues of various publications by the League of Women Voters and the
AFL-CIO containing articles on ERA: 1972, 1974-1975
29. Legislative Handbook for North Dakota Legislators and Employees: 1974
30. Press release: N.D. Labor Laws and the Equal Rights Amendment: January 17,
1975
31. Miscellaneous information regarding lobbying
32. Memorabilia (2 napkins): undated
33. Press release: Military Concerns Regarding the Equal Rights Amendment:
December 10, 1974
34. ERA-Montana: 1975
35. Miscellaneous material from the National Organization for Women: 1974-1975
36. Press releases: May-November 1974
37. ERA pamphlets published by the North Dakota Business and Professional
Women’s Clubs, 1974-1975
38. Publicity material: undated
39. Public relations material: 1975
40. Press release: Religious and Biblical Concepts of the Equal Rights
Amendment: January 19, 1975
41. Reprints of the Journal of the Senate and The Journal of the House (North
Dakota) which relate to ERA: January-February 1975
42. Press release: Social Security Legislation Affected by the Equal Rights
Amendment: January 1, 1975
43. Speaker’s Bureau: 1975
44. How-to material relating to effective public speaking: undated
45. Press release: Support and Custody Laws Possibly Affected by Equal Rights
Amendment: January 15, 1975
46. Agenda, RSVP for ERA Task Force Meeting: May 11, 1974
47. Material related to Women’s Equality Day in North Dakota: August 26, 1973
and 1974
48. Correspondence from the Women’s Resource and Development Center, Grand
Forks: 1975
49. Workshop registration forms: 1974
50. Miscellaneous newsletters, newspapers and periodicals related to ERA:
September 1974-January 1975
Folder 1. Pro-ERA publications, bumper stickers, and correspondence: August 1974
December 1975
2. Selection from Sydney J. Harris, People and How to Deal with Them: undated
3. Marcia Niemann, Letter to the Editor: January 16, 1975
4. Material related to Phyllis Schlafly, ERA opponent: 1974-1975
5. Judy Syfers, I Want a Wife: 1973
6. Pro-ERA advertisements and leaflets: October 1974
7. Newspaper clippings regarding sexual discrimination: 1973-1975
8. Newspaper clippings, 1973
9. Miscellaneous newspaper and magazine articles regarding ERA: July-August
1974
10. Newspaper clippings: 1974
11. Newspaper clippings: 1975
12. Paula Johnson, Opposition to the ERA: the Role of American Extremists:
Paper presented at the 88th Annual Convention of the American Psychological
Association, 1980
| Original Donation | First Addition: 1972-1979 |
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