Elusive Victory : The Equal Rights Amendment Fight in Illinois

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.