Return to The Equal Rights Amendment and Mississippi

Definitions:

ratify an amendment: approve an addition to the constitution of a state or a nation. In this case, the authors refer to approving an amendment to the U.S. Constitution which requires approval by three fourths of the states.

ratify: to approve; make valid or legally operative; confirm.

unconstitutional: Not according to or consistent with the constitution of a state or a nation; contrary to the U.S. Constitution.

rescind: to take back; to do away with.

advocate (noun): one that argues for, defends, or recommends a cause or proposal.

discriminate: to make a distinction in favor of or against a person or thing on the basis of the group, class, or category to which the person or thing belongs, rather than according to actual merit.

suffrage: the right to vote. In the United States, the term is often associated with the women’s movement to win voting rights.

feminist: one that thinks women should have the same economic, social, and political rights as men. In this article, the feminists referred to supported the ERA.

antifeminist: in this case, one that favored traditional ideas about woman’s nature and social role and opposed changes that the feminist movement has brought about or was proposing. The authors refer to one that opposes ratification of the Equal Rights Amendment in order to preserve the government’s right to make separate and different laws for women and men; one that regarded the modern feminist movement as an assault on the traditional role of women.