Two Paths to Equality: Alice Paul and Ethel M. Smith in the Era Debate, 1921-1929

By Amy E. Butler

A comprehensive look at the ERA debates of the 1920s.

In Two Paths to Equality, Amy E. Butler provides a fascinating portrait of two of the major adversaries in the 1920s' battle over equal rights legislation for women in the United States-Alice Paul and Ethel M. Smith. While they shared the goal of full political and legal equality for women, they differed on how best to achieve it. Paul, the author of the Equal Rights Amendment (ERA) and leader of the National Woman's Party, fought to establish that women were the same as men under the law. Smith, legislative secretary of the National Women's Trade Union League and a recognized leader of the opposition to the ERA, believed the ERA did not adequately consider the impact of class and economic differences in women's lives and consequently would sacrifice the interests of one group of women to another. Smith and Paul's conflict is a telling story of the inextricable relationship between personal politics, collective action, and the intersection of law and culture on the social construction of gender. Comparing their perspectives on equality creates a new understanding of the people and issues at stake in the ERA debate.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0791453200
• ISBN13: 9780791453209
• Release Date: April 2002
• Publisher: State University of New York Press
• Length: 177 Pages
• Weight: 0.80 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.4" x 6.0" x 9.1"
• Grade Range: Postsecondary and higher

Customer Reviews

A great book about the ERA

I really liked this book. Amy E. Butler expertly deals with the ERA (Equal Rights Amendment) and two of the more important figures in the early ERA debate. Many books I have read on the subject deal with the ERA broadly and do not focus on individuals, so I really found this book useful. It shows the different sides to the debate and what the two women believed/thought. A great book for anyone interested in the topic.