| Abstract: | Despite its initial momentum, the Equal Rights Amendment (ERA)failed to be approved by the margin of states required for ratification.Although many explanations have been advanced for the defeatof the ERA, one possible explanation that has been overlookedis the notion that the timing of a policy can largely determineits success or failure. The article examines the timing or "innovativeness,"with which the American states considered the ratification ofthe ERA. The analysis suggests that the relative innovativenessof states, as exhibited on a wide range of other policies andamendments, accounts for the relative order in which statesratified the ERA. The article concludes that the defeat of theERA was a matter of timing: states that are slow in adoptingother innovations were most vulnerable to the opposition effortsof ad hoc action groups. |
