Why ERA Failed looks at the systemic problems of politics and theamending process. The author, Mary Frances Berry, considers the behavior of the twosides from the perspective of a historian and lawyer. She describes the history ofthe amending process, from the Constitutional Convention to the present day, and itsapplication to the struggles for amendments concerned with the status of blacksafter the Civil War, income tax, prohibition, child labor, and woman suffrage.
Berry concludes that ERA approval was problematic at best anddefeat predictable. Supporters did too little of what is required for ratificationof a substantive proposal too late. Furthermore, the large number of stateratifications gained was deceptive. Support was eroding instead of increasing in thefinal stages of the campaign. Less
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