The Equal Rights Amendment struggle in the United States lasted throughout the 1970s, but no states ratified the ERA during 1976.
The United States Bicentennial was a time of celebration. 1976 was the 200-year anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence. It was also the first year since the Equal Rights Amendment passed both houses of Congress that no states voted yes on ratification.
Since the ERA was sent to the states in March 1972, a total of 34 states had ratified the proposed amendment. The first 22 ratifications came during 1972, with eight more in 1973, three in 1974, and one in 1975. But throughout 1976, while equality and freedom were celebrated throughout the land, no more states ratified Constitutional equality for women. The guarantee that laws would not abridge or deny rights on account of sex would have to wait. The total of ratified states remained at 34.
Only one more state ratified the ERA at all during the 1970s struggle, leaving the total at 35 states. In order to meet the requirement that three-fourths of state legislatures ratify, 38 of the 50 states were needed. Although the most populous states had ratified, indicating that three-fourths of the U.S. people supported ERA, the deadline came and the ERA did not become part of the Constitution.