1974, thirty of the thirty-eight states needed to sear the amendment into the Constitution for good had signed on. First lady Pat Nixon wore a pro-ERA bracelet; and back then even Governor Reagan supported it. President Ford was an outright enthusiast, as was his successor. In 1974, George Gallup reported that public support for passage was 79 percent. In 1976, Time replaced its customary “Man of the Year” selection with a dozen pioneering “Women of the Year,” declaring that “the women’s drive penetrated every layer of society, matured beyond ideology to a new
