ShmoopTube

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[ musical flourish ]

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And here's your Shmoop du jour, brought to you by the Equal Rights Amendment,

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the greatest threat to less than signs.

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Yeah... Equal rights... Uh, nevermind.

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All right, check out this excerpt.

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[ mumbles ]

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And the question:

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The excerpt best reflects which of the following

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political characteristics of the 1960s and '70s?

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And here are your potential answers.

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There oughta be one on, like, bare feet. Or optional shaving or something.

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Well, maybe not.

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All right, well, here we go.

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The 1960s and '70s tend to elicit visions of

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hippies and flower power, but there were some serious

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debates blossoming in the courts

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and Congress during those decades.

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Let's see how the Equal Rights Amendment impacted

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the sum total of these movements for social change.

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In terms of the political landscape, does the excerpt

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reflect an A -

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shifted focus to foreign policy over domestic affairs?

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Hmm. Well, this excerpt is talking about the Equal Rights Amendment,

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a domestic issue before Congress

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arguing that "existing laws are not adequate

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to secure equal rights for women."

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So that eliminates A and C.

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Was a political characteristic of the 1960s and '70s B -

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conservative defense of traditional values?

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Well, actually, the conservative social movement didn't take hold

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'til the 1980s and '90s,

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bringing with it some pretty traditional ideas.

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Thank you, Ronald Reagan.

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That bans B, as well.

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Which means the political characteristic of the '60s and '70s

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best reflected in the excerpt is D -

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the use of federal power to address social issues.

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Like, before then, it was all states-based.

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The U.S. government was in the business of social change

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during the '60s and '70s.

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The Supreme Court tackled racism through cases like

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Brown v. Board of Education

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and Congress worked to address equality through the use of

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federal legislation.

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So D is the correct answer.

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And despite their best efforts, groups like

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the National Organization for Women

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failed to secure the passage of the Equal Rights Amendment,

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which was a real drag on the movement for gender equality.

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[ rimshot ]

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