<Dl> <Dd> As moderates, we thought we represented the forces of reason and goodwill but failed to take seriously the power of the family values argument and the single - mindedness of Schlafly and her followers . The ERA's defeat seriously damaged the women's movement, destroying its momentum and its potential to foment social change...Eventually, this resulted in feminist dissatisfaction with the Republican Party, giving the Democrats a new source of strength that when combined with overwhelming minority support, helped elect Bill Clinton to the presidency in 1992 and again in 1996 . </Dd> </Dl> <Dd> As moderates, we thought we represented the forces of reason and goodwill but failed to take seriously the power of the family values argument and the single - mindedness of Schlafly and her followers . The ERA's defeat seriously damaged the women's movement, destroying its momentum and its potential to foment social change...Eventually, this resulted in feminist dissatisfaction with the Republican Party, giving the Democrats a new source of strength that when combined with overwhelming minority support, helped elect Bill Clinton to the presidency in 1992 and again in 1996 . </Dd> <P> Second - wave feminism was diverse in its causes and goals . During the late 1960s and early 1970s, parallel with the counterculture movements, women with more radical ideas about feminist goals began to organize . In her work, Daring to Be Bad: Radical Feminism in America, 1967 - 1975, historian Alice Echols gives a thorough description of the short - lived movement . The radical feminists were after not only the end of female oppression by men but, as Echols notes, "They also fought for safe, effective, accessible contraception; the repeal of all abortion laws; the creation of high - quality, community - controlled child - care centers; and an end to the media's objectification of women ." </P> <P> Small protests and signs of a larger support for radical feminism became more cohesive during the Students for a Democratic Society (SDS) June 1967 National Convention in Ann Arbor . The "Women's Liberation Workshop" denounced sexual inequality and stated, "As we analyze the position of women in capitalist society and especially the United States we find that women are in a colonial relationship to men and we recognize ourselves as part of the Third World ." Co-written by Jane Addams, one of the most prominent women in SDS, they argued that women's place within SDS was subordinate and revolution could not succeed without women's liberation . </P>

A great change in the status of american women took place when