In fact, they rallied behind her and she took credit for changing some opinions. Her column had spread to 900 newspapers and millions of people recognized her face.Įrma’s fans were not disappointed in her. Aunt Erma’s Cope Book had received a near-record advance printing of 700,000 hardcover copies. In 1978, the paperback rights to If Life Is a Bowl of Cherries, What Am I Doing in the Pits? had sold for $1 million. By this time she had published six books of humor. She traveled to almost every state where the battle for the ERA raged, but her political views never crept into her writing. Erma believed in true equality, that no matter how you spend your life, you deserve recognition and acceptance and that the contribution you make to society by caring for your family should be considered equal to that made by anyone working at a job with regulated hours and pay.Įrma began an odyssey across the country under the auspices of ERA America, an organization whose only goal was to get the ERA passed. She sensed they were waging a war using housewives as the battleground. Her staunch support of the amendment did not, however, include its feminist leaders, whom she felt were on the wrong track. Discrimination of any kind had always angered her. It surprised a lot of people when Erma Bombeck, voice of the American housewife, came out in support of the ERA. Polls showed that Americans favored the amendment by a large majority, but after the first burst of enthusiastic support, the ERA suddenly became the most divisive issue of the time. Within a year of its Senate approval, the ERA was ratified by thirty states. According to the Constitution, amendments, once approved by Congress, must be ratified by three-fourths of the states within seven years before becoming law.

In 1972, Congress approved a constitutional amendment guaranteeing equal rights for women. But one issue forced her into the political arena. In fact, she’d never been particularly interested in politics.

He asked this group to act as his eyes and ears in the country, relaying to him women’s thoughts and ideas as they might impact American life.Īlthough Erma appreciated being asked to join the commission, she never considered herself a political activist.

Roosevelt, who sought input from women representing every aspect of American political, ethnic and religious life. The committee had originally been launched by President Franklin D. Rosalynn Carter, President Jimmy Carter, and Lynda Johnson Robb are also pictured. Erma Bombeck at a meeting of President Carter’s National Advisory Committee for Women.

Erma bombeck life is a bowl of cherries