When I first saw those women's results, my first thought was that the women in 1972 were happy about moving in a positive direction. They were feeling good about the future promise of what was becoming a revitalized women's movement.

There could definitely be some of this. The 60s and 70s were going in a very positive direction for women in general. Then the 80s happened (Reagan in power, setting feminism back 20 years), then the 90s (finding out our guy in the WH was a sexual predator and our party of choice was helping put more sexual predators on SCOTUS), and it just didn't get any better.

Since the 70s, for example, we've gone from abortion rights being enshrined to seeing the appointment of a man in 2018 who will let states ban it again.