Tennessee State Capitol

After countless letters, petitions, meetings, and telegrams from supporters of woman’s suffrage, including President Woodrow Wilson, Governor Albert Roberts agreed call a special session of the General Assembly. The state house and senate convened on a Monday morning, August 9th, to open debate on the ratification of the Nineteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution. They arrived and set to work amid an atmosphere of great fanfare and anticipation. The suffragists, who had worked out of the Hermitage and Tulane Hotels, believed that they had enough votes to win in both houses. After the amendment passed in the Senate by a large margin on Friday, the Anti’s redoubled their efforts to prevent its passage in the House. Seth Walker, the Speaker of the House, who had endorsed suffrage weeks before, mysteriously had a change of heart and declared he was against ratification.

With each passing day the suffragists watched with dismay as one by one, representatives who had supported suffrage on their arrival in Nashville, came to the capitol wearing red roses. Finally, on Wednesday, August 18, after a series of delays and maneuvers to table the bill, the House began the roll-call vote on the amendment. Inside the House chamber, women and reporters filled the galleries, but in counting the yellow flowers worn by the lawmakers, the suffragists realized that they did not have enough votes to win. There appeared to be 48 yellow roses and 48 red roses. A tie vote meant a defeat. The suspense was broken, with a dramatic and courageous vote by Harry T. Burn, a representative from Niota, a small town in East Tennessee. Burn, who was wearing a red rose, literally rose to his feet—and to the surprise of everyone in the gallery—voted “yes” in favor of ratification.

Chaos ensued for a few minutes but when the final vote was tallied, ratification had passed by the final vote of 50 to 46. Tennessee became the 36th state to ratify the amendment and indeed it had become “the perfect 36,” a play on words which was a veiled reference to the shape of the perfect female body of the ideal American woman. The next day when reporters interviewed Harry Burn, he showed them a letter from his mother who asked him to support suffrage. Closing words to her son were, “Do the right thing.” He had decided after reading her letter, that he would support suffrage if the vote was close.

A week after the momentous vote, Governor Roberts signed the certificate of ratification on August 24. Carrie Chapman Catt and suffragist Charl Ormond Williams delivered the certificate to Washington D.C. to Secretary of State Bainbridge Colby declared that the Nineteenth Amendment was ratified on August 26. Today, August 26th is celebrated as Women’s Equality Day.

To visit the optional stop at Centennial Park, 2.6 miles from the state capitol, turn LEFT onto Seventh Avenue and walk south to Broadway. From Broadway you can walk, drive, or take public transportation to Centennial Park, located at 2500 West End Ave. As you travel west on Broadway, away from downtown, take the RIGHT side of the split at Sixteenth Avenue. This is where Broadway becomes West End Avenue. Travel just past Vanderbilt University, which you will see on your left. The entrance for Centennial Park is on your right, across the street from the Vanderbilt Barnes & Noble. Enter the park and walk or drive north to the Parthenon. The woman’s suffrage monument is located just in front of the main entrance to the Parthenon. There is free parking available on the north side of the Parthenon.