Union Station

Our story begins here at Union Station where suffragists and anti-suffragists stepped off the train in 1920 before heading to their hotels near the capitol. This is also where members of the General Assembly arrived in August for the special legislative session on the Nineteenth Amendment. As the legislators walked along the platform of Union Station’s Train Shed, women from both sides of the fight greeted them—handing out roses. Enter the lobby to see the interior of this historic building.

In July, Carrie Chapman Catt arrived in Nashville. She was the leader of the National American Woman’s Suffrage Association. Although she told the Tennessee suffragists that she was only in town for a few days, Catt ended up staying for six weeks! Some were wary of her presence because they worried people would see her as an outsider who had come to stir up trouble. Catt checked in to the fashionable Hermitage Hotel where the suffragists had set up their headquarters. 

The day after Catt’s arrival, Josephine Pearson stepped off the train wearing three American Beauty Red Roses on her dress. Pearson, who hailed from a proud Confederate lineage, became the “three-star general” in the fight—determined to stop the amendment from passing. She was the president of the state association opposed to suffrage and also headed the Southern League for the Rejection of the Susan B. Anthony Amendment. Pearson, and other “Anti’s” as they were called, also established headquarters at the Hermitage Hotel. 

You may be asking, “Who opposed the vote for women?” First, manufacturers felt that if women could vote, they would demand laws to protect factory and textile workers including women and children. Second, railroad executives feared they might lose their influence on the Tennessee General Assembly. Third, many southern white men and women believed that expanding the electorate would disrupt their southern “way of life”—a culture steeped in racial segregation and patriarchy. And finally, Tennessee’s liquor industry believed that allowing women to vote would run them out of business. They had reason to be worried as the Woman’s Christian Temperance Union had already successfully lobbied the state to prohibit alcohol in 1909. Tennessee had been dry for 11 years in 1920. 

Other notable suffragists also came through Union Station in the summer of 1920. Sue Shelton White, a native Tennessean, traveled to Nashville from Washington D.C. She was an activist and lawyer who was a leader with Alice Paul’s National Woman’s Party, which split from Carrie Chapman Catt’s suffrage association in 1916. The Woman’s Party sanctioned more radical tactics including civil disobedience and hunger strikes. White, and other members of the National Woman’s Party set up their headquarters at the nearby Tulane Hotel. 

By August 9, 1920, all the major players had arrived, pinned a rose on their lapel or their dress, and headed to the state capitol. The stage for the legislative battle was set. If you are interested in learning more about Union Station, check out our Broadway Architecture and Gulch tours.

The next stop, Christ Church Cathedral, is visible from Union Station. Turn RIGHT out of Union Station onto Broadway and walk towards downtown. Turn LEFT at the intersection of Broadway and Ninth Avenue and cross the street. The crosswalk is in front of the Kefauver Federal Office Building, just past the Frist Art Museum. This will take you to the corner of our next stop, Christ Church Cathedral, where several members of the suffrage movement attended church.