Harry T Burn
“Don't forget to be a good boy and help Mrs. Catt put the "rat" in ratification. Your Mother.”
~ Mrs. J. L. Burn of Niota, Tennessee. Mother of Harry T Burn
The 19th Amendment to the United States Constitution is the article that gave women the long overdue right to vote. The history of women’s suffrage for the right to vote is a story that started long before Civil War and who’s banner was carried by such notable heroines such as Elizabeth Cady Stanton, Susan B. Anthony and Lucretia Mott. These brave women were the pathfinders for those who followed and fought for all women to have seemingly simple right to vote. The first recognized organizational effort to bring the right to vote to the nation’s attention occurred in Seneca, New York in 1848. Under the constitution, voting laws were the responsibilities of the individual states and in doing research for this article, I was amazed to see how different voting standards varied even for white males from state to state. Even though most of the New England states had the most liberal voting policies at the time of the Civil War, it was the western states that were the first to reach out towards women when it came to voting rights. Wyoming was the first state to allow women to vote in 1869 but it would be another 51 years before the nation would grant the same privilege.
President Woodrow Wilson was initially against women’s suffrage but under the influence of persuasion from Carrie Chapman Catt, leader of the National American Woman Suffrage Association, in 1918 Wilson presented the 19th Amendment to congress. When the measure failed to pass the senate (by two votes) the motion was put off until 1919 when on May 21st it passed in the House of Representatives 304-89 and on June 4th it cleared the Senate 56-25, two votes over the two thirds number needed. After passing through congress, the amendment required 36 of the 48 states to ratify the amendment in order for it to become the law of the land. By March of 1920, 35 of the 36 states needed had signed off on the amendment and of the thirteen remaining states ten had outright rejected the notion (all southern and two Mid-Atlantic States). Tennessee held their vote just before the ratification deadline with a special session to settle the matter once and for all. It was not believed that Tennessee would carry the amendment as almost all the Southern Democrats rejected the idea. In Tennessee, the vote was tied 45 delegates for the amendment and 45 against and the vote came down to a young man who was serving his first term in the legislature, Harry T Burn. Burn, 23 years old and the youngest state legislature, was against the motion but changed his mind after receiving a letter from his mother urging him to change his mind from a no vote to a yes vote. Clutching the letter from his mother in his hand, young Mr. Burn cast the deciding vote that would help change the lives of millions of women of the United States. The 19th Amendment providing the provision for women to vote in the United States was finally ratified by two thirds of the states on August 18th, 1920 thanks to Harry T Burn listening to what his mother always taught him, "a good boy always does what his mother asks him to do."
On November 2nd, 1920, over eight million women took to the polls to vote for the very first time. It took over 60 years for the remaining twelve states to ratify the 19th Amendment, the last being the state of Mississippi in 1984. It took over 70 years of struggle for women to have the right to vote as equals with men and even longer for fair voting practices to be extended to all who live in this land of ours. The right to vote is a process that is guaranteed by the laws of our government and as we head forwards towards this next election, there are those who feel like it makes no difference if they vote or not. I’m old school, I believe that voting is our civic duty and a privilege. Please, I beg of you to exercise this gift and make your voice heard, vote because at one time in our history, many of us would not have been allowed to do so. Thanks for reading, you can learn more about the history of the 19th amendment on numerous websites, I encourage you to read more about this and the struggles for all of us (men, women and all ethnic backgrounds) to receive the right to vote. Have a great weekend and take care of yourselves and each other, remember, we’re all in this together.
Wm Reid
Best Home Care Services
325 N Eastern Ave
Connersville, IN 47331
765-827-9833
wmreid@bhcshealth.com