Historic Tennessee vote helped shape today’s political landscape

Susan Haynes, political science expert, says that passing the 19th amendment 100 years ago, brought more than women to the voting booth.

Janel Shoun-Smith | 615.966.7078  |  08/17/2020

In January, it’s possible that the United States could have its first woman vice president. Even that very possibility has been made possible by a history-making vote of the Tennessee legislature that is being celebrated Tuesday, Aug. 18: the ratification of the 19th Constitutional amendment allowing women to vote.

“One of the things that this did, over time, was to open the door to women’s civic engagement and participation,” said Susan Haynes, assistant professor of political science who teaches Constitutional Law. “At the time, it was very much perceived that women were the authority of the domestic sphere in the household, and the public domain was the men’s area. The 19th Amendment disrupted this assumption. So because of the vote, there are women now who feel empowered to run for office.”

On the heels of getting the vote, women became highly influential advocates throughout in a variety of issue areas including, most prominently, social policy, resource management and conservation, expanded citizenship, and international relations. 

“The campaign for women to get the vote showed the multi-faceted contribution of women. If you didn’t have that, you would still have many people with that division mentality,” Haynes said.

The rough-and-tumble 1920 campaign to encourage Tennessee legislators to ratify the constitutional amendment should look familiar to voters 100 years later. At the time, 35 states had ratified the amendment and 36 were needed for it to pass. 

Tennessee was the swing vote, so “Nashville became the it city that everyone descended upon. Lobbyists for and against took up two floors in the Hermitage Hotel (in downtown Nashville),” said Haynes.

According to the Tennessee State Library and Archives (TSLA), “The summer of 1920 was one of intense pro- and anti-suffrage activity in Nashville. After the resolution passed easily in the Tennessee State Senate, both sides lobbied furiously to secure votes in the state House of Representatives where the vote was extremely close.”

“Tennessee women played a vital role in rallying support for the 19th Amendment,” says the TSLA website. “Ann Dallas Dudley of Nashville, Abby Crawford Milton of Chattanooga, and Sue Shelton White of Jackson were prominent among those who fought to gain popular and legislative support for women’s suffrage.”

During the lobbying frenzy, state legislators who were pro-suffrage for women wore yellow roses on their lapels. Those against wore red roses, said Haynes. That's why women's voting advocates today take on the yellow rose as a symbol of their cause.

“They were changing votes back and forth up to the day. When they counted the roses on voting day, it was 48 and 48,” she said.

The next thing that happened demonstrates to citizens today the power of where local government meets federal government and how local politicians matter, Haynes said.

Harry T. Burn of rural Niota, Tennessee, a 24-year-old legislator, changed his vote, because, tradition says, comments from his mother changed his mind. His switch prompted several other legislators to switch their votes as well and the amendment granting women the vote was ratified.

Today, there are 127 women holding seats in the U.S. Congress (including vice presidential candidate Kamela Harris) and the “women’s vote” is cited by media and political operatives as an influential factor in practically every election.

Organizations all over Nashville are celebrating the 100th anniversary of the ratification on Tuesday, Aug. 18:

• The Lipscomb campus will hear songs associated with women's suffrage played on the Allen Bell Tower at 11:50 a.m. The carillon will then ring 100 times beginning at noon, in recognition of the historic vote.
• In 1920, when the Tennessee Legislature cast its tie-breaking vote to ratify the amendment, cities across the U.S. rang bells in recognition — but Nashville did not. The Nashville Public Library is holding the “I Ring the Bell” campaign encouraging Nashville’s residents today to break that silence and ring bells on Tuesday for any cause they believe in. Tag Nashville Public Library (NowAtNPL) and use #IRingTheBell on videos of yourself ringing a bell to promote your favorite cause.
• The Nashville Public Library, is opening a new exhibit, “Votes for Women: Legacy of the 19th Amendment,” with a virtual grand opening at 11:30 a.m.
• The State of Tennessee is holding a live-streamed reenactment of the historic ratification vote at 9:30 a.m. accessible here.
• Other local 100th anniversary events to enjoy this month and for the rest of the summer can be found at visitmusiccity.com and at tnwoman100.com.