Today is the day that Harry T. Burn voted in the Tennessee Legislature to ratify the 19th Amendment giving women the right to vote. It seemed as if the motion would fail when several votes ended up tied. However, Burn received a letter from his mother asking him to vote for it, and like "any good boy, obeyed his mother." Burn had previously voted against and was wearing the red rose symbolizing anti-suffragists as he voted. Burn was called a "mamma's boy" and was actually chased out of the Legislative Hall by the anti-suffragists.
The proclamation was signed into law by Bainbridge Colby on August 26, 1920. For all the years since the Constitution was ratified, women were not allowed to vote in this country which promised freedom and equality for everyone. We can scarcely imagine such treatment today.
Thank you, Tennessean Harry T. Burn. Now the question is: "For whom do I vote?"
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