LOCAL NEWS
PWB - 19th AMENDMENT CENTENNIAL To celebrate the 100th anniversary of the 19th Amendment, the women of our PWB Council held an informal meeting at The Vault in downtown Tulsa to commemorate the centennial and to provide a brief history of the suffragette movement. Have you ever heard of Harry T. Burn? Well you should get to know him! Harry was a 22-year-old freshman Republican constituent in the Tennessee General Assembly. The year was 1920. It was Harry’s 1st Term and he was new to the legislative process. Women’s Right to Vote – the 19th Amendment or “Female Suffrage”, was a hot topic. Those that wanted to ratify this constitutional amendment were called “Rats“. There were 35 of the 48 States that voted to ratify the 19th amendment. To ratify the 19th Amendment, it needed 36 out of the 48 states to vote “yea”. Four states had yet to vote, and only Tennessee agreed to call a special summer session. They met in August 1920. Mr. Burn had originally intended to vote for the amendment. After listening to the other elected, and had received misleading telegrams from his constituents telling him his district was overwhelmingly opposed to Women’s Suffrage, he began to side with the Anti-Suffragists. Twice, the Tennessee General Assembly called for a vote, and twice, they were hopelessly deadlocked 48 48 yea vs. nea to ratify.
Dear Son: July 11 1920 Hurrah and vote for Suffrage and don’t keep them in doubt. I noticed Chandlers’ speech, it was very bitter. I’ve been watching to see how you stood but have not seen anything yet ... Don’t forget to be a good boy and help “Mrs. Thomas Catt” with her “Rats.” Is she the one that put rat in ratification, Ha! No more from mama this time. With lots of love, Mama. Carrie Chapman Catt championed the Women’s Sufferage movement, “led an army of voteless women in 1919 to pressure Congress to pass the constitutional amendment giving them the right to vote and convinced state legislatures to ratify it in 1920”. Mr. Burn followed his mother’s advice and voted “yea.” His vote broke the tie in favor of ratifying the amendment. He said “I knew that a mother’s advice is always safest for a boy to follow and my mother wanted me to vote for ratification.”
Sharon King Davis, an aficionado on the subject, gave this quote: “I cannot stress enough that OUR VOTES MATTER! We had a 72-year long struggle to have the right to vote and it depended on one 22 year old man in his first session. We have our right to vote, and it was decided by Mr. Burn had a letter in his pocket from his mother. 1 vote.” Now, more than ever, our voices count. Our vote Just before the third vote he read the letter from his means something. Exercise your right! mother. The letter contained the following:
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