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Remember the women who fought for and won the right to vote | Opinion

The stories of the thousands of suffragists who organized to win access to the ballot, are the ones we must elevate from history’s footnotes.

Susan Combs, Colleen Shogan, Kay Coles and Barbara Mikulski
Guest Columnists
  • Susan Combs is the Chair of the Women’s Suffrage Centennial Commission.
  • Colleen Shogan is the Vice Chair of the Women’s Suffrage Centennial Commission.
  • Kay Coles James is the Immediate Past Chair of the Women’s Suffrage Centennial Commission.
  • Sen. Barbara Mikulski is the Immediate Past Vice Chair of the Women’s Suffrage Centennial Commission.

August 18 will mark an imperative but often neglected anniversary in the history of American democracy. An anniversary that tells the story of all American women, that offers a moment for celebration, reflection, and gratitude. 

One hundred years ago on that day, the Nineteenth Amendment to the Constitution was officially ratified by three quarters of the states, preventing discrimination in voting based upon sex and marking the single largest expansion of voting rights in United States history. Now, 100 years later, more than 68 million women vote in federal elections because of the courageous suffragists who never gave up the fight for equality.  

On August 18, 1920, Tennessee became the 36th and final state to ratify the Nineteenth Amendment. Although the story of women’s fight for the vote has often been relegated to a footnote in our history books, there is one anecdote about Tennessee’s ratification of the amendment that has recently gained national prominence. 

The vote for ratification was sure to fail until Harry Burn, the youngest member of the Tennessee legislature, changed his vote to support the Nineteenth Amendment only moments before his name was called on the statehouse floor. His story is impressive and demonstrates the courage required in representative democracy. 

But Burn is just one figure in a historical narrative transpiring over decades of suffrage activism.  

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Black and white women led grassroots efforts to win the right to vote

The Tennessean coverage of Tennessee's ratification of the 19th Amendment for women suffrage on Aug. 19, 1920.

Women like Carrie Chapman Catt, Alice Paul, Ida B. Wells, and Mary Church Terrell had led the way, carrying forward the work of earlier generations of suffragists who came before them such as Sojourner Truth, Elizabeth Cady Stanton, Susan B. Anthony, and Harriet Tubman. 

The stories of these women, and the thousands of suffragists who organized to win access to the ballot, are the ones we must elevate from history’s footnotes. 

As president of the National American Woman Suffrage Association, Catt gained influence with politicians and built a strong network of supporters in every state across the country. 

Paul kept suffrage in the headlines with controversial publicity stunts such as organizing a national parade before Woodrow Wilson’s inauguration and picketing outside the White House. 

Wells, known for her groundbreaking journalism and leadership in the anti-lynching movement, formed the Alpha Suffrage Club, the first African American suffrage organization in Chicago. 

Terrell co-founded the National Association of Colored Women to fight for racial equality and women’s rights.

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Both Wells and Terrell challenged the predominantly white suffrage organizations to fight for the rights of all women. The combined efforts of these leaders and the nationwide grassroots movement for the vote built momentum for the cause. 

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How Tennessee became the focus of women's suffrage debate

In June 1919, after more than 70 years of organizing and protesting by women across the country, Congress finally approved sending the Nineteenth Amendment to the states for ratification. Suffragists would endure a suspenseful year before claiming victory.

It would take their determined campaigning across the country to persuade the required number of state legislatures, 36, to ratify the amendment. 

By the summer of 1920, with several states rejecting ratification and other states refusing to hold a vote, Tennessee was the last hope to ratify before the upcoming presidential election in November 1920. However, there was no guarantee that the Tennessee General Assembly would approve the amendment.

Anti-suffrage sentiment was strong in the state, as were the liquor, railroad, and manufacturing lobbies, which opposed female suffrage. 

Carrie Chapman Catt set up headquarters in Nashville to persuade legislators to support ratification. National Woman’s Party pro-suffrage organizer Sue Shelton White returned to her home state to do the same. And Tennessee suffragists who had been building support for the movement on the ground for years organized to push the Nineteenth Amendment across the finish line. On August 18, 1920, those efforts paid off.  

Women such as Catt, Wells, Terrell, Paul, and White were leaders and organizers in a movement of countless others whose names we may not all remember, but from whom we benefit today.

Though Harry Burn’s unexpected show of support for suffrage makes for a dramatic story, we must not only champion Burn and the pro-suffrage men of the Tennessee legislature, but also these dedicated women leaders and activists. 

Celebrate 19th Amendment beyond 2020

As leaders of the Women’s Suffrage Centennial Commission, we have shared these inspiring stories with Americans through many educational initiatives as we commemorate the 100th anniversary of the Nineteenth Amendment this year. 

The focus on this history should not end in 2020, but rather, we hope this centennial will ignite an ongoing effort to include the previously untold history of the suffrage movement as a permanent part of civic education.

That would ensure that, as a nation, we always remember the women who fought to help America live up to her highest ideals — to expand our democracy not only for themselves, but for every generation to come.  

Susan Combs is the Chair of the Women’s Suffrage Centennial Commission and the former Assistant Secretary for Policy, Management, and Budget for the U.S. Department of the Interior. 

Colleen Shogan is the Vice Chair of the Women’s Suffrage Centennial Commission and Senior Vice President and Director of the David Rubenstein Center for White House History at the White House Historical Association. 

Kay Coles James is the Immediate Past Chair of the Women’s Suffrage Centennial Commission and the President of the Heritage Foundation. 

Sen. Barbara Mikulski is the Immediate Past Vice Chair of the Women’s Suffrage Centennial Commission, former Senator from Maryland, and Professor of Public Policy at Johns Hopkins.