What Happened On Aug. 18, 1920, Changed America Forever

TAMPA BAY, FL — It was in 1920 that one Republican vote changed our elections forevermore on Aug. 18.

The story really begins at the Seneca Falls Convention in 1848, where hundreds of men and women adopted the “Declaration of Sentiments.” Standing up against the many legal and political inequities women suffered, including no voice in making laws and no right to vote, this convention marks the beginning of the U.S. suffragist movement.

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For the next 72 years, women demanded the right to vote. Women and their supporters held meetings, gave speeches, organized petitions and lobbying efforts, held demonstrations and marches. The tipping point came when the suffragists demonstrated in front of the Wilson White House.

Led by Alice Paul, hundreds of women stood silently holding banners such as, “Mr. President: How Long Must Women Wait for Liberty?” From June 1917 until early 1919, more than 200 women from 26 states were arrested. Caged in Occoquan Workhouse in Lorton, Virginia, the women protested their arrests with hunger strikes, which resulted in force-feeding that shocked the nation. These Iron-Jawed Angels were forced into rat-infested, cold and unsanitary cells.

America reacted, and Congress passed the 19th Amendment, giving women the right to vote. But before it could be the law of the land, three-quarters of the states needed to ratify it. Thirty-five states ratified the amendment, but it required 36 to make it law. Four states, including Florida, wouldn’t even consider it; all remaining states but Tennessee had rejected the amendment.

So, the battle came down to one state that would decide if women could vote in our nation. The Tennessee state senate voted to ratify the amendment but stalled in its House of Representatives.

Enter Harry Burn, a 24-year-old Republican representative who cast the deciding vote for women's suffrage on Aug. 18, 1920, making Tennessee the 36th state (“the perfect 36” needed for ratification).

What makes this part of the story even more interesting is Burn had a note from his mother that told him, “Hurrah, and vote for suffrage!" She added, “Be a good boy and help Mrs. Catt put the ‘rat’ in ratification.”

So when we celebrate Aug. 26 as National Women’s Equality Day, let us not forget the importance of Aug. 18 and how one vote changed American politics.