A mother’s letter, one vote, and the 72-year fight for the 19th amendment

A mother’s letter, one vote, and the 72-year fight for the 19th amendment

On Aug. 18, 1920, a 24-year-old state legislator from East Tennessee walked into the Tennessee House chamber wearing a red rose on his lapel. Red meant no. The chamber was deadlocked 48-48. The 19th Amendment needed one more state, and Tennessee was the last realistic option. Harry Burn had a letter in his pocket from his mother, Febb Burn, a college-educated widow who read three newspapers a day. On the final page of seven, she got to the point…