Fact #20: Mother Makes Son Vote for 19th Amendment

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FACT #20: Mom Makes Congressman Son Vote for 19th Amendment

Did you know that a Congressman’s mommy made him vote for the 19th Amendment?

The year was 1920. Half the states allowed women to vote - but none in the south. The fight for women’s suffrage had raged for 70 years and now they finally had their chance with the 19th amendment.

It had already been ratified by 35 states. The only state left to vote in which ratification was possible was Tennessee. But it didn’t just come down to one state. It also came down to one legislator.

The measure passed the Tennessee Senate. However, when it got to the House, things got tense. The vote to table the amendment resulted in a tie. Since that failed they set out to vote on whether to ratify.

Meet 24 year old Harry T. Burn, the state’s youngest legislator . He originally voted to table the amendment, strangely he changed his vote and cast the deciding vote for ratification.

People thought he had been bribed. The following day he explained what changed him. His mother wrote him a letter urging him to vote for the amendment, saying “don’t forget to be a good boy.” He elaborated further saying, “I believe in full suffrage as a right. I know that a mother’s advice is always safest for her boy to follow, and my mother wanted me to vote for ratification.”

Sometimes mothers meddle in their children’s lives because they just can't’ help themselves, other times they do it to change history.

REFERENCES:
https://www.npr.org/2020/08/17/902345079/the-nudge-and-tie-breaker-that-took-womens-suffrage-from-nay-to-yea