Some of you may know about the final state to ratify the 19th amendment, Tennessee. There is a dramatic last minute "change of heart" story about Harry Burns, a member of the Tennessee House of Representatives, which will be part of my suffrage tour. We won't have time to talk about the penultimate state, West Virginia.
At the time the 19th amendment was passed by Congress, the U.S. had 48 states, which meant that the suffrage supporters needed 36 states to ratify the amendment in order to get the 3/4ths majority required by the Constitution. Suffrage supporters organized themselves across the country and actively campaigned for special sessions to ratify the amendment before the 1920 election so that women could vote in that election. Early on, some states came easily - suffrage states like Utah and Colorado were easier than the eastern states. However, some states rejected the amendment, including many southern states. My native land, Virginia, voted down the amendment.
Suffrage was not super popular in West Virginia - just a few years earlier, in 1916, women's suffrage had lost a referendum by a 2-1 margin. In February 1920, Governor Cornwell called a special session of the West Virginia legislature to consider a tax issue. At this point, 34 states had already ratified the 19th amendment. Some interests pressured the governor to limit the scope of the session so that the legislature couldn't consider suffrage - he ignored them, and included the 19th amendment in the agenda for the special session. . The amendment passed the House, and was sent to the Senate.
In the West Virginia Senate, the vote deadlocked, 14-14. However, Senator Jesse Bloch, on vacation in California, wired a telegram to Lenna Lowe Yost, the woman leading the suffrage supporters, "Just received notice of special session. Am in favor of ratification." He immediately boarded a train, but it would take him a few days to arrive, which meant that suffrage supporters had to hold half the senate hostage so they would not adjourn.
While Bloch was traveling back from California, anti-suffrage forces tried to get the governor to reverse the resignation of Senator A.R. Montgomery, who had resigned and moved to Illinois eight months before. Senator Montgomery would have voted "no" on the amendment. The Governor refused. Bloch finally arrived after more than a week and a half of travel, and the amendment passed 15-14!
Thus West Virginia became the 35th state to ratify. This story reminds me that progress is often a "nail-biter" - even something as obvious to me as the 19th amendment is hard to get passed - it was only through the determined work of dedicated men and women (and a slow train from California to West Virginia) that I am able to vote today. So grateful!
Source: "Suffragists in Washington, D.C.: The 1913 Parade and the Fight for the Vote," Rebecca Boggs Roberts, pages 125-126
At the time the 19th amendment was passed by Congress, the U.S. had 48 states, which meant that the suffrage supporters needed 36 states to ratify the amendment in order to get the 3/4ths majority required by the Constitution. Suffrage supporters organized themselves across the country and actively campaigned for special sessions to ratify the amendment before the 1920 election so that women could vote in that election. Early on, some states came easily - suffrage states like Utah and Colorado were easier than the eastern states. However, some states rejected the amendment, including many southern states. My native land, Virginia, voted down the amendment.
Suffrage was not super popular in West Virginia - just a few years earlier, in 1916, women's suffrage had lost a referendum by a 2-1 margin. In February 1920, Governor Cornwell called a special session of the West Virginia legislature to consider a tax issue. At this point, 34 states had already ratified the 19th amendment. Some interests pressured the governor to limit the scope of the session so that the legislature couldn't consider suffrage - he ignored them, and included the 19th amendment in the agenda for the special session. . The amendment passed the House, and was sent to the Senate.
In the West Virginia Senate, the vote deadlocked, 14-14. However, Senator Jesse Bloch, on vacation in California, wired a telegram to Lenna Lowe Yost, the woman leading the suffrage supporters, "Just received notice of special session. Am in favor of ratification." He immediately boarded a train, but it would take him a few days to arrive, which meant that suffrage supporters had to hold half the senate hostage so they would not adjourn.
While Bloch was traveling back from California, anti-suffrage forces tried to get the governor to reverse the resignation of Senator A.R. Montgomery, who had resigned and moved to Illinois eight months before. Senator Montgomery would have voted "no" on the amendment. The Governor refused. Bloch finally arrived after more than a week and a half of travel, and the amendment passed 15-14!
Thus West Virginia became the 35th state to ratify. This story reminds me that progress is often a "nail-biter" - even something as obvious to me as the 19th amendment is hard to get passed - it was only through the determined work of dedicated men and women (and a slow train from California to West Virginia) that I am able to vote today. So grateful!
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| Senator Jesse Bloch's campaign poster |
Source: "Suffragists in Washington, D.C.: The 1913 Parade and the Fight for the Vote," Rebecca Boggs Roberts, pages 125-126
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