The 19th Amendment adopted by Congress June 4, 1919 stated: The right of citizens of the United States to vote shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any state on account of sex. Congress shall have the power to enforce this article by appropriate legislation.

There were 48 states in the union. Three-fourths (36) were needed to amend the constitution. Voting is by each state's legislature, not directly by voters. In 1920, 35 of 48 states had ratified the amendment. Supporters wanted the 36th state in time for the 1920 elections.

By July 1920, eight states had voted "no" or stalled. Connecticut and Vermont governors would not call their legislatures into session. That left Florida, North Carolina and Tennessee. Supporters chose Tennessee.

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Leader of the National American Woman Suffrage Association (the pros) was Carrie Chapman Catt. She came to Tennessee to help the fight. Opposition came from lobbyists for liquor, railroads and manufacturers, concerned that women's suffrage would lead to higher wages for women and enactment of child labor laws. Tennessee women who opposed suffrage (antis) called themselves the National Association Opposed to Woman Suffrage. Each group had a men's auxiliary.

Each side chose a flower. For the pros, it was a yellow rose. For the antis, it was the American Beauty Red Rose.

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19th Amendment

The Nineteenth Amendment, regarding female suffrage, was proposed by Congress on June 14, 1919. The amendment could not become law without the ratificaton of a minimum thirty-six of the forty-eight states. By the summer of 1920, thirty-five of the forty-eight states had ratified the amendment, with a further four states called upon to hold legislative voting sessions on the issue. Three of the states refused to call special sessions, but Tennessee agreed to do so. This session was called to meet in August 1920.

Burn had originally made clear his intention to vote "nay" in any session. However, a letter from his mother asking him to vote in favor of the amendment helped to change his mind. Mrs. J. L. Burn (Febb Ensminger) of Niota, Tennessee, had written a long letter to her son, a copy of which he held during the voting session on August 18, 1920. The letter contained the following:

Dear Son: Hurrah and vote for suffrage! Don't keep them in doubt! I notice some of the speeches against. They were bitter. I have been watching to see how you stood, but have not noticed anything yet. Don't forget to be a good boy and help Mrs. Catt put the "rat" in ratification. Your mother

After much debating and argument, the result of the vote was 48-48. Burn's vote broke the tie in favor of ratifying the amendment. He asked to speak to the House the next day and told them he changed his vote because his mother asked him to and that she had always taught him that "a good boy always does what his mother asks him to do."

As anti-suffragists had been fighting and preparing for this moment over the summer, they became very enraged when they discovered the news of Burn's decision. There is an apocryphal story that after the vote was ratified, angry anti-suffragists chased Burn through the Tennessee Legislature Hall, and Burn was forced to conceal himself for a short time until the tense situation had been defused.