Honor three Tennessee men who were instrumental in ratifying 19th Amendment
Placing busts of Reps. Joseph Hanover, Banks Turner and Harry Burn in the state Capitol will tell the story of their role in suffrage for women.
On Aug. 18, 1920, the Tennessee House of Representatives voted to ratify the 19th Amendment, which enshrined in the U.S. Constitution the right of American women to vote. The House concurred with the state Senate, which had voted 25-4 on Aug. 13 to ratify.
The 72-year-long nonviolent struggle culminated with victory in Tennessee thanks to the unceasing efforts of suffragists across the state.
Prior to February 1998, there was nothing inside the state Capitol Building that depicted Tennessee’s important role. Then-state Sen. Steve Cohen, now 9th District congressman, enlisted the Tennessee Arts Commission to hold a blind competition. Noted artist/sculptor Alan Lequire of Nashville won that competition, and his bas-relief sculpture was unveiled between the House and Senate chambers.
It is the only recognition in the State Capitol that celebrates our state’s greatest gift to this country: the enfranchisement of nearly 27 million American women.
Since the busts of Nathan Bedford Forrest, Admiral David Farragut and Albert Gleaves have been moved from the Capitol to the State Museum, we suggest it’s time to honor the three suffrage heroes — Reps. Joseph Hanover, Banks Turner and Harry Burn — in that space. Lequire has already sculpted Hanover (for the Memphis monument) and Burn (for the Knoxville monument). The state could commission a bust of Turner.
Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, there was a limited amount of celebration in 2020 for the national centennial of women winning the right to vote. The placement of these busts in the State Capitol will tell the story for future generations to know that the 19th Amendment would not have passed without the efforts of these three legislators.
Rep. Joe Hanover
A Polish immigrant, Joe Hanover ran for the legislature in 1918 as an Independent, winning an upset victory.
He became the leading voice for woman suffrage. In 1919, he led the successful fight for partial suffrage, but his work was not finished.
National suffrage leader Carrie Chapman Catt asked him to lead the 1920 legislative fight. He agreed. It almost cost him his life. He was assaulted and beaten in the Hermitage Hotel elevator by two opponents of suffrage, one calling him a “kike” and the other calling him a “Bolshevik.”
He courageously pushed for ratification against the fierce opposition of such powerful forces as Speaker Seth Walker, the L&N Railroad and even Jack Daniel’s.
He told his story — the story of a 5year-old boy escaping tyranny in Poland and finding a new home in America. He told his fellow legislators, “We all crossed the seas to get here … Let’s make Democracy real by securing the vote for every American.”
Walker tried to kill it with a motion to table. But Hanover, along with Banks Turner, defeated the motion not once, but twice.
Hanover’s finesse in keeping the pro-suffrage votes together, followed by the surprise votes in favor by Turner and Burn, made votes for women a reality.
Rep. Banks Turner
A native of Gibson County in West Tennessee, Banks Turner, a 1910 Vanderbilt graduate, was elected to the House in 1918.
The freshman legislator had played his cards close to his vest but was believed to be an opponent. The initial vote came on a motion to table the resolution, which was intended to kill it. When the clerk called his name, Turner voted “no” on the tabling motion, shocking everyone. The tabling motion failed on a vote of 48-48.
Walker called for a second vote on the tabling motion. He went over to Turner’s desk, draped his arm around the young legislator and attempted to intimidate him into changing his vote. It didn’t work. Turner continued to oppose the tabling motion, which again failed on a 48-48 vote, which kept the 19th Amendment alive.
Even with Turner’s change of heart, the suffragists were still one vote short. Fortunately, they got that extra vote. Turner displayed the courage of his convictions and voted three times to support the 19th Amendment.
Turner went on to a successful career as an attorney until his death in 1953 at the age of 63. A Tennessee Historical Commission marker was unveiled on June 25, 2021, at Yorkville Cemetery, where he is buried.
Rep. Harry Burn
Harry Burn from Niota was elected as a Republican to represent Mcminn County one week before his 23rd birthday in 1918. In August 1920, he planned to vote for ratification. But telegrams started pouring in, misleading him into believing his district was “overwhelmingly” against woman suffrage. Local politicians urged him to vote against it.
Burn’s widowed mother, Febb, wrote him a letter advising him to support the amendment. “Hurrah and vote for suffrage and don’t keep them in doubt.”
Her letter arrived in Nashville the morning of the final vote. Burn tucked it in his jacket pocket, sporting a red rose on his lapel, before he walked onto the House floor. The House took two votes to “table” the amendment until the next regular session. Burn voted “aye” both times, hoping to delay action on the controversial issue. The House deadlocked at 48-48.
Walker, thinking he had the votes to defeat it, called for a vote on the “merits” of the resolution. This time, Burn voted “aye,” switching to the suffragists’ side and shocking everyone in the House chamber.
The vote stood at 49 “ayes” and 47 “noes.” Burn had broken the tie and Tennessee became “The Perfect 36th” state to ratify the 19th Amendment.
Paula F. Casey is a speaker and cofounder of the Tennessee Woman Suffrage Heritage Trail, www.tnwomansuffrageheritagetrail.com/.
Bill Haltom is the author of “Why Can’t Mother Vote? Joseph Hanover and the Unfinished Business of Democracy.”
John P. Williams is a Nashville attorney who led the effort to gain approval of the historical marker for Banks P. Turner.
Tyler L. Boyd is the author of his great-granduncle’s biography, “Tennessee Statesman Harry T. Burn.”