American History Tellers - The Fight for Women's Suffrage | The 19th Amendment | 5

Episode Date: March 30, 2022

As America entered World War I, the suffrage movement split into a two-pronged attack. Alice Paul and her National Woman’s Party took their protests to the White House gates. Meanwhile, Carrie Chapman Catt and her group, the National American Woman Suffrage Association, lobbied to prove the loyalty and patriotism of American women, hoping they would be rewarded with the ballot.Together, these two groups would finally succeed in pushing a new amendment through Congress, granting women the right to vote. But before it could become law, it would have to be ratified by the states – leading to a dramatic showdown in the final state the suffragists needed, Tennessee.Listen ad free with Wondery+. Join Wondery+ for exclusives, binges, early access, and ad free listening. Available in the Wondery App. https://wondery.app.link/historytellersPlease support us by supporting our sponsors!See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Wondery Plus subscribers can binge new seasons of American History Tellers early and ad-free right now. Join Wondery Plus in the Wondery app or on Apple Podcasts. Imagine it's June 1917 and you're standing outside the White House gates in Washington, D.C. You're a mother of two from North Carolina. But a few months ago, you left your teaching job to devote all your time to fighting for suffrage. You and your fellow protesters from the National Women's Party have been silently picketing the White House for months. But this week, you've escalated the protest with a new extra-large banner. You hope it captures the attention of the president and the press.

You turn to a fellow protester. I'll never understand how Wilson can boast about American democracy to our allies when half the country can't even vote. Your friend shakes her head as she helps you unfurl the 10-foot banner. You smile as you read the bold black words criticizing President Wilson for his position against suffrage. You know the banner is provocative. You had to paint a new one yesterday after an angry mob shredded the previous one. But you want to be provocative. Politicians like Wilson have ignored women's voting rights for far too long. All of a sudden, a dozen men round the corner and run towards you on the sidewalk.

Many of them are wearing sailor uniforms. Here we go again. One of the men picks up a rock and hurls it at you. You dodge. You lift your chin in defiance as the men get closer. One of them spits in your face. You grimace, but stand your ground. Settle down! Settle down!

A police officer drives up in a patrol wagon and starts walking towards you. You ladies are under arrest. Us? What about these men? The officer grabs your banner and flings it to the ground. He points to a phrase on the torn fabric. America is not a democracy. How can you insult the president like that when we're at war? They should lock up traitors like you. We're simply exercising our First Amendment rights. We're doing nothing wrong. Leave that to the judge to decide. The officer forces your hands behind your back and snaps a pair of handcuffs on your wrists. But why are you arresting us? On what charge? You're obstructing sidewalk traffic. Sidewalk traffic? I don't see any pedestrians. Just a mob

of thugs who attacked us. This is outrageous. But the officer just sneers as he shoves you toward his patrol wagon. You knew that when you joined the picketers, you would be putting yourself in danger. But now you think of your daughters at home and wonder when you'll see them again. Then you remind yourself, you're doing this for them. You don't want them to grow up in a world where they're treated like second-class citizens. As the officer slams the police wagon doors, you wonder how many more years it will take, how much more suffering women will have to endure,

before you finally bring the nation to your side. Hey, this is Nick. And this is Jack. And we just launched a brand new podcast called The Best Idea Yet. You may have heard of it. It's all about the untold origin stories of the products you're obsessed with. Listen to The Best Idea Yet on the Wondery app or wherever you get your podcasts. Now streaming.

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Stream free on Freeview and Prime Video. From Wondery, I'm Lindsey Graham, and this is American History Tellers. Our history. Your story. Music In the summer of 1917, dozens of protesters at the White House were arrested and thrown in jail for peacefully demanding a federal suffrage amendment. The nation was in the midst of World War I, and there was little room for dissent in the charged atmosphere. As American soldiers fought in Europe, both wings of the suffrage movement were determined to use the war as a new weapon in their struggle for the vote. Alice Paul and her National Woman's Party took their protests to the White House gates. Paul wanted to expose

the hypocrisy of a government crusading for democracy abroad while denying it to half its population at home. But Carrie Chapman Catt and her group, the National American Woman Suffrage Association, took a different tack. Catt was determined to prove the loyalty and patriotism of American women, hoping they would be rewarded with the ballot. For 70 long years, generation after generation of fearless women had petitioned, lobbied, and protested for the vote. Their grueling struggle was nearing its climax. But few imagined the lengths women would have to go to to finally reach the finish line.

This is Episode 5, The 19th Amendment. In June 1917, the first transport ships carrying American troops left New York Harbor and sailed to the battlefields of France. Two months had passed since the United States officially entered World War I, joining Britain, France, and Russia in the fight against Germany. During that time, Alice Paul and her supporters in the National Women's Party had resumed their picket outside the White House gates. They continued demanding that President Woodrow Wilson take action on a federal suffrage amendment. But in the hyper-patriotic climate of the war, Paul's criticism of the government smacked of disloyalty. Newspapers criticized the picketers, known as the Silent Sentinels, for protesting during wartime. A June New York Times editorial linked militant suffragists with socialists and draft dodgers, branding them as inciters of rebellion. And then on June 20th,

the picketers unfurled a 10-foot banner directed at a Russian delegation visiting the White House. Russia itself had recently given women the vote, and the NWP wanted to embarrass the president by highlighting the contrast between the United States and its ally. The banner declared, The women of America tell you that America is not a democracy. Twenty million American women are denied the right to vote. President Wilson is the chief opponent of their national enfranchisement. For many, the Russian banner took the call for suffrage a step too far.

The nonviolent protesters were seen as traitors. Furious onlookers lashed out and tore down the banner. And over the next week, crowds continued to harass the protesters. Police arrested 27 picketers on charges of obstructing traffic. Initially, President Wilson reacted to the picketing with amusement, often tipping his hat as he drove past. But after the Russian banner, he lost his patience. He wrote to his daughter, Jessie, complaining, They certainly seem bent upon making their case as obnoxious as possible.

But while Paul antagonized Wilson, Carrie Chapman Catt cozied up to him. Catt was determined to shield the National American Women's Suffrage Association from any accusations of disloyalty. She and her allies put out more than 250 editorials against the picketing, and Catt issued a public statement urging Paul to stop the protest, insisting it was hurting the cause of suffrage. She called the picket an unwarranted discourtesy to the president and a futile annoyance to Congress. Though Catt personally opposed the war,

she had pledged to Wilson the NAWSA support. The National Association was the largest women's organization in America, boasting two million members. Catt's strategy was to prove the patriotism of the mainstream suffrage movement and American women at large. And throughout 1917, Kat and President Wilson exchanged letters, and her colleagues became friendly with various White House advisors. That spring, with Wilson's support, the government's Council for National Defense formed a Women's Committee

and asked former NAWSA President Anna Howard Shaw to serve as chair. The Women's Committee was dominated by suffragists from the National Association. It focused on mobilizing America's women's groups in support of the war effort. The committee supported the Red Cross, encouraged housewives to conserve food, raised funds to maintain a hospital in France, and fought for safety standards for women war workers. Because all across America, a growing number of women were powering the nation's factories and farms, filling the jobs left by men fighting abroad. The National Association's publicity arm pushed out articles celebrating women's patriotism and sacrifice.

Cat hoped the nation, and Wilson, would recognize women's service by granting them the vote. But even though Wilson approved of the NAWSA's war efforts, he remained opposed to a federal suffrage amendment. He maintained that women's suffrage should be left to the states to decide. So as the months wore on, Catt continued to press her case behind the scenes. But to her frustration, Alice Paul escalated her protests in public. In August 1917, one of the Silent Sentinels brandished a banner with bold black letters addressing the president as Kaiser Wilson. This provocative banner called out Wilson's hypocrisy for waging a war against Germany

to promote democracy abroad while still denying the vote to women at home. The Kaiser-Wilson banner sparked violent outrage. For several days, angry mobs rushed the protesters, kicking, punching, and dragging them. Picketers retreated to the balcony of the National Women's Party headquarters, but the crowds followed them. Soldiers and sailors scaled the building and hurled rocks and eggs at the protesters. One man fired a bullet through a window.

But despite the violent response, the NWP refused to stop picketing. But it wasn't easy. Police allowed the attacks to continue, and instead of rounding up the violent mob, arrested the protesters. They caught up immigrants and labor radicals, middle-class teachers and

nurses, and the wives and daughters of America's elite. Given the choice of jail or paying a fine, dozens of women chose jail. Many were locked up in the dark, cramped cells of the Occoquan Workhouse, a bleak prison in northern Virginia. There, inmates endured maggot-infested food, unsanitary conditions, and hostile treatment from the guards. At first, sentences ranged from 30 to 60 days. But by fall, women were being jailed for six months simply for protesting peacefully outside the White House. All throughout this time, Paul had overseen the picketing from NWP headquarters. But in October, she decided it was time to join her allies in jail.

She came to the protests at the White House gates, where she was quickly arrested and sentenced to seven months at Occoquan. Soon after her arrival, Paul broke a window to let in air for her fellow inmates and was punished for it with transfer to solitary confinement in Washington, D.C.'s city jail. While there, Paul became weak and feeble, fed nothing but rotten pork and stale bread. After two weeks, she was placed in the prison hospital, where she joined forces with a fellow inmate, a suffragist named Rose Winslow.

This pair decided to revive a tactic Paul had first used eight years earlier in Britain, a hunger strike. Paul and Winslow were determined to protest their conditions by doing something to capture the nation's attention. But their act of defiance would trigger a brutal response. Imagine it's November 1917. You're a Polish-born factory worker and member of the National Women's Party.

You're in a jail in Washington, D.C. after being arrested for peacefully protesting the White House. You've been enduring worm-infested food and poor sanitation for weeks. But now you and Alice Paul have decided to begin a hunger strike in protest. It's been three days since you last ate, and you're curled up in the corner of your cell, feeling disoriented and weak. Time for breakfast. You look up as the guard slides a plate of raw, salted pork across the floor. Even though the sight of it makes you nauseous, there's a gnawing hunger in the pit of your stomach that's hard to ignore. But you refuse to give in.

I'm still not eating. The guard rolls his eyes. Lady, you better stop this nonsense. Are you trying to starve to death? I demand to be treated as a political prisoner. My fellow protesters and I have been put behind bars simply for exercising our First Amendment rights. I don't care what kind of prisoner you are. This can't go on. You try to stand up, but you sway, and for a moment your vision turns cloudy. Feel like you could faint. A political prisoner has rights. Like the right to real food. The right to send and receive mail. The right to meet with a lawyer. We won't stand for this treatment any longer.

Keep dreaming. Listen, if it was up to me, you could starve yourself all you want. But we can't have you women dying on our watch. Too much legal trouble. Guard walks towards you and grabs your elbow. Let me go. You try to fight him, but you're too weak. He drags you out into the hallway, where a second guard is waiting with a stretcher. They lift you onto it and begin tying you down. Stop this! If you refuse

food, we're just gonna have to make you eat. You struggle against the straps as the guard wheels you down the hallway. You know this can only mean one thing. It's what you feared ever since you began this hunger strike. They're gonna hold you down and force-feed you. In November 1917, Alice Paul and Rose Winslow launched a hunger strike. As punishment, and to convince the public that she was insane, Paul was carted off to the prison psychiatric ward. The hunger strike continued, though, for three days, until the prison guards decided they had had enough. They began subjecting Paul and Winslow to force-feeding.

Twice a day, they jammed a rubber tube down their nostrils and forced raw eggs into their stomach. Paul and Winslow often choked and vomited during the procedure. But Winslow managed to smuggle notes out of the prison with an account of the ordeal. She wrote, Miss Paul vomits much. I do too. My throat aches afterward, and I always weep and sob to my great disgust, quite against my will. We think of the coming feeding all day. It is horrible. Newspapers across the country described the force feeding in gruesome detail. Outraged over Paul's treatment,

the National Women's Party responded with more picketing at the White House. Arrests followed, and 33 female picketers were jailed at Occoquan. The youngest was 19. The oldest was 73. And while behind bars, these inmates followed Paul's protest and demanded status as political prisoners. When they were refused, they began their own hunger strikes. Force-feeding them soon followed, too.

The guards were determined to crack down on the resistance. On the night of November 14, 1917, male guards flung the women off their feet, handcuffed them, and dragged them through the corridors. NWP co-founder Lucy Burns was chained to the bars above her cell door and forced to stand all night. A guard smashed one woman against an iron bed, knocking her unconscious. Another suffered a heart attack but was denied medical care. The NWP called the brutality the Night of Terror. The shocking mistreatment sparked public outcry. Most Americans believed the punishments were far too heavy-handed for the crime. Even one of Wilson's advisors resigned over the issue. Two weeks after the Night of Terror,

NWP lawyers convinced a judge to release Paul and the other inmates. By then, 168 women had served time for their participation in pro-suffrage protests. But while Paul was in prison in the fall of 1917, Carrie Chapman Catt was busy leading a campaign in New York to add women's suffrage to the state Constitution. It had been just two years since New Yorkers had rejected a previous suffrage referendum, but Kat felt the time was right to give it a second try. New York was the largest and most powerful state in the nation, and it remained Kat's top strategic target. Her campaign was relentless and highly organized. Kat's allies raised huge amounts of money to pay organizers who knocked on doors

across the state collecting petition signatures. Campaigners established suffrage schools to teach volunteers how to canvass and speak to the press. And the fight was led by a diverse coalition, including working-class immigrants and Black activists. Catt had spent months carefully nurturing her relationship with President Wilson, but he had still not endorsed a federal amendment. Still, she felt he was inching closer, especially when he publicly expressed his hope that New Yorkers would grant women the ballot. And even though New York City's powerful Democratic Party machine, Tammany Hall, had long opposed suffrage, Kat's partner, Mary Garrett Hay, persuaded them that the political winds were shifting. Ten days before the election, Tammany Hall declared neutrality on the issue, announcing

that New Yorkers should feel free to vote as they wished. The climax of the campaign took place on October 27, 1917, when 20,000 suffragists marched down Fifth Avenue, holding signs with the signatures of one million New Yorkers. That election day, New York became the first eastern state to grant women the right to vote. Catt called the victory the Gettysburg of suffrage. She knew that the win of the nation's most populous state, with the largest congressional delegation, could be the tipping point they needed. Suffragists could feel the momentum building. Now they would renew their push for a federal amendment. But to succeed, they would have to

win over two-thirds of all sitting senators and congressmen. And they knew the margin of victory would be razor thin. Every last vote would count. Richard Bandler revolutionized the world of self-help all thanks to an approach he developed called neuro-linguistic programming. Even though NLP worked for some, its methods have been criticized for being dangerous in the wrong hands. Throw in Richard's dark past as a cocaine addict and murder suspect, and you can't help but wonder what his true intentions were. I'm Saatchi Cole. And I'm Sarah Hagee. And we're the hosts of Scamfluencers, a weekly podcast from Wondery that takes you along the twists and turns of the most infamous scams of all time, the impact on victims, and what's left once the facade falls away. We recently dove into the story of the godfather of modern mental manipulation,

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You can listen to Criminal Attorney early and ad-free right now by joining Wondery Plus in the Wondery app or on Apple Podcasts. By the end of 1917, suffragists had a real chance of pushing through their ultimate goal, a federal amendment to the Constitution that would give all American women access to the ballot. Since 1914, it had been commonly known as the Susan B. Anthony Amendment, named in honor of one of the key founders of the suffrage movement. But the Anthony Amendment had stalled in Congress for nearly 40 years. Still, recent victories now gave suffragists the chance to change that. They had a key ally in the House, too, Montana Congresswoman Jeanette Rankin.

In 1916, Rankin became the first woman elected to the U.S. House of Representatives. She was a potent symbol of the growing political power of women, and she fought hard to put suffrage on the congressional agenda. Her efforts paid off in December, when the House formed a new Women's Suffrage Committee to restart work on the amendment. The committee was made up of representatives from suffrage states, including Rankin. More members of Congress than ever before now counted women and suffrage supporters among their constituents. There were 12 states now where women had full access to the polls, and another six where

women could vote in the presidential or primary elections. And even outside those states, public opinion was shifting. The violence directed toward Alice Paul and her allies in the National Women's Party generated a wave of sympathetic press coverage. And while America's men fought in Europe, women had proven their patriotism by supporting the war at home. Their service gave new legitimacy to the argument that women deserved a voice in government. So the House Woman Suffrage Committee got to work quickly. Just a month after being formed, the committee conducted hearings on the Susan B. Anthony Amendment. Over five days in early January 1918,

the committee heard testimony from opponents and supporters. The suffragists prevailed when the committee made a favorable report on the amendment on January 8th, clearing the way for a floor vote. But they feared that unless they won President Wilson's full-throated support, they would ultimately fail. That same day, Wilson delivered his 14-point speech to Congress, outlining his grand plans for lasting global peace once the war was won. Wilson had his own political calculations to make. To secure his peace plan, he needed the Democratic Party to keep control of Congress in the midterm elections. And for that, he needed women's support. His opponents in the Republican Party were starting to rally around the amendment. And Wilson feared that come November,

they would use Democrats' opposition to suffrage against them. So the next day, Wilson summoned a dozen' opposition to suffrage against them. So the next day, Wilson summoned a dozen key House Democrats to the White House. He had a surprising announcement to make. He urged the congressmen to vote for the Anthony Amendment. At last, Wilson had finally endorsed changing the Constitution to give all American women the ballot. The congressmen walked out of the White House and delivered the news to a small crowd of reporters and suffragists waiting outside in the snow. Among them was Alice Paul, who later took credit for changing Wilson's mind. She reflected, suffrage was not in Wilson's thought at all until we, ourselves, injected it there, and it was not in the center of his thought

until the picketing was well along. The picketing did put public pressure on Wilson, as did the jail time and forced feeding that followed. Paul's activism pushed the suffrage agenda forward and made votes for women a matter of urgent debate. But Carrie Chapman Catt's quiet diplomacy was equally responsible. Catt had carefully courted Wilson for months, and the organization she led had proven its loyalty. But suffragists from both organizations were thrilled to finally have Wilson in their corner.

Still, his support alone would not be enough. For the amendment to win passage, they needed the approval of two-thirds of both the House and the Senate. On January 10, 1918, suffragists packed the galleries of Congress to watch the House vote. Congresswoman Rankin opened the floor debate. She gave a passionate speech, asking, How shall we explain the meaning of democracy if the same Congress that voted for war to make the world safe for democracy refuses to give this small measure of democracy to the women of our country. Everyone knew the vote would be close.

One pro-suffrage congressman held off from having a broken shoulder set so he could be there to cast his ballot. Another made it just in time despite being caught in a train wreck. Yet another left the bedside of his dying wife so he could vote in her honor. And when the House clerk announced the

final tally, the galleries erupted in cheers. The amendment passed by a single vote. After the House approved the amendment, suffragists turned their focus to the Senate. The next day, Kat gave marching orders in a letter to her staff. She declared, the woman's hour has struck. Start a campaign of letters and telegrams and keep it up. We won by a single vote in the House. We may be beaten by a single vote in the Senate. Leave no stone unturned. Put on your armor, mobilize your army, and be ready. But pushing the suffrage amendment through the Senate would prove far more difficult than Cat ever thought. Imagine it's May 1918, and you're in your office on Capitol Hill.

You're a Democratic senator from New Mexico and the chair of the Women's Suffrage Committee. For the past few months, you've been working without rest to get the votes you need to get this amendment through the Senate. But you've just hit a major stumbling block. You look up from your desk to see Carrie Chapman Catt burst into your office. What is the meaning of this, Senator? Mrs. Catt, I thought you might drop by. Please, have a seat. I prefer to stand. You better explain yourself, Senator.

I thought you were supposed to be holding a floor vote today. And now I hear at the last minute you've pulled the bill? Kat is literally trembling with rage. Push away from your desk, throwing your arms in the air. I don't know what you want me to say. When I scheduled the vote, I thought we had a chance. We were only two votes short. I've moved heaven and earth to get my colleagues back to Washington.

But it hasn't been enough. I just don't have the votes we need. Kat starts pacing your office. My lobbyists are doing everything they can. They work day and night persuading your colleagues. But I need you to meet me halfway. I thought I could count on you. To tell you the truth, Mrs. Kat, I don't like your tone.

I'm just as frustrated as you are. Oh, is that right? You're frustrated? Senator, I am nearly 60 years old. I have devoted my entire life to this cause. To see it get tossed aside by a handful of obstinate old men— Mrs. Cat! Need I remind you? I am your most important ally in this fight. Get out of my office and don't come back until you've improved your attitude. Kat laughs bitterly. You can almost feel the anger radiating from her.

Believe it or not, I've had a lifetime of men telling me to improve my attitude. Get your house in order, Senator. I'm sick and tired of waiting for the ballot. You rub your temples as she storms out. You have no idea where you're going to find the remaining votes you need. And after this hysterical outburst from Kat, you have half a mind to give up the fight altogether. The suffrage amendment faced an uphill battle in the Senate.

Twice in the winter and spring of 1918, anti-suffrage senators blocked and delayed the amendment vote. Kat's initial optimism quickly turned to anger and frustration. After a delay in May, she barged into the office of suffrage committee chair, Senator Andreas Jones, railing at him with such fury that her colleague had to

go smooth things over. But Jones could only do so much. Opposition in the Senate was strong among Southern Democrats who were fiercely against giving the vote to Black women. Making matters worse, ten sitting Senators died in office in 1918, seven of whom supported suffrage. Despite the challenges, the two wings of the suffrage movement kept up the pressure. Lobbyists with both the National Woman's Party and National American Woman's Suffrage Association made the rounds on Capitol Hill. The National Association pumped out letters and petitions while the NWP took to the streets, staging demonstrations in Washington Parks in August. Again, many of the protesters

were arrested and sent to prison, sparking another cycle of hunger strikes and force-feeding. But at long last, the Senate finally scheduled a vote in late September 1918. Catt urged President Wilson to go to the Senate in person to rally support. The United States and its allies were on the verge of victory in Europe, and Wilson was eager to boost suffrage, and with it, his allies were on the verge of victory in Europe, and Wilson was eager to boost suffrage, and with it, his own leadership on the global stage. So on September 30th, he arrived on the Senate floor and delivered a speech urging the amendment's passage as a war measure. He declared, I tell you plainly that this measure which I urge upon you is vital to

winning the war. But it wasn't enough. The next day, the amendment was struck down, falling short by just two votes. Still, suffragists kept fighting and organizing as the midterm elections loomed. Even when the Spanish flu pandemic ravaged America in the fall of 1918, activists kept working tirelessly to defeat their opponents in Congress, mostly Democrats. Their efforts paid off. When America went to the polls, Republicans took the majority in both the House and Senate. It was a breakthrough. Republicans were more inclined than Democrats to support the Susan B. Anthony Amendment, and suffragists now had a fighting chance of pushing it through.

On May 21, 1919, the new Republican-controlled Congress took their seats. They wasted no time acting. On its opening day, the new House held a vote and once again approved the Anthony Amendment. Then, on June 4, the amendment finally passed in the Senate, with just two votes more than a two-thirds majority. But celebrations were brief. The fight in the Senate had taken longer than anyone expected, and there was still much work to be done. What was now known as the 19th Amendment still needed to be ratified by the states to become law. Suffragists needed the approval of three-quarters of America's 48 states. This meant they had to convince 36 individual state

legislatures to grant voting rights to women. They rushed back to their districts to campaign. In state capitals across the nation, from Springfield to Sacramento, both wings of the movement swung into action. Over the next year, suffragists waged 36 separate battles for ratification, all with their own complex political issues. They were determined to get the amendment ratified before November 1920 so that women could participate in the next presidential election. By the end of June 1919, the amendment had sailed through nine state legislatures. With each new victory, Alice Paul sewed a new satin star onto her purple and gold ratification flag,

circulating images to publicize the campaign. But after these early wins, the remaining states proved more difficult. As the months wore on, activists fought with hostile legislators across America, racking up hard-won victories and crushing defeats. After a year of lobbying and campaigning, by June 1920, 35 states had ratified the 19th Amendment. Suffragists needed only one more state to make it the law of the land. But the final state would prove to be their biggest challenge yet. I'm Tristan Redman, and as a journalist, I've never believed in ghosts.

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the decades-long struggle for the vote. By then, 35 states had ratified the 19th Amendment. Of the remaining 13, eight had rejected it. Another three refused to even consider it. That left only two openings on the map, North Carolina and Tennessee. In North Carolina, defeat seemed likely. But Tennessee had recently given women the right to vote in presidential elections. Suffragists felt they had a chance. Still, Tennessee was a southern state where opposition to full suffrage was strong. Activists flocked to the state,

pouring all their resources and energy into winning ratification. Alice Paul remained in Washington, where she focused on raising funds. But in mid-July, Carrie Chapman Catt arrived in Nashville, the state capital. She brought just a small suitcase, expecting only to stay for a few days. But opposition was so strong, she extended her stay to lead fieldwork. In the sweltering first week of August 1920, suffragists, anti-suffragists, reporters, and corporate lobbyists all descended on Nashville in anticipation of a vote. Their headquarters was the Grand Hermitage Hotel, located across the street from the state capitol building. Suffrage activists faced tough opposition from major industries such as oil, manufacturing, and railroads. Many corporate leaders feared that

reform-minded women voters would enact laws to help labor and hurt their businesses. And by this time, prohibition was in effect. So suffrage opponents opened what was called the Jack Daniel Suite on the eighth floor of the hotel, where they supplied legislators with bootleg liquor around the clock. And flowing just as freely as the Tennessee whiskey were threats and bribes. Then on August 9th, the state legislature opened a special session. It was the start of the most chaotic showdown of the entire suffrage movement. Anti-suffrage legislators used procedural devices to delay the vote until the end of the week. Finally, on Friday, August the 13th, the Tennessee Senate voted in support of ratification.

But a more challenging battle lay ahead in the House. Over the weekend, suffragists struggled to maintain the support of drunken legislators stumbling through the halls of the hermitage. And on Monday, suffragists learned that Seth Walker, the powerful Speaker of the House and friend of the Governor, had switched sides. He was now leading the opposition. Suffragists blamed corporate money for the double-cross. Kat described her frustrations to a friend, writing, It is hot, muggy, nasty, and this last battle is desperate.

Even if we win, we will never remember it with anything but a shudder. Two days later, on August 18th, the House finally met to vote on ratification. Walker made a motion to table the amendment, which would effectively kill it. But the vote on Walker's motion ended in a tie. The amendment would not be tabled. And finally, the suffragists would find out if Tennessee would become their 36th and final state. Still, Speaker of the House Seth Walker was not worried. If the legislature deadlocked on his motion to table, they would almost certainly deadlock on the amendment itself as well, which meant it would be defeated. And among the legislators who voted to table the

amendment was 24-year-old Harry Byrne, the youngest representative in the House. Suffragists had believed Byrne to be on their side, but now, his last-minute hesitation made them worry he would be the deciding vote against ratification. But earlier that day, Byrne had received a letter from his mother telling him, don't forget to be a good boy and help Mrs. Cat. After the motion to table was defeated, next came the motion to ratify. When the vote got underway, Burns shocked the galleries when he abruptly decided to take his mother's advice and voted aye. The amendment passed on a razor-thin margin, 49 to 47.

After a long, 72-year struggle, women's suffrage had finally become the law of the land. In an instant, more than 26 million American women joined the electorate. It was the largest mass enfranchisement in American history. As word reached Washington, Alice Paul staged a celebration at National Women's Party headquarters. She unfurled her massive ratification flag, now emblazoned with 36 stars. She spoke triumphantly about the victory, while urging women to continue fighting for equal rights. She insisted, Our work cannot end. Women are not yet on an equal basis with men.

Meanwhile, Kat spoke at a victory reception at the White House. She delivered a short, emotional speech, urging women not to take the vote for granted, declaring, That vote has been costly. Prize it. The vote is a power, a weapon of offense and defense,

a prayer. Understand what it means and what it can do for your country. Of the 68 women who signed the Declaration of Sentiments at Seneca Falls, only one lived to see the ratification of the 19th Amendment. In 1848, glovemaker Charlotte Woodward Pierce was just a teenager. She remained an active suffragist for the rest of her life, and by 1920, she was 91 years old. On Election Day, she was too ill to go to the polls herself,

but she celebrated the achievement, declaring, My heart is with all women who vote. That November, all across America, millions of women went to the polls for the first time in their lives, ready to use the freedom that had been denied them for so long. Imagine it's the morning of November 2nd, 1920. It's Election Day in Baltimore, Maryland. You've lived through a dozen presidential elections.

But for the first time, you are walking into a polling station ready to vote. As you march up to the doors, your mind flashes to an image of your late mother, who was born into slavery in Virginia. You wish she were here to witness this moment. A group of smiling women rush past you as you enter the polling place. Red, white, and blue banners hang from the ceiling. A dozen people wait to vote at booths on the opposite side of the room. You approach an older white man at the back of the line. Excuse me, is this where we line up to vote?

He looks you up and down and scowls. Don't see any other lines, do you? I suppose not. You rummage nervously through your handbag. My voter registration card must be around here somewhere. I was in such a rush this morning, I almost walked out the door with mismatched shoes. I wanted to get here early so I wouldn't miss too much work. The man shrugs and takes a step forward as the line shortens.

To tell you the truth, I never understood the point of giving women the vote anyway. Especially your kind. Ignoring the stares of the other voters, you smile at the man. No, I suppose you wouldn't. You don't know anything about what it's like to be a second-class citizen in your country. To be denied any voice in your government. Who says women have a voice worth listening to? Only thing I cater here is the news that dinner's ready.

The man laughs, looks over your shoulder at the men in line behind you, searching for validation. You hear a few awkward chuckles. As it turns out, the president, Congress, and 36 state legislatures say so. Us women have the ballot now. And we're going to use it. Just you watch. That shuts the man up. When it's your turn at the front of the line, you take a big stride forward and hand the clerk your registration card.

As he scans the voter rolls for your name, you try not to fidget. You don't want the men in line behind you to see how nervous you are. Finally, after what feels like an eternity, the clerk hands back your card and a blank ballot, gesturing to a voting booth to your right. You stride in, close the curtain behind you, and fight back tears as you exercise your right to vote. Ten million women voted in the 1920 election. It was a landmark number, the most that had ever

cast a ballot, but it was only a third of the eligible female electorate. Just nine weeks had passed since the ratification of the 19th Amendment. Steep obstacles remained, including the challenge of registering millions of new voters. It would take time for women to exercise their power at the polls. And no one faced more challenges than Black women and other minority groups. In the South, Black women found their access to the ballot restricted long after the amendment passed. They struggled against the same disenfranchisement tactics that had long targeted Black men. And all around the country, Native American women could not vote until Congress granted them citizenship in 1924. In the years after ratification, the leaders of the suffrage movement continued their

activism. Carrie Chapman Catt transformed the National American Woman Suffrage Association into the League of Women Voters, aiming to educate women on how to exercise their voting rights. Alice Paul turned her focus to fighting for a complete end to gender discrimination. In 1923, she traveled to Seneca Falls to propose an equal rights amendment to the Constitution. Paul was 87 years old by the time Congress passed the amendment in 1972, but efforts to ratify it in the states ended in failure. Suffragists knew that winning the vote was not the end of their fight,

but only the beginning. The 19th Amendment did not instantly reshape America or transform gender roles. In 1920, equality between women and men in the public sphere was still far out of reach. It would take another feminist movement, a half-century later, to further push the boundaries of women's rights. But none of these gains would have been possible without the endurance and sacrifice of three generations of women who bravely fought for the vote. Their movement was only the start of an ongoing struggle to achieve gender equality, political power, and true democracy for all. From Wondery, this is Episode 5 of the Fight

for Women's Suffrage from American History Tellers. On our next episode, I'll be speaking with historian Alison Lang, author of Picturing Political Power, Images, and the Woman Suffrage Movement. We'll talk about how women used the power of visual imagery in their fight to ratify the 19th Amendment and how those images still resonate today. If you like American History Tellers, you can binge all episodes early and ad-free right now by joining Wondery Plus in the Wondery app or on Apple Podcasts. Prime members can listen ad-free on Amazon Music. And before you go, tell us about yourself by filling out a short survey at wondery.com slash survey.

If you'd like to learn more about the suffrage movement, we recommend Suffrage, Women's Long Battle for the Vote by Ellen Carol Du Bois, and The Woman's Hour, The Great Fight to Win the Vote by Elaine Weiss. American History Tellers is hosted, edited, and produced by me, Lindsey Graham, for Airship. Audio editing by Molly Bach. Sound design by Derek Perrins. Music by Lindsey Graham. Voice acting in this episode by Ace Anderson, Cat Peoples, and Cynthia San Luis. This episode is written by Ellie Standen, edited by Dorian Marina. Our senior producer is Andy Herman.

Our executive producers are Jenny Lauer-Beckman and Marsha Louis for Wondery. This is the emergency broadcast system. A ballistic missile threat has been detected inbound to your area. Your phone buzzes and you look down to find this alert. What do you do next? Maybe you're at the grocery store.

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