Tennessee supplied the decisive 36th ratification of the Nineteenth Amendment on August 18, 1920.
The amendment prohibited the United States and its states from denying citizens the right to vote on the basis of sex. By 1920, 35 states had ratified it, one short of the three-fourths majority required for constitutional amendments. Tennessee’s legislature then approved ratification, making it the necessary 36th state.
The final vote in Tennessee’s House of Representatives was close. Representative Harry Burn voted for ratification after receiving advice from his mother, Febb Burn, who urged him to support women’s suffrage. Tennessee’s action led to certification of the amendment on August 26, 1920.
The amendment did not instantly remove every barrier to voting. Many women of color, particularly in the South, continued to face discriminatory laws and enforcement practices. The Nineteenth Amendment established a constitutional voting guarantee, while later civil-rights laws strengthened its practical protection.