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| Harry T. Burn | |
|---|---|
| Name | Harry T. Burn |
| Birth date | February 22, 1895 |
| Birth place | Savannah, Tennessee |
| Death date | June 22, 1977 |
| Death place | Knoxville, Tennessee |
| Occupation | Politician |
| Party | Republican / Democratic |
| Known for | decisive vote ratifying the Nineteenth Amendment |
Harry T. Burn was an American politician from Tennessee who as a young member of the Tennessee House of Representatives cast the decisive vote in 1920 that ensured ratification of the Nineteenth Amendment, enfranchising women in the United States. A native of Savannah, Tennessee and later a resident of Knoxville, Tennessee, he served in state government, participated in post‑World War I politics, and his action influenced national debates involving the National American Woman Suffrage Association, the United States Congress, and state legislatures.
Born February 22, 1895, in Savannah, Tennessee, he was raised in Hardin County, Tennessee and attended local schools. He studied at Savannah High School and pursued higher education at institutions in Tennessee, later working in the private sector and participating in civic organizations connected to regional affairs. His formative years occurred during periods shaped by the aftermath of the Spanish–American War, the growth of Memphis, Tennessee and Nashville, Tennessee, and political realignments influenced by figures such as Cordell Hull and Ben W. Hooper.
He was elected to the Tennessee House of Representatives as a representative from McMinn County, Tennessee (note: he later represented a district including Polk County, Tennessee), entering state politics during the 1910s and 1920s when state legislatures addressed amendments proposed by the United States Congress. While in the legislature he engaged with contemporaries from the Tennessee State Capitol and with lawmakers affiliated with the Republican Party and the Democratic Party. His legislative service overlapped with policy debates involving governors such as A. H. Roberts and national leaders including Woodrow Wilson and Warren G. Harding. During his tenure he navigated alliances and pressures from interest groups like the National American Woman Suffrage Association, the Anti‑Suffrage League, and regional newspapers such as the Knoxville Journal and the Nashville Tennessean.
In August 1920, amid a climactic struggle over ratification of the Nineteenth Amendment, he served on the floor of the Tennessee General Assembly when the decisive vote was taken. The ratification contest brought together delegates, activists from the National American Woman Suffrage Association and the National Women's Party, state legislators, and national figures watching the outcome in Washington, D.C. and at party headquarters of the Republican National Committee and the Democratic National Committee. Facing pressure from legislative leaders such as E. J. Lewis and from political allies aligned with former governors, he received correspondence and lobbying directed by suffrage leaders including Anna Howard Shaw, Carrie Chapman Catt, and other activists based in New York City and Nashville, Tennessee. Crucially, he acted on a letter from his mother, who urged support for ratification; his affirmative vote broke a legislative tie and led the Tennessee House of Representatives to affirm the amendment. That ratification secured the necessary number of states for national adoption, affecting elections, civic participation, and subsequent legal and political developments involving the United States Supreme Court and state election laws.
After the 1920 session he remained active in Tennessee public life, returning to private business in Knoxville, Tennessee and serving in various local offices and civic roles. His pivotal vote was commemorated by historians of the suffrage movement, authors chronicling the passage of the Nineteenth Amendment, and institutions such as the Library of Congress, Smithsonian Institution, and regional historical societies in Tennessee. Scholarly works and biographies compared his role to other decisive moments in American politics, drawing parallels with legislative turning points like the ratification of the Thirteenth Amendment and debates in statehouses across the nation. Monographs and documentary treatments placed him among the cast of figures—suffragists, politicians, and lobbyists—who shaped early 20th‑century civil rights and voting history.
He married and raised a family in Tennessee, maintaining ties to communities in McMinn County, Tennessee and Knox County, Tennessee. Members of his family remained involved in regional civic and business circles, interacting with institutions such as Tennessee Technological University and local chambers of commerce. He died June 22, 1977, in Knoxville, Tennessee; his legacy endures in accounts by scholars, museums, and suffrage commemorations that also reference events and personalities such as Alice Paul, Lucy Burns, and political contemporaries from the era.
Category:People from Tennessee Category:Members of the Tennessee House of Representatives Category:American suffrage movement