A principled and accomplished man, Harry T. Burns vote to ratify the Nineteenth Amendment was far from his only action that changed the course of our state and nations history. Tyler L. Boyds research on Burn, his great-granduncle, sheds a new light on a great man.Burn lived the life of a public servant. He led the fight against the adoption of a state income tax and fought for home rule, which gave local governments the ability to govern themselves without burdensome oversight from the state. Tennessee Statesman Harry T. Burn: Woman Suffrage, Free Elections and a Life of Service makes me even more proud to walk in Burns footsteps, having held the same seats as him in the Tennessee House of Representatives and the Tennessee Senate. Boyds work tells the story of a remarkable American and Tennessean who changed the course of history for good.
State Senator Mike Bell (R-9th District)
As we approach the 100th anniversary of the ratification of the Nineteenth Amendment next year, Americans are discovering the history of the woman suffrage movement and the stories of the Americans who led it to victory. These stories are a vast part of our nations history but they are not often discussed. It would be a tragedy if the stories of these trailblazers were forgotten by future generations. Works like this will keep their memory alive.
U.S. Senator Marsha Blackburn (R-Tennessee)
Tyler L. Boyd deserves enormous credit for his research on Harry T. Burn, an important Tennessee public servant. In addition to Burns deciding vote in 1920 to enfranchise women, he also voted to remove the onerous poll tax, authored bills to protect against election fraud and for permanent voter registration, and to lower the voting age to 18. What a great legacy!
Paula F. Casey, cofounder, Tennessee Woman Suffrage Heritage Trail
I encourage others to take time out and read this book and realize how a mothers love and persuasion moved her son to do what was right, even though unpopular at the time, and turned hysteria into history.
former congressman Bob Clement (D-Tennessee)
The most remarkable aspect of Harry T. Burns illustrious public service was his consistent and profound connection to our nations founding principles. As the representative who currently holds Burns seat, this book made me keenly aware I stand upon the shoulders of one of the greatest statesmen in our history.
State Representative Mark Cochran (R-23rd District)
As a woman in an elected position, I take pride in the 19th Amendment. As a Tennessean, I take pride in the role Tennessee had in its pilotable ratification. And as a person who feels immense pride in their family legacy, I recognize the passion and detail Tyler L. Boyd put into this book on his ancestor and the voice that led to the 19th Amendment, Harry T. Burn.
State Senator Becky Duncan Massey (R-6th District)
This book by a proud descendant lets the rest of us know more intimately the man who seized the opportunity to free 17,000,000 women from political slavery. The story of what happened before and after Burns fateful vote has been told often but often told wrong. Tennessee Statesman Harry T. Burn: Woman Suffrage, Free Elections and a Life of Service by Tyler L. Boyd gives us the real story, one well worth remembering as we commemorate the ratification of the Nineteenth Amendment in August 1920, courtesy of the Volunteer State.
Marjorie J. Spruill, author of Divided We Stand; New Women of the New South; One Woman, One Vote; and Votes for Women: The Woman Suffrage Movement in Tennessee, the South, and the Nation
Harry T. Burn is known as the young Tennessee legislator who listened to his mother, taking her advice to support ratification of the 19th Amendment in 1920. Burn secured the right to vote for American women, but his life and character have remained unexplored. Now, in this deeply researched biography, Tyler L. Boyd finally brings us the full man, putting into context Burns singular act of conscience, helping us to understand how one person can make a difference.
Elaine Weiss, author of The Womans Hour: The Great Fight to Win the Vote
Tennessee Statesman Harry T. Burn: Woman Suffrage, Free Elections and a Life of Service is the best work on Burn to date. Detailed and informative, this important biography reads well. It is a must read for history lovers as we approach the 100th anniversary of Burns historic tie breaking vote.
State Senator Ken Yager (R-12th District)
Published by The History Press
Charleston, SC
www.historypress.com
Copyright 2019 by Tyler L. Boyd
All rights reserved
Cover images: Images of Harry Burn and Febb Burn courtesy of the Burn family; image of Tennessee State Capitol courtesy of the Tennessee State Library and Archives; image of the envelope courtesy of the Calvin M. McClung Historical Collection.
First published 2019
e-book edition 2019
ISBN 978.1.43966.761.3
Library of Congress Control Number: 2019939743
print Edition ISBN 978.1.46714.318.9
Notice: The information in this book is true and complete to the best of our knowledge. It is offered without guarantee on the part of the author or The History Press. The author and The History Press disclaim all liability in connection with the use of this book.
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form whatsoever without prior written permission from the publisher except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews.
For James Lane Edwin Burn and Rebecca Brooke Winslett.
FOREWORD
I have a newspaper clipping from August 1995 that details the seventy-fifth anniversary of the ratification of the Nineteenth Amendment in the Tennessee House of Representatives. I have treasured this clipping over the years because of our personal family connection to it: as a state representative at the time, I invited my husbands great-aunt, Margaret Wyatt, to sit on the floor with me. She was there to witness a reenactment of the very thing shed seen in person seventy-five years earlier. Sensing history might be made that day way back in 1920, her mother had allowed her to skip school. They watched from the House gallery as the Tennessee House of Representatives voted to extend themand women all across our countrythe right to vote. Detailed in this book, Harry T. Burn gave an interview in 1974 in which he described the atmosphere that day: The gallery of the Capitol was packed as it has never been since.
I first met Tyler L. Boyd when I was traveling the state, something I did frequently as Speaker of the Tennessee House of Representatives. He mentioned that he was writing a book about Harry Burn, known for casting the deciding vote ratifying the Nineteenth Amendment, and I was interested in hearing more. As the states first female Speaker, I feel a connection to that moment, not only because of our family history but also because these are the very events that led to a woman being elected Speaker. He stayed in touch over the course of the next few months and traveled to the capitol to observe and photograph the settings detailed in the book. We were happy to accommodate him, because this is a story that deserves to be told. When he asked me to write the foreword, I was truly honored.
