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Floor Speech

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Mrs. BLACKBURN. Mr. President, 105 years ago today, this Chamber did something truly historic: It passed the 19th Amendment to secure the right to vote for American women.

The amendment's ratification by the States 1 year later marked the largest enfranchisement in U.S. history, extending the vote to 26 million Americans.

This incredible achievement fulfilled more than 70 years of tireless efforts by brave suffragists to make our country a more perfect Union, including many Tennessee women: Abbey Crawford Milton from Chattanooga, Ida B. Wells from Memphis, and Anne Dallas Dudley from Nashville.

On this anniversary, I am especially reminded of Febb Burn of Niota, TN. In the summer of 1920, the Tennessee General Assembly was in a heated debate about whether Tennessee would ratify the 19th Amendment. At the time, 35 States had already voted to ratify the amendment, so only 1 more was needed to make the 19th Amendment the law of the land.

On the day of the vote in Nashville, Febb Burn wrote a letter to her son, Harry Burn, the youngest member of the Tennessee State Legislature. She urged her son to support the amendment. She wrote:

Hurrah and vote for suffrage and don't keep them in doubt.

At first, Harry pinned a red rose--the symbol of the anti-suffragist movement--to his shirt and voted to table the amendment in back-to-back deadlocked votes, but with his mother's letter in his coat pocket, Harry ultimately listened to her advice, switched his vote, and switched to a yellow rose on that lapel, making Tennessee the 36th and final State to ratify the 19th Amendment.

As the first woman to represent Tennessee in the U.S. Senate, I have a special appreciation for the women who fought this fight, and I have worked to honor their legacy and advance their cause. But as we remember the suffragists on this anniversary, it is important to recognize that women are still fighting for a seat at the table and recognition for their achievements.

Look no further than the National Mall right here in our Nation's Capital. This 2-mile stretch of land--America's front yard, as it is known--honors our Nation's history and ideals with monuments, memorials, and statues of incredible Americans who have made tremendous sacrifices to make our country a more perfect Union. Yet, among the 40 monuments, not 1 is dedicated to American women.

That is why, alongside Senator Baldwin, I introduced the bipartisan Women's Suffrage National Monument Location Act, which would finally secure a monument honoring women's history on the National Mall. This monument will commemorate the women's suffragist movement, the passage of the 19th Amendment, and the incredible women who fought to secure the vote for millions of Americans.

The House unanimously passed this legislation in November. Now the Senate should vote to make this memorial a reality and honor the giants who paved the way for generations of American women.

I urge every Member of this Chamber to join Senator Baldwin and me in supporting the Women's Suffrage National Monument Location Act.

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