This article is a revised version of one I wrote for the Fall, 1995 issue of the NY State Branch Chai Lines. It is as pertinent today as it was then.

 

Shabbat Shalom  

Lois 

 

TO BE OR NOT TO BE A MAJORITY OF ONE

By Lois Silverman 

This August marks the 100th Anniversary of the 19th Amendment to the US Constitution which granted the right to vote to women. Certainly 100 years ago the desire to vote wasn't a universal one among women. The culture and mores of the time taught women as well as men that women were created to be subservient helpmates for men; that women were not capable of making the decisions necessary in order to cast an intelligent vote due to frailty and lack of intelligence; that women's voting was against God's Laws. For those women who fought for suffrage during the more than 75-year fight for passage of the 19th Amendment, the struggle appeared to be a hopeless one. They fought for an unpopular cause against foes who weren't afraid to use insults, physical and emotional attacks, and just old-fashioned verbal abuse. Many gave up the struggle; some never gave up. But the cost for fighting was high. I remember reading John Kennedy's Profiles in Courage when I was about 13. I remember thinking how great it was to fight an unpopular battle, not for honor, not for glory, but rather just for principle. If you were fighting a battle for an unpopular cause, would you continue the struggle when the fighting got "low down and dirty?" I for one can say I would since I have. In the years I've been active in our synagogue, I have championed many unpopular causes. At the beginning of each cause, I was alone. Then as time went on more and more people joined me, and many times we were victorious. Of course, there was a price to pay for these victories. Each struggle becomes harder and harder to fight because one becomes tired. Each struggle becomes harder to fight because, over the years, fewer people want to become involved; they don't want to become involved because they don't want to lose friends or invitations to parties; they don't want to get too involved because with involvement come personal groundless, inappropriate attacks and insults. Being a majority of one is not for everyone. An article by Lawrence Hardy appeared in the August 20, 1995 issue of the Utica Observer-Dispatch about Harry Burns, a 24-year-old representative in the Tennessee Legislature, whose unpopular stand and changed the course of history. In August, 1920, 35 states had ratified the 19th Amendment--one less than the number needed for passage--when the debate shifted to Tennessee. Activists from both sides descended on Nashville, "buttonholing" representatives and arguing points. The anti-suffragists held an edge because they opened a bar in a local hotel and plied the uncommitted with bourbon while Prohibition-era police looked the other way. When ratification finally came to a vote, it was Burn's vote which gave the victory for ratification. After the vote, Burn fled to the State Library and Archives Building to escape the crowds. Rumors flew. Some claimed he was kidnapped to keep him from ­changing his vote. Others said he was threatened.* Tennessee had three days to reconsider its vote. But another vote was not taken and the 19th Amendment became law. The article does not state what became of Harry Burns. Most likely his political career was over at 24 because he stood up for what he believed no matter what the cost.** And so should we. Doing what is right should not be a liability. Having a social and moral conscience should be a universal characteristic and not one reserved for the people branded as troublemakers, firebrands, odd balls, or the "L"-word. Certainly Harry Burns deserves a place in any new edition of Profiles of Courage--especially if it is written by a woman.

 

NOTES UPON REVISION THIS ARTICLE:
*Contrary to popular belief, Burn was not chased out the Capitol by an angry mob of Anti-suffragists; rather the Antisuffrage forces accused him of bribery and a grand jury was called to investigate the accusations.

**Burn narrowly won reelection to a second term in the house after a grueling campaign back home in McMinn County. He went on to hold public office for much of his adult life, including positions in the State House of Representatives, 1918-1922; State Senate, 1948-1952; state planning commission, 1952-1970; and as delegate for Roane County to the Tennessee Constitutional Conventions of 1953, 1959, 1965 and 1971. Burn also ran unsuccessfully for the Republican gubernatorial nomination in 1930.