Free Workshop on New Digital Collection About Women's Voting Rights

Tennessee played a pivotal role in the passage of the 19th Amendment to the United States Constitution, which gave women the right to vote. During a hot summer in 1920, Tennessee became the final state needed to meet a requirement that three-fourths of states approve the amendment in order for it to become federal law.

Women's Suffrage: Tennessee and the Passage of the 19th Amendment
TeVA: Tennessee Virtual Archive

Genny Carter, a librarian at the Library & Archives, will discuss the political battle that raged in Nashville preceding Tennessee's vote on the amendment during the next event in our free lecture series. Her talk, titled "Women’s Suffrage: Tennessee and the Passage of the 19th Amendment,” will be held in the Library & Archives auditorium Aug. 20 from 9:30 a.m. until 11 a.m.

Her presentation will focus on items in a new online collection about the women's suffrage movement, which was created using the many documents and photographs stored at the Library & Archives. This collection includes letters, telegrams, political cartoons, broadsides, photographs and audio clips. Most of the material comes from the papers of prominent pro-suffrage lobbyist Carrie Chapman Catt, anti-suffrage lobbyist Josephine A. Pearson and Governor Albert H. Roberts.

"I'm pleased that we now have this collection online to provide easier access to people who like to learn more about this important event in our state's history," Secretary of State Tre Hargett said. "I'm sure this talk will help raise awareness about the materials we have and why they are historically significant."

Although the lecture is free and open to the public, registration is required due to limited seating in the auditorium. To register, please visit: http://suffrage.eventbrite.com.

The Library & Archives is located at 403 Seventh Avenue North, just west of the State Capitol in downtown Nashville. Free parking is available around the building.

The Tennessee State Library and Archives is a division of the Tennessee Department of State and Tre Hargett, Secretary of State