News shared from Knoxville Branch – read the full story here
Harry T. Burn stands as an outsized figure in the suffrage movement, the story of his dramatic turnabout vote in favor of ratifying the 19th Amendment part of Tennessee lore.
As the centennial anniversary of Tennessee’s ratification – which gave the amendment approval from enough states to become constitutional law – is commemorated, myths still linger about Burn, who was 24 at the time of the Aug. 18, 1920, vote.
Those myths obscure the full story not only of his actions right before, during and after his historic vote, but also the rest of his life.
And oft forgotten in East Tennessee is that Burn’s vote would not have been so memorable without the help of the three Knox County state House members who also voted for ratification but aren’t venerated the way Burn is.
Tyler Boyd, a teaching assistant at Lenoir City High and the great-grandson of Burn’s brother, Jack, recently wrote a book called “Tennessee Statesman: Harry T. Burn” that dispels three myths about Burn, who was born and lived in the McMinn County community of Niota at the time of his vote.