How to help with Tennessee Triumph statue
While the framers of our Constitution allowed for amendments to it in Article V, it is no easy task to accomplish. The primary method is for a proposed amendment to pass both the House and Senate by a two-thirds majority. The proposed amendment then becomes valid once it is ratified by the legislatures of three-fourths of the States. Through December 16, 2014, there have been 11,539 proposed amendments to our Constitution, with only 33 being passed by Congress. Of these 33, only 27 have been ratified.
This process is where Tennessee happened to find itself in 1920. The amendment – the 19th, which says in Section 1: The right of citizens of the United States to vote shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any state on account of sex. The 19th amendment essentially gave women the long awaited right to vote. There had been 35 states ratify the amendment prior to the hot summer of 1920. 36 states were needed and Tennessee became the focus to gain passage. On August 18, 1920, after a lengthy fight, the proposal passed. Then it had to endure a 48 hour reconsideration motion (which is a legislative maneuver to try and overturn) along with a block of the anti-defectors that left the state by boarding an L&N train to Alabama (to break the house quorum). The pro-suffrage delegates prevailed, however, and the Ratification became complete.
100-year celebration plans abound across our state and a group of Clarksville leaders wanted to honor the local women who joined together starting in 1914 to promote the women’s right to vote. It was a delight for the committee women to discover their host’s home was actually the house where the first equal suffrage meeting in Clarksville was held. The committee commissioned a sculpture by Roy Butler, using authentic artifacts from the Customs House Museum and nicknamed it Tennessee Triumph. It depicts all Clarksville women who worked for suffrage and voted in their first Presidential election in 1920. The unveiling is scheduled for August 15, 2020.
An opportunity exists for anyone interested in being a permanent part of this local 19th Amendment Commemoration via purchasing a brick for $100 (4x8) or $200 (8x8). The sculpture funding has been pledged and this final phase will provide funds for the foundation/base of the sculpture, an inscription of the 19th Amendment and the surrounding area in Public Square where it will be located. By purchasing a brick, the name you choose to honor will become a part of a 100-year commemoration where the process to gain the women’s right to vote represented true democracy at work. In the pursuit of their goal, these pioneer women of the Clarksville Equal Suffrage League had to face ridicule and threats of violence for six years. This was a common occurrence across our nation as it took thirty years of efforts to form coalitions just to put forth the first proposed amendment to Congress. Then it took one amendment proposal after another for over forty years to reach actual Ratification, again completed with Tennessee’s passage in 1920.
The web site to order bricks is www.brickmarkersusa.com/donors/cmh.html.
NOTE: PayPal requires a billing/shipping address. This is used for PayPal only. The Bricks will not be shipped to you directly. There is a form that can be printed and mailed should this payment method be preferred.