Early on Sunday morning, August 8, Governor Albert Roberts’s aides bounded up the steps of the capitol building, briefcases in hand. House Speaker Seth Walker would be meeting with them in just a few minutes. The governor really needed Seth’s help keeping the Antis at bay. It was time to nail down a win for woman’s suffrage, once and for all.
Between the election in November and the fight for suffrage in Nashville, Albert was under a lot of pressure. He still had to win the general election and beat Republican Alf Taylor. Alf was serious competition. His numbers in the election polls were starting to creep up.
If Albert had any hope of holding on to his job as the governor of Tennessee, he’d need help. Specifically, the help of the Democratic presidential candidate: James Cox.
But first, Albert knew that he would need to prove to Cox that the suffrage amendment was a sure bet in Tennessee. Woman’s suffrage would be good for the Democratic Party, Cox believed. He wouldn’t give Albert a hand unless it ratified.
Besides, Albert also could really use the votes of Tennessee women. Surely if he stood by their side, they’d be grateful enough to him to mark his name on the ballot. Or so he hoped.
Albert’s closest advisers were still strongly against ratification. His support for it would ruin his career, they warned. All the Tennesseans pushing for states’ rights would be mad at him. Worse yet, the powerful corporations and businesses of Tennessee saw woman’s suffrage as nothing but a wrench in their plans to make more money.
Yes, Albert had admitted to his advisers, these were all solid points. But he overruled them. Albert knew what he had to do: he had to push this ratification through the legislature, no matter what! So what if he angered a few people? His career, in the long run, depended on it. And he had the whole thing set up: the Speaker of the house, Seth Walker, had the power to carry the amendment in the house; senate Speaker Andrew Todd would guide it through the senate. Albert had his team.
Seth Walker was on board for ratification: he’d joined the Men’s Ratification Committee and pledged to vote aye. He was even going to be the one to introduce the ratification resolution in the house of representatives. The game plan needed to be perfected before it was put in play tomorrow, even though everything was basically in place.
That’s why it was such a shock to Governor Roberts’s team when Seth marched in to their meeting, flushed and agitated. He’d had a “change of conviction,” he announced. He’d decided to oppose ratification. And, he said, Governor Roberts was courting political disaster if he continued to support it.
With that, Seth turned on his heel and strode out the door.
Albert Roberts and his staff were shell-shocked. What on earth were they going to do now? Everything—the reputation of the Democratic Party, the upcoming election, not to mention getting all those radical Suff ladies off his back—depended on a quick, easy ratification. Albert tried to reason with Seth, practically begging him to reconsider. But the young lawyer’s mind was set. Whatever—or whoever—could have changed his mind?
By evening, the governor’s normally scowling face—he rarely smiled—took on a look of total dismay. Albert knew he had to keep a lid on all this, to keep it hidden from the newspapers as long as possible. It was embarrassing! It made him look like he wasn’t in control of his allies, let alone the whole legislature. His weakness was showing. How could he explain this to Cox? Or to President Wilson?
He needed time to think things through, to come up with an alternate plan. But—now that the city was crawling with politicians and journalists—this had to be the worst time to try to keep a secret.
That evening, Governor Roberts had a meeting with Tennessee Suffs in the executive wing of the statehouse. With just a few hours until the session, they had to cram to review last-minute strategies. Albert was extremely impressed by how prepared the women were. They seemed to know as much as his team—more, even. He promised the women he’d do everything in his power to win ratification.
He just didn’t tell them that Seth Walker had deserted them, double-crossed him, and made the whole ratification business much more difficult. It was up to Seth to tell them that himself.
Carrie Catt knew that Harriet Upton had arrived at the Hotel Hermitage when she heard a booming laugh echo down the hallway. That was Harriet’s distinct laugh, all right, and Carrie was happy to hear it. Carrie and Harriet had been working together on the Cause for thirty years. They’d both been Aunt Susan’s girls. Harriet was comfortable with the rough-and-tumble of politics. She didn’t mind getting her hands dirty or cracking jokes to lighten up any awkward situations.
Carrie was thrilled to see her comrade. Harriet was also an “outsider,” another Yankee fish-out-of-water in the South. Carrie was just beginning to realize how much southerners resented the meddling of the out-of-town Suffs. Between Nina Pinckard’s nasty smear piece in the Banner and the dirty looks Carrie got in the halls of the hotel, these Antis were having a fine time picking on her.
On Sunday night, with the opening of the special session just hours away, the Chief gathered her troops. NAWSA Suffs of all stripes—women and men, Democrats and Republicans—assembled in Carrie’s Hermitage suite. Harriet Upton and Marjorie Shuler joined, too.
Carrie was all business. The Antis would be throwing every possible obstacle into the amendment’s path, she knew. She had to prepare her warriors to win.
Their strategy was all set. Carrie broke it down once more:
Maintain pressure on the presidential candidates and national parties.
Keep close tabs on the legislators.
Push for a quick ratification vote—before any more men could be swayed by the Antis.
The Suffs listened closely, nodding in agreement. Passing the amendment was their number one goal, but making the Chief proud was a close second.
They’d spent the past weekend diligently socializing, greeting delegates at the train station, and chatting them up in the Hermitage lobby. Drama was heating up, though. Some men were changing their minds or trying to pledge both ways! Others were planning to not vote at all. And now the newspapers were filled with stories about “mysterious influences” and “vague, nameless forces” entering Nashville. These “forces,” the papers claimed, were “reputed to have the unlimited financial backing of certain interests, which are opposed on principle…to woman suffrage.” Translation: big businesses, such as the L&N Railroad, were trying to influence men to vote against woman’s suffrage.
Carrie brushed the Suffs’ worries away and tried to keep their spirits bright. She dove into the details of the battle plan, speaking with confidence and force:
Only Tennessee NAWSA women—like Abby Milton, Anne Dudley, Catherine Kenny, and Charl Williams—were to go to the statehouse, Carrie said. They would present a 100 percent Tennessean face in the capitol. Carrie and Harriet would stay in the background. They wouldn’t go to the statehouse at all, so their “Yankee” presence wouldn’t play into the Antis’ hands.
Meanwhile, Sue’s plan was to be right out there on the firing line, on the floor of the chambers. She also needed her fellow Woman’s Party members, especially Anita Pollitzer and Betty Gram, to guard their assigned men. The three of them were trying hard to seem cool and calm, the model Woman’s Party warriors. But they struggled to hide their terror.
None of the Suffs knew of Seth Walker’s betrayal yet.
Their strategy sessions ran long and late. Around midnight, the Suffs all parted ways to go to bed. Few could sleep.