- On August 18, 1920, Tennessee became the 36th and final state to ratify the 19th amendment, granting 27 million women across the US the right to vote.
- For six weeks leading up to that day, suffragists and anti-suffragists campaigned for the votes of state congressman in the halls of Nashville's The Hermitage Hotel.
- The fight for women's right to vote in The Hermitage Hotel became known as the "War of the Roses."
- Take a look inside the five-star boutique property, which just became a National Historic Landmark and is offering suffrage-themed cocktails to honor the 100th anniversary of the ratification of the 19th amendment.
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One hundred years ago, The Hermitage Hotel in Nashville became the center of a heated debate over women's right to vote.
Source: The Hermitage Hotel
In the summer of 1920, the decision of whether or not to ratify the 19th amendment fell to Tennessee's legislature.
Source: The Hermitage Hotel, National Park Service
Determined to see the amendment ratified, leaders of the suffragist movement camped out for six weeks between July and August at The Hermitage Hotel.
Source: The Hermitage Hotel, The Tennessee State Museum
Located one block from the state capitol, The Hermitage Hotel was a well-known haunt of politicians.
Source: The Hermitage Hotel
Governors were known to live in the hotel's rooms before taking office ...
Source: The Hermitage Hotel
... and senators and representatives would gather at the hotel's restaurant and bar to discuss matters of the day.
Source: The Hermitage Hotel
Together with journalists, suffragists sat in the Beaux-Arts lobby waiting for run-ins with politicians.
Source: The Hermitage Hotel
In between encounters, they mapped out their strategy over tea and in hotel rooms.
Source: The Hermitage Hotel
The suffragists didn't just have to contend with politicians, however. Anti-suffragists also set up their campaign headquarters at the hotel.
Source: The Hermitage Hotel, National Park Service
Hotel guests took to wearing different colored roses to identify which campaign they belonged to: suffragists wore yellow, and anti-suffragists wore red.
Source: The Hermitage Hotel
Their battle for the right to vote became known as "The War of the Roses."
Source: The Hermitage Hotel
Finally, on August 18, 1920, Tennessee ratified the 19th amendment. The amendment became law eight days later on August 26, granting 27 million women across the US the right to vote.
Source: The Hermitage Hotel, Visit Music City, The Suffragist Memorial
In honor of the 100th anniversary, The Hermitage Hotel has put its collection of private artifacts from the summer of 1920 on display in a new lobby exhibition.
Source: The Hermitage Hotel
Guests can also join weekly history tours. While the hotel was renovated in the early 2000s, it looks much the same as it did back in 1920 and became a National Historic Landmark at the end of July.
Source: The Hermitage Hotel, US Department of the Interior
Through the remainder of the year, the hotel will be offering a socially distanced suffrage tea series with historical reenactors in honor of the suffrage movement's beginnings over high tea.
Source: The Hermitage Hotel
A new suffrage-themed cocktail service includes drinks named after famous suffragists like Carrie Chapman Catt, who led the lobbying campaign at The Hermitage and went on to found the League of Women Voters.
Source: The Hermitage Hotel, Library of Congress
One drink is called the "tiebreaker," since Tennessee's decision to ratify the 19th amendment came down to a single tiebreaker vote.
Source: The Hermitage Hotel
The Hermitage Hotel is currently operating with social distancing and cleaning protocols in place to ensure guest safety.
Source: The Hermitage Hotel