Elaine F. Weiss

In 1954, Brown vs Board of Education was fresh in everyone's minds. Southern states had been counting on black citizens to remain uneducated to prevent them from voting. Full desegregation would mean the end of the white power structure. Black schools were often too remote to reach, with no buses, and critically underfunded. This was especially true of South Carolina's Gullah islands. Unwilling to bend to federal law, Southern state courts produced every hurdle imaginable. If one proved show more sympathetic to the cause, one was immediately fired, brutally attacked, or rounded up by the FBI for "promoting civil unrest" and "communism."

"Spell Freedom" is riveting from start to finish. The narrative moves seamlessly between our main four - with Mrs. Clark at the heart of it - maintaining the black perspective and reader accessibility. Weiss allows their readers to feel welcomed into the Highlander. To feel the joy, anger, patience, determination, fear, and relief that encompasses this unique institution. Their techniques inspire many, like Rosa Parks and John Lewis.

The hell that these folks went through just to be able to register and vote certainly humbles today's dismissive absentees. The political record and public action speak for themselves. This is the America that your parents and grandparents grew up in, may have even participated in. This is the history that gets banned or removed from a curriculum, and yet it is more relevant than ever. show less

"Even if we win we who have been here will never remember it with anything but a shudder." While I imagine the leading suffragist Catherine Catt did not really feel that way after the battle to ratify women's suffrage in Tennessee was over, this book provided an informative and exciting corrective to my naive assumption that once President Wilson came out for women's suffrage the Nineteenth Amendment was enacted with ease. The book takes a very interesting look at how progress really came show more about: following other states' unexpected rejections, Tennessee became the critical thirty-sixth state required to amend the Constitution, and the struggle over the votes of her legislators ran the gamut from the highest idealism to (on the Anti side mainly) the lowest dregs of bribery, blackmail, intoxication, racism and cowardice. It was particularly interesting to learn about the prominent Southern anti-suffragist women activists and their ideological commitments: to them, politics was a dirty, shady business that well-bred women ought not to leave their domestic duties to get involved in; at the same time, and not entirely compatibly, their menfolk were their honoured preservers to whom they looked to uphold the Southern way of life. The reader will be surprised and moved by what turned the last single vote in the end. Lastly, the penultimate chapter notes interesting consequences and developments, particularly around the evolution of women's right-wing movements, such as the 'Women's Red Scare': I would not be surprised to hear if this were to be the topic of the author's next book. show less

This book says it is about the last few days of the fight for the 19th Amendment, as the force for and against suffrage gathered in Tennessee to either win or prevent the 36th state - the last needed for ratification. In reality, it is much broader than that, sweeping through the history of the Suffrage fight from the antebellum days to the final countdown, as players jockeyed for position and played politics in manners both dirty and clean. It was interesting to discover the dirty tricks show more played by the Antis, and the questionable legality of many of their maneuvers (as well as outright bribery, which is not of questionable legality but is illegal). Passions flared on both sides, perhaps made warmer by the fact that this was happening in the dog days of summer, as the nation headed toward the 1920 presidential election. The author presents each side much as the women (and some men) who were on that side experienced it, though her sympathies are plainly with the "Suffs". The wishy-washy attitudes of many of the men, and the downright hostility toward women voting, comes through loud and clear in the author's highly lucid and readable prose. It loses a half star for the sheer number of sentence fragments that can become distracting during the reading. Otherwise, a fine work that should be on the reading list of anyone who thinks that rights just sort of happen. show less

A captivatingly readable narrative of the final weeks of a decade long fight to bring universal suffrage to the US through the ratification of the 19th amendment. Eye opening for the depth of the political shenanigans and blatant racism this exceptionally well researched book has a relevance today.

“Carrie Catt was dismayed, but not deeply shocked, to find that, once again the freedom of American women might fall victim to the egos and ambitions of powerful men.”

Thoughts
Whilst Weiss show more provides a useful precis of the suffragist movement in the US from Seneca Falls onwards the focus of her attention here is the push to get the 19th Amendment ratified by a final 36th state. Tennessee was that state and as such much of the action plays out in Nashville although there are also some scenes in Washington and Ohio as she explores the backdrop of the upcoming Presidential election and the impact it had.
Weiss covers a huge amount of ground and provides great pen portrait of all the major players. And there are many players introduced. Both Carrie Catt’s National American Woman Suffrage Association (the more traditional political movement) and Alice Paul’s Congressional Union for Woman Suffrage and the National Woman's Party (the more radical group) were on the ground in Nashville as well as any number of female and male “Anti’s”. At first I found it a little challenging to keep up with all of the names and details but am glad I stuck with it as by the end these extra insights into the players was crucial in both understanding what happened and highlighting the final, painful dash to the finishing line. The details provided about many of the members of the Tennessee legislature were also helpful in understanding the double dealing and side changing that occurred as the voting got underway.
However whilst a fantastic read and insight into both the broader movements and the minutia of what it took for American women to gain the vote I am mostly left with some strong lessons from history:
1) The confidence both sides of the debate had with embracing racism to achieve their aims. Many of the white suffragettes were more than willing to ignore their African-American counterparts if it got the job done, going so far as to advise black suffragist groups and campaigners to stay away. On the Anti side, the claims were even more overtly racist calling on the still painful memories of the Civil War and the rise of the KKK to campaign against anything that ‘risked’ an increase in African American voting rights.
2) The number of women in the Anti parties. Their reasons did not resonate with me but provide a useful insight into todays conservatives who vociferously support legislation that blocks and limits women’s rights.
3) The influence of the media and special interests – in this case the railroads and liquor industries (no mean feat in an allegedly dry state like Tennessee). Money, power and influence of these groups spilled across events with legislators changing sides throughout debates as pressure was applied.
I think there is more to get form this one and imagine I will re-read again at some point in the future. show less