Theme: One Piece at a Time
The Department of Defense (DoD) recognizes August 26, 2023, as Women’s Equality Day.
On this day, we celebrate the passage of the 19th Amendment to the Constitution which guarantees all American women the right to vote. The amendment changed federal law and the face of the American electorate forever. The observance has grown to include focusing on women's continued efforts toward gaining full equality.
At just 22 years old, Harry T. Burn was the youngest member of the Tennessee General Assembly when he was elected in 1918. In mid-1920, 35 States had ratified what would become the 19th Amendment, and Tennessee was needed for it to become law. Burn was under immense pressure to vote against it. On the day of the initial vote, he was against suffrage, voting to table the amendment. The vote ended in a 48 – 48 tie and a revote was needed. Right before the next vote could take place, Burn received a letter from his mother, Febb Burn, to “be a good boy” and vote for women’s suffrage. With the letter in his pocket, he cast the deciding vote to ratify the 19th Amendment, giving the right to vote to women across the country.
Below is a sampling of LRC books in support of Women's Equality Day. These books are either available in the LRC or can be accessed online as eBooks through our EBSCOhost eBooks Collection subscription (login using the credentials posted on the Blackboard LRC Information page or click on a book title and login with your library account credentials). Please contact the LRC if you have any questions.
eBooks available through EBSCOhost database
Changing the rules of engagement: Inspiring stories of courage and leadership from women in the military by ISBN: 9781597976893Publication Date: 2012-05-01
Narrative of the life of Frederick Douglass, an American slave, written by himself by ISBN: 9780872865273Publication Date: 2009-12-01
Suffrage: The epic struggle for women's right to vote by ISBN: 9781440867880Publication Date: 2019-09-03
The trial of Susan B. Anthony: An illegal vote, a courtroom conviction and a step toward women's suffrage by ISBN: 9780786478859Publication Date: 2014-11-07
Women and gender perspectives in the military: An international comparison by ISBN: 9781626166264Publication Date: 2019-02-01
Women at war in the borderlands of the early American Northeast by ISBN: 9781469640990Publication Date: 2018-04-30
Books available in the LRC and which are on display
She votes: How U.S. women won suffrage, and what happened next by Call Number: JK1898 .Q56 2020ISBN: 9781452173160Publication Date: 2020-08-11
Becoming Heroines: Unleashing our power for revolution and rebirth by Call Number: HD6054.3 .M38 2021ISBN: 9780593087671Publication Date: 2021-07-20
Women veterans: Lifting the veil of invisibility by Call Number: UB357 .H37 2018ISBN: 9781498727600Publication Date: 2018-03-21
Not for ourselves alone: The story of Elizabeth Cady Stanton and Susan B. Anthony : an illustrated history by Call Number: HQ1412 .W36 1999ISBN: 9780375405600Publication Date: 1999-10-19
Womb: The inside story of where we all began by Call Number: QP262 .H39 2023ISBN: 9780063157620Publication Date: 2023-03-07
Creating G. I. Jane: Sexuality and power in the Women's Army Corps during World War II by Call Number: UA565 .W6 M48 1996ISBN: 9780231101448Publication Date: 1997-10-01
Landmark decisions of the United States Supreme Court II by Call Number: KF4549 .L37 1991ISBN: 9780962801426Publication Date: 1992-01-01
Women warriors: An unexpected history by Call Number: UB416 .T65 2019ISBN: 9780807064320Publication Date: 2019-02-26
Frederick Douglass on women's rights by Call Number: HQ1426 .D82 1976ISBN: 0837188954Publication Date: 1976-09-03
Some of the information on this page was borrowed from the Defense Equal Opportunity Management Institute's Special Observances page for Women's Equality Day.