anna: our first question. tennessee has such a pivotal role in the story of women's fight for the vote. do you have a favorite moment or suffragists from the story of tennessee's battle for the 19th amendment? sen. blackburn: when you look at this battle you have to say the entire environment is the favorite moment. when you think about it as the war of the roses and the attitude the suffragists carried in, they were civil. they were gracious. they were polite. tea at theor e hermitage hotel. and then when they had someone who was pro-suffrage they gave them a yellow rose to pin on their lapel. so when you talk about favorite moments you have to talk about that attitude that seems to permeate this. we are going to get it done. we are going to get it done right. we are going to get this job finished. interestingly enough, tennessee had suffrage clubs all across the state. instead of a moment, i would say it was truly that environment they created. that they could do this and do it the right way for the right reasons. anna: i love that. the war of the roses, what a beautiful sentiment, right? this really was a war. these women have been fighting. they have been battling for the right to vote for generations. 72 years, sometimes longer and it all came down to that moment in tennessee. sen. blackburn: yes. anna: i'm a mother. i have two little kids. you are a mother and grandmother. sen. blackburn: right. >> could you talk about fred byrd. fred byrd --burn: of suffragists from iota, tennessee. and harry t burns, the descendent, they are still in that area, in mcmahon county and iota tennessee and tyler boyd, the great-great-grandson of harry t byrne, has written a book and is quite a story and. -- quite a historian. but what we learn from this mother-son relationship, is that they were very close. they were committed to one another. and she being a suffragist was quite concerned her son was going to be an anti-as they were called. and he was wearing a red rose. so she pins a letter and gets it off to nashville. and says, as we mothers will do now. be a good boy. and her instruction to him was to be a good boy. to support ms. catt, and help her put the 'rat' in an -- in ratification. harry t. byrd, takes off the red rose and puts on a yellow rose and changes his vote. and suffrage passes by one vote. anna: that is how tennessee became the 36th and final state needed to ratify. sen. blackburn: that is right. it was because of this. see, everything boiled down to tennessee. this is where the battle was taking place. what we have to do is realize how unusual it was for women to take a leadership role, or to travel by themselves, as some of the suffragists were doing. not only from towns around tennessee, but also from around the country. and coming to the hermitage hotel. thank goodness the hermitage hotel allowed single women to have a room in the hotel and that is where they worked and and organized their suffrage movement. anna: that is such an amazing point. it is so hard pressed to remember this today but in 1920 when those women gathered in nashville to fight for the vote, this last battleground, that was at the time were just wearing pants was scandalous for women. [laughter] so, to gather together to protest, to fight for the right to vote and demand their voices be heard, that was very much seen as scandalous at the time but these women did that and they fought and we are their legacy today. sen. blackburn: that is exactly right. and you look at some of these remarkable women, like ida b wells, who, i love her story. because she was from holly springs, mississippi. and i grew up in mississippi. and --anne dallas dudley and sue shelton white, who left west tennessee, and became chairman of the national women's party. and lizzie french and how they worked to be certain that women understood the importance of this. and the interesting thing to me is, we talk about this being a decades-long fight. this was an effort that was grandmother, mothers and daughters, all working together to make this happen. anna: that is absolutely right. can we talk about your leadership? sen. blackburn: sure. anna: you're the first woman senator from tennessee. tennesseean, i cannot tell you how important that is to meet in this moment, in 2020, that tennessee has our first woman senator. it is about time. can you talk about leadership lessons the suffragists would have for young women today. maybe some that you have seen or implanted in your career as a leader? as a civil servant? sen. blackburn: yes and you know the story of suffrage in tennessee is one that we really appreciate. and so many times when i would be breaking a barrier, i would think well, if they could do it, i can too. so, that gives you that little extra bit of courage. i think one of the things the suffragists would say to women today, is sometimes things take a while. settle in. continue to make your point. know that you may win a few battles and fights along the way, you may take two steps forward and one step back. but if it is a worthy goal, then it is worth the work and traveling to get there, to that goal. i think they would say, do not expect instant gratification. do not expect things to happen overnight. learn how to work with in the system, to make certain that you are changing things for the better. so that the promises of our constitution, equality under the law, is realized for each and every american citizen. that is beautiful. -- an: -- anne: that is beautiful. that is something at the women's suffrage centeno commission we often discuss. the women's suffrage movement was one chapter in the greater pursuit of democracy. america is an ever evolving place. and you said it best. what we can learn from these women is perseverance for what is right. sen. blackburn: right. perseverance, commitment, dedication. all of those qualities that are so important in order to reach a worthy goal. anna: could you talk about a project you have just finished that i love? you worked with your daughter to write a children's suffered suffrage history book. sen. blackburn: yes. anna: can you talk about it? sen. blackburn: yes. she has heard me reference it so many times. my daughter is a student of history. when i was sworn into the senate, we really highlighted women's suffrage in these wonderful tennessee women, who had accomplished so much. so, mary morgan is also very creative. a couple of months after i was sworn and she said mom, i have got this idea. because i watched the children and their faces as they heard the story of suffrage being told at your tea, and i think there's a children's book in this. she has two boys and she thought if i had a girl i would name her camilla, family name. so she created this camilla character who is a little girl, who goes to the museum and she sees the exhibit on suffrage, women's suffrage and she is so inspired by this that it comes to life for her. so the book is very creative. it is completely adorable. it celebrates this history and it is a way to inspire young girls to dream those big dreams. and to work to make those dreams come true. anna: what was it like to do this kind of creative project with your daughter? sen. blackburn: it was wonderful. because we would bounce off different ideas, and talk about what were the highlights of the movement. and if you were doing an exhibit, what would be the highlight of the exhibit? and then building the book out around that. so it was a wonderful project to do and we hope that camilla can vote will inspire young girls to realize yes, they got the right to vote because of these courageous women that worked for 72 years. and realize that this was not going to happen overnight. but also, if camilla can do that, camilla can do all sorts of other things. that camilla can dream these dreams. and she can be whatever she wants to be. anna: which is such an important part of the story. that suffragists were fighting for the right to vote because they were also fighting for women's equality. they saw that as one important step forward but women being able to participate in society and democracy. blackburn and public policy, to have a seat at the table. and to influence these changes. we talk about the first women's rights convention being at seneca falls and that is why my colleague and friend, kirsten -- and id and my partnered to create the silver dollar that will commemorate women's suffrage. but we go back to abigail adams. and her admonition and encouragement to her husband to remember the ladies. and to know that from the beginning, there was that desire in american women who were part of the revolution, who were part of our founding, who were part of our growth, to have that seat at the table. jeannette rankin who came to congress before women even had the right to vote and how she won that election and came here even though she could not vote for herself. she could vote for the people she was representing. anna: jeanette rankin, the perfect example of a complicated democracy. sen. blackburn: yes, and breaking a barrier. suffrage women's centennial commission has an exciting partnership with a group in nashville called the song suffragettes this is a group of female singer songwriters who get together every monday night they sing their original songs. and at the end of the night they sing some sort of power ballad country music cover. we know tennesseans take their country music very seriously. this is a really important partnership for the commission because it really speaks to the importance of representation, the importance of women's voices. can you talk about in this centennial year, what it means for women to stand up and speak out and be visible? sen. blackburn: yes indeed. and in nashville there are so many creative women, as there are across the entire state of tennessee. what we know is whether it is dolly parton with her song celebrating the 19th amendment, or the nashville ballet, with the ballet, 72 steps, the number of steps the suffragists climbed from the hermitage hotel to the state capital. or the 72 years. that being able to find a form of expression that suits you and your creativity, is vitally important. and it is a good thing to do, as we seek, in this year, and in this national suffrage month, to honor women who have broken those barriers, and crashed through those glass ceilings. and who have opened new doors for so many women. not only in tennessee but across the whole country. anna: the last question for you, senator. you are someone who has broken barriers and crashed through doors in your career over and over and over again. what does it mean to you, to be in this historic position, the first woman senator from tennessee, 36 and final state needed to ratify the amendment? what does it mean for you to be in this position in the centennial year? sen. blackburn: i hope what it means to others, is that they have the opportunity to do great things. that they now have a female from the state who has served in the u.s. senate. they have females who have served in congress. they have females who have and inin the state house the state senate. and i hope it encourages women to raise their hands and volunteer, and get involved. freedom and freedom's cause has been so well served by the efforts of women. and we want to keep the tradition going. anna: thank you, everyone, for joining us today for this conversation with senator marsha blackburn. on behalf of the women's suffrage centennial commission, we are thrilled to have you joining us for the celebrations in august. happy centennial. [captions copyright national cable satellite corp. 2020] [captioning performed by the national captioning institute, which is responsible for its caption content and accuracy. visit ncicap.org] >> you are watching american history tv, covering history c-span style with event coverage, witness accounts, archival films, lectures and college classrooms, and visits to museums and historic places all weekend, every weekend on c-span three. >> you are watching american history tv, exploring our nation's past every weekend on c-span three. this week, we are looking back to this date in history. inootstep of the march washington, d.c. was firm, but a quiet purpose and mannerly rhythm. get aroused even in the centers a larger awareness of the right roes to share not only the air so clear and free but there right as americans to share opportunity and privilege as well. america has known this intellectually for a long time. for 400 years by history's counter. on august 28, america learned this emotionally with clarity or penetrating then intellect. every kind and class, every generation of american participated. if not in the city of washington, d.c., across the land by television. america occurred the march at her the all-encompassing crime for freedom from indignity. america heard back into the miles of her history, to lincoln, jefferson, tom payne, patrick henry. everybody attended the march in washington, d.c. on august 20. >> follow us on social media on c-span history. click -- >> we are featuring american history tv programs as a preview. on monday, gettysburg college professor timothy shannon examines colonial ties between european settlers and the iroquois confederacy at the eastern great lakes region. he described what treaty meetings may have looked like, the role of interpreters, and the importance of exchanging gifts. watch monday night beginning at 8:00 p.m. eastern. enjoy american history tv this week and every weekend on go you are watching c-span3, all weekend, every weekend. >> next, texas governor george w. bush except the 2000 presidential nomination at the republican national convention in philadelphia. he would go on to defeat vice president al gore in one of the most closely contested presidential elections in american history. ♪ [cheers and applause]