o
call a special session. The former declared that there was no
emergency requiring it and was adamant to every argument. Mrs. Catt
and her Board then undertook another Herculean task of bringing to
Connecticut an influential woman from every State, and, cooperating
with those of Connecticut, a mass meeting was held in Hartford. After
this they divided into groups and held meetings in every city and
large town, ending the campaign with a visit to the Governor, at which
earnest pleas were made that he would call the Legislature to give the
final vote for ratification, as the women of the nation were waiting
for it. In Vermont, under the auspices of the National Board, 400
women of the State under most trying weather conditions met in
Montpelier and called on the Governor with pleadings and arguments for
a special session, through whose action the women of the whole country
would be enfranchised. Both Governors remained obdurate.

In the meantime the opponents had succeeded in Maine under its
Initiative and Referendum law in having the ratification submitted to
the voters and they threatened to take this action in all States
having this law. The Ohio Supreme Court sustained the legality of a
petition for a referendum and it was carried to the Supreme Court of
the United States--Hawk vs. the Secretary of the State of Ohio. Here
it was argued April 23, 1920. On June 1 the Court announced its
decision that the ratification of a Federal Amendment was not subject
to action by the voters.

This decision removed the obstacle that existed in Tennessee and its
Governor called a special session for August 9. Mrs. Catt took charge
of the campaign in person and the ratification was obtained in the
Senate on the 13th and the House on the 18th, in the latter with the
greatest difficulty. It called for assistance from President Wilson,
from both of the Presidential candidates, the National Committees of
both parties and many prominent men and women within and without the
State. A full account will be found in the Tennessee chapter. A vote
for reconsideration followed; enough members left the State to prevent
a quorum and it was not until the 24th that Governor Roberts could
forward the certificate of ratification to Secretary of State
Bainbridge Colby in Washington.[140] Here on August 26 he proclaimed
the 19th Amendment a part of the Federal Constitution. A body of the
Tennessee legislators, headed by Speaker of the House Seth Walker