On August 18, 1920, following North Carolina's rejection of the 19th Amendment to the United States Constitution, the Tennessee Legislature voted 49 to 47 in favor of ratifying the Amendment. The vote had been deadlocked 48 to 48, until a young legislator gave in to his mother's urging and voted in favor of women's suffrage. As the 36th state to ratify the Amendment, Tennessee essentially handed the ballot box to American women.