“For a century, Joe Hanover has remained a forgotten hero of American democracy, but now his inspiring story is revealed in William Haltom’s Why Can’t Mother Vote? As a young immigrant to Memphis who believed in the American dream of equality and opportunity for all, then as a young legislator willing to stand up for justice against fierce opposition, Hanover became a champion of women’s suffrage.. .Haltom helps us recognize Joe Hanover as a true patriot, and we need the lesson of his life more than ever.”—Elaine Weiss, author of The Woman’s Hour
“ ‘To thine own self be true’ is a timeless guiding principle, and Joe Hanover’s energetic and courageous story is a wonderful example of what a difference integrity can make.. .!” —Tom Vickstrom, hotel historian, The Hermitage Hotel, Nashville
". . . Driven by his love for his mother and his veneration of America’s founding documents, (Joe) Hanover uses his skills as an attorney and lawmaker to shepherd woman suffrage through the convoluted machinations of the political process. In telling the story, Haltom gives Hanover his rightful place in history.”—Dr. Janann Sherman, co-author of The Perfect 36: Tennessee Delivers Woman Suffrage and retired University of Memphis history department chair
“Bill Haltom’s story of one lawyer’s drive for fairness and equality for women should make each of us stand taller as we go about the unfinished business of democracy.”—Judy Perry Martinez, president, American Bar Association
". . . One of Tennessee’s favorite contemporary storytellers, Bill Haltom, brilliantly chronicles Hanover’s journey from childhood to ratification leader. Haltom’s compelling writing humanizes Hanover and other major players in this true tale of intrigue, racial bias, big business, and moral conflict that dramatically forever changed the face of democracy in America.”—Sarah Sheppeard, president, Tennessee Bar Association
". . .Bill Haltom has crafted an engaging and inspiring read about a Southern Jewish immigrant and Tennessee state representative named Joseph Hanover whose courageous leadership in 1920 helped make America a more perfect union.”—Micah D. Greenstein, senior rabbi, Temple Israel, Memphis
"This story about Joe Hanover is heartening and a must-read for anyone valuing democracy . . . . With striking backdrops of the mighty Mississippi River, The Hermitage Hotel, and Tennessee’s Capitol, Haltom describes the ‘War of the Roses’ and all the negotiating in the battle over whether or not a woman should be able to vote. . . .As an immigrant, a lawyer, a Memphian, and a legislator, Hanover was the hero who was needed at that moment." —Suzanne Craig Robertson, editor, Tennessee Bar Journal
“Bill Haltom writes with the clarity of a beautiful crystal and the straightforwardness of an arrow to the target. He tells the story of Joseph Hanover from a frozen lake in Poland, where as a child he was smuggled to freedom, to the Pinch and Binghampton districts of Memphis. . . . Hanover’s valiant efforts, legislative prowess, and gifted oratory resulted in Tennessee’s vote as the thirty-sixth state to ratify the Nineteenth Amendment to the Constitution." —Shirley C. Raines, first woman president of the University of Memphis
