The Battle of Athens

[Teresa]

This true event occurred in Athens, TN in 1946. An armed revolt by WWII veterans took place at this time for the purpose of restoring law, justice and order in the town.  A very sobering but instructive video that all should see.
The reasons for the founders providing the nation the second amendment should be clearer to everyone after watching this.



The Battle of Athens was an armed rebellion led by WWII veterans and citizens in Athens and Etowah, Tennessee, United States, against the tyrannical local government in August 1946.

[srkruzich]

Yeah isn't that kool!  Our constitution in action!

[Warph]

I was just reading about this the other day.  A friend of mine sent me the video version, the same one you posted.  (Col. Abrams: Video based on fact... Google had a lot of references to it.  It's almost as if the video was made from Wikipedia.)

Here is the slightly watered down version from  Tennesseeencyclopedia.net:

Officially, the "Battle of Athens" in McMinn County began and ended on August 1, 1946. Following a heated competition for local offices, veterans in the insurgent GI Non-Partisan League took up arms to prevent a local courthouse ring headed by state senator Paul Cantrell and linked to Memphis political boss Ed Crump from stealing the election. When Sheriff Pat Mansfield's deputies absconded to the jail with key ballot boxes, suspicious veterans took action. A small group of veterans broke into the local National Guard Armory, seized weapons and ammunition, and proceeded to the jail to demand the return of the ballot boxes. The Cantrell-Mansfield deputies refused, and the veterans, now numbering several hundred, opened fire. The ensuing battle lasted several hours and ended only after the dynamiting of the front of the jail. The surrender of the deputies did not end the riot, and the mob was still turning over police cars and burning them hours later. Within days the local election commission swore in the veteran candidates as duly elected. The McMinn County veterans had won the day in a hail of gunfire, dynamite, and esprit de corps.

The battle of Athens stands as the most violent manifestation of a regional phenomenon of the post-World War II era. Seasoned veterans of the European and Pacific theaters returned in 1945 and 1946 to southern communities riddled with vice, economic stagnation, and deteriorating schools. Undemocratic, corrupt, and mossback rings and machines kept an iron grip on local policy and power. Moreover, their commitment to the status quo threatened the economic opportunities touched off by the war. Across the South, veterans launched insurgent campaigns to oust local political machines they regarded as impediments to economic "progress."

In Athens, the Cantrell-Mansfield ring colluded with bootleg and gambling interests, shook down local citizens and tourists for fees, and regularly engaged in electoral chicanery. While communities such as Knoxville, Oak Ridge, and Chattanooga boomed, Athens languished, and veterans returned to a community beset with more problems than opportunities. When Cantrell and Mansfield employed their typical methods to nullify the veterans' votes and reform efforts, the ex-soldiers resorted with the skills and determination that had brought them victory overseas.

Although recalled fifty years later with a certain amount of local pride, the battle of Athens initially proved a source of embarrassment, and many residents abhorred the violent, extralegal actions of the veterans. The image of gun-wielding hillbilly ex-soldiers shooting it out with the Cantrell-Mansfield "thugs" that blazed across national and regional newspaper headlines enhanced East Tennessee's reputation for violence and lawlessness. The Good Government League, empowered by the veterans' victory, scored few successes in its efforts to eradicate the vice, corruption, and arbitrary rule of machine government. Nevertheless, the battle of Athens exemplified the southern veteran activism of the postwar period and defined the disruptive political impact of World War II.

Jennifer E. Brooks, Tusculum College



-OR-

...if you prefer, the long version:

The Battle of Athens (sometimes called the McMinn County War) was a rebellion (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rebellion) led by citizens in Athens (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Athens,_Tennessee) and Etowah (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Etowah,_Tennessee), Tennessee (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tennessee), United States (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States), against the local government (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Government) in August 1946 (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1946). The citizens, including some World War II (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/World_War_II) veterans (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/GI_%28military%29), accused the local officials of political corruption (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Political_corruption) and voter intimidation. The event is sometimes cited by firearms (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Firearm) ownership advocates as an example of the value of the Second Amendment (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Second_Amendment_to_the_United_States_Constitution) to bring fair elections (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Election).

Background

There had been long-standing concern in McMinn County about political corruption and possible election fraud (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Election_fraud).[1] (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Athens_%281946%29#cite_note-americanheritage-0) At citizen request, the U.S. Department of Justice (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/U.S._Department_of_Justice) had investigated allegations of electoral fraud in 1940, 1942, and 1944, but had not taken action.[1] (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Athens_%281946%29#cite_note-americanheritage-0)[2] (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Athens_%281946%29#cite_note-jpfo-1) The wealthy Cantrell family essentially ruled the county. Paul Cantrell was elected sheriff (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sheriff) in the 1936, 1938, and 1940 elections, then was elected to the state senate (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tennessee_State_Senate) in 1942 and 1944, while his former deputy, Pat Mansfield, was elected sheriff.[1] (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Athens_%281946%29#cite_note-americanheritage-0)[2] (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Athens_%281946%29#cite_note-jpfo-1) A state law enacted in 1941 had reduced local political opposition by reducing the number of voting precincts (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Voting_precinct) from 23 to 12 and reducing the number of justices of the peace from fourteen to seven (including four "Cantrell men").[1] (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Athens_%281946%29#cite_note-americanheritage-0) The sheriff and his deputies operated a fee system under which they received a cut of the money for every person they booked, incarcerated, and released; the more arrests, the more money they made.[1] (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Athens_%281946%29#cite_note-americanheritage-0) Often, buses passing through the county were pulled over and the passengers were randomly ticketed for drunkenness, whether guilty or not.[1] (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Athens_%281946%29#cite_note-americanheritage-0)
In the August 1946 election, Paul Cantrell was once again a candidate for sheriff, while Pat Mansfield sought the state senate seat.[1] (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Athens_%281946%29#cite_note-americanheritage-0) After World War II (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/World_War_II) ended, some 3,000 military veterans (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Military_veteran) (constituting about 10 percent of the county population) had returned to McMinn County. Some of the returning veterans resolved to challenge Cantrell's political control by fielding their own nonpartisan (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nonpartisan) candidates and working for a fraud-free election.[1] (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Athens_%281946%29#cite_note-americanheritage-0)[3] (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Athens_%281946%29#cite_note-constitution-2) Veteran Bill White described the veterans' motivation:
" There were several beer joints (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bar_%28establishment%29) and honky-tonks (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Honky-tonk) around Athens; we were pretty wild; we started having trouble with the law enforcement at that time because they started making a habit of picking up GIs (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/GI_%28military%29) and fining them heavily for most anything—they were kind of making a racket out of it. After long hard years of service—most of us were hard-core veterans of World War II—we were used to drinking our liquor and our beer without being molested. When these things happened, the GIs got madder—the more GIs they arrested, the more they beat up, the madder we got ...[1] (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Athens_%281946%29#cite_note-americanheritage-0) " Combat veteran Knox Henry stood as candidate for sheriff in opposition to Cantrell.[1] (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Athens_%281946%29#cite_note-americanheritage-0)[3] (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Athens_%281946%29#cite_note-constitution-2) In advertisements and speeches the GI candidates promised an honest ballot count and reform of county government. At a rally, a GI speaker said,
" The principles that we fought for in this past war do not exist in McMinn County. We fought for democracy because we believe in democracy but not the form we live under in this county.[3] (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Athens_%281946%29#cite_note-constitution-2)

The battle

The primary election was held on August 1. To intimidate voters, Mansfield brought in some 200 armed "deputies." GI poll-watchers were beaten almost at once. At about 3 p.m., Tom Gillespie, an African- American voter was told by a sheriff's deputy that he could not vote. Despite being beaten, Gillespie persisted. The enraged deputy shot him. The gunshot drew a crowd. Rumors spread that Gillespie had been shot in the back; he later recovered (C. Stephen Byrum, The Battle of Athens, Paidia Productions, Chattanooga, TN, 1987; pp. 155-57).
Other deputies detained ex-GI poll-watchers in a polling place, as that made the ballot counting "Public" A crowd gathered. Sheriff Mansfield told his deputies to disperse the crowd. When the two ex-GIs smashed a big window and escaped, the crowd surged forward. The deputies, with guns drawn, formed a tight half-circle around the front of the polling place. One deputy, "his gun raised high...shouted: 'If you sons of bitches cross this street I'll kill you!'" (Byrum, p.165).
Mansfield took the ballot boxes to the jail for counting. The deputies seemed to fear immediate attack by the "people who had just liberated Europe and the South Pacific from two of the most powerful war machines in human history" (Byrum, pp. 168-69).
Short of firearms and ammunition, the GIs scoured the county to find them. By borrowing keys to the National Guard and State Guard armories, they got three M-1 rifles, five .45 semi-automatic pistols and 24 British Enfield rifles. The armories were nearly empty after the war's end. By 8 p.m. a group of GIs and "local boys" headed for the jail but left the back door unguarded to give the jail's defenders an easy way out.
Three GIs alerting passersby to danger were fired on from the jail. Two GIs were wounded. Other GIs returned fire.
Firing subsided after 30 minutes; ammunition ran low and night had fallen. Thick brick walls shielded those inside the jail. Absent radios, the GIs' rifle fire was uncoordinated. "From the hillside fire rose and fell in disorganized cascades. More than anything else, people were simply shooting at the jail" (Byrum, p.189).
Several who ventured into the street in front of the jail were wounded. One man inside the jail was badly hurt; he recovered. Most sheriff's deputies wanted to hunker down and await rescue. Governor McCord mobilized the State Guard, perhaps to scare the GIs into withdrawing. The State Guard never went to Athens. McCord may have feared that Guard units filled with ex-GIs might not fire on other ex-GIs.
At about 2 a.m. on August 2, the GIs forced the issue. Men from Meigs County threw dynamite sticks and damaged the jail's porch. The panicked deputies surrendered. GIs quickly secured the building. Paul Cantrell faded into the night, having almost been shot by a GI who knew him, but whose .45 pistol had jammed. Mansfield's deputies were kept overnight in jail for their own safety. Calm soon returned. The GIs posted guards. The rifles borrowed from the armory were cleaned and returned before sunup.

Aftermath

In five precincts free of vote fraud, the GI candidate for sheriff, Knox Henry, won 1,168 votes to Cantrell's 789. Other GI candidates won by similar margins.
The GI's did not hate Cantrell. They only wanted honest government. On August 2, a town meeting set up a three-man governing committee. The regular police having fled, six men were chosen to police Etowah. In addition, "Individual citizens were called upon to form patrols or guard groups, often led by a GI... To their credit, however, there is not a single mention of an abuse of power on their behalf" (Byrum, p. 220).
Once the GI candidates' victory had been certified, they cleaned up county government, the jail was fixed, newly elected officials accepted a $5,000 pay limit and Mansfield supporters who resigned were replaced.
The general election on November 5 passed quietly. McMinn County residents, having restored the rule of law, returned to their daily lives. Pat Mansfield moved back to Georgia. Paul Cantrell set up an auto dealership in Etowah. "Almost everyone who knew Cantrell in the years after the Battle' agree that he was not bitter about what had happened" (Byrum pp. 232-33; see also New York Times, 9 August 1946, p. 8 ).
The 79th Congress adjourned on August 2, 1946, when the Battle of Athens ended. However, Representative John Jennings Jr. from Tennessee decried McMinn County's sorry situation under Cantrell and Mansfield and the Justice Department's repeated failures to help the McMinn County residents. Jennings was delighted that "...at long last, decency and honesty, liberty and law have returned to the fine county of McMinn.. " (Congressional Record, House; U.S. Government Printing Office, Washington, D.C., 1946; Appendix, Volume 92.http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Athens_(1946 (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Athens_%281946))

[Patriot]

Excerpt from our Declaration of Independence...


IN CONGRESS, July 4, 1776.

The unanimous Declaration of the thirteen united States of America,

When in the Course of human events, it becomes necessary for one people to dissolve the political bands which have connected them with another, and to assume among the powers of the earth, the separate and equal station to which the Laws of Nature and of Nature's God entitle them, a decent respect to the opinions of mankind requires that they should declare the causes which impel them to the separation.

We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.--That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed, --That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness. Prudence, indeed, will dictate that Governments long established should not be changed for light and transient causes; and accordingly all experience hath shewn, that mankind are more disposed to suffer, while evils are sufferable, than to right themselves by abolishing the forms to which they are accustomed. But when a long train of abuses and usurpations, pursuing invariably the same Object evinces a design to reduce them under absolute Despotism, it is their right, it is their duty, to throw off such Government, and to provide new Guards for their future security... (emphasis added)


The maintenance of good order & the rule of law is not not for those with a weak stomach or a milquetoast mentality.  Thanks be for those who are wiling to stand in the gap against the inroads of tyranny.

Sell not virtue to purchase wealth, nor Liberty to purchase power.   Benjamin Franklin

[srkruzich]

I had an individual try to tell me that the 2nd amendment  was pointless in that they believed that if we even attempted to replace the government by force that we would lose since the public does not have military weapons to fight the military with.

My reply is we don't?   Good then what the govt doesn't know will hurt them.

[Diane Amberg]

So it was mostly started when a black man was shot while insisting he should be allowed to vote...and then the ballot box thing?  The good ol' boy Mud Backs trying to keep what they had taken?. A very sad and dangerous  situation.   Was this infighting common in the south? I'm not being smart, I just don't know. Sheriff Buford T Justice for real?

[srkruzich]

So it was mostly started when a black man was shot while insisting he should be allowed to vote...and then the ballot box thing?  The good ol' boy Mud Backs trying to keep what they had taken?. A very sad and dangerous  situation.   Was this infighting common in the south? I'm not being smart, I just don't know. Sheriff Buford T Justice for real?

JEeze what is it lately. NO it wasn't done because a black man was shot!  Sheesh. It was fought because a group of vets got tired of seeing the outright fraud, and violations of constitutional authority, abuse of power, use of leo's to intimidate and assault the public with and instil fear into the general public;  and the vets did what those in the community wouldn't do. THey tossed the bastards out. 

NOTE it does not take vets to do this.  I am pretty sure that the vets that did toss them out, were quite unhappy that the general public there didn't do anything themselves about it.

But then  very few people got up off their ass when we told ole George to get bent either. 

[srkruzich]

  Was this infighting common in the south? I'm not being smart, I just don't know. Sheriff Buford T Justice for real?

I thought you were a expert on southern history!  You have corrected me about your knowelege concerning civil war historyy on more than one occasion! 

But to answer your question, Infighting?  No.  Correcting a problem is what we do.  I've seen more of this type of behavior and history shows more of it in the northern states.   JUST look at Chicago or DC.  IF you think your vote counts up there, i do have some nice swampland in GA to sell you! 

Infighting is what congress does. What these folks did and what people down south do is clean house!  Last house cleaning i remember was around 2006, when they cleaned out the entire atlanta police department, and they put many of them in prison for racketeering, drug running and murder.   But then what can you expect with its administration that is in control.  They also put the mayor in prison as well.  And i think the mayor after that was implicated, as well as many of the city council members. 

People got tired and they were tossed.   Some by force.   One such patriot gave her life over it.  98 year old Ms. Johnston died with 100 bullets in her shot by 3 cops.  But she emptied her .357 before she died and hit all three cops

[Warph]

Was this infighting common in the south? I'm not being smart, I just don't know. Sheriff Buford T Justice for real?

Infighting was quite common in the south, Diane... almost as much as the north, west and eastern parts of the U.S.  A little known fact: Tennesse is not in the south.  Rumors are that it is part of... well, I shouldn't quote rumors... not nice.   

As to the famous Sheriff Buford T. Justice.  Yes Diane, he is quite real.  In fact, here is a little ad by him:

And one of him at work:

As you can see, a very nice guy and you can find him in almost every county in the south.  Also, a few of his famous quotes:

"Well, thank you, Mr. Bandit. And as the pursuer, may I say you're the damnedest pursuee I've ever pursued. Now that the mutual BS is over, WHERE ARE YOU, YOU SOMBITCH?" - Buford T. Justice, Smokey and the Bandit

"Do what I say you pile o' monkey nuts!" - Buford T. Justice, Smokey and the Bandit

(To his son Junior) "There's no way, NO way that you came from MY loins. Soon as I get home, first thing I'm gonna do is punch yo mamma in da mouth!" - Buford T. Justice, Smokey and the Bandit

"My handle is Smokey Bear and I'm tail grabbin' your ass right now!" - Buford T. Justice, Smokey and the Bandit

(shouting at a trucker that has sheered a door off of Justice's patrol car) "I saw that, you sombitch! You did that on purpose! You're going away till you're gray! I got the evidence!" - Buford T. Justice, Smokey and the Bandit[/font][/size]

[Diane Amberg]

Not sure why Tenn. isn't a southern state, but then again Del. isn't a southern state, but it often gets listed as such, nor is it a north eastern state. We all is a mid atlantic state, yes we is.
   Steve, not everything goes into history books correctly, now does it? I thought Red explained that in great detail many times. Chuckle,chuckle.