Battle of Athens
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Battle of Athens (1946)
For other uses, see Battle of Athens (disambiguation).
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| Battle of Athens | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
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| Belligerents | |||||||
| Local World War II veterans and other citizens | McMinn County Sheriff's Department | ||||||
| Commanders and leaders | |||||||
| Various GIs | Sheriff Pat Mansfield, Paul Cantrell | ||||||
| Strength | |||||||
* Dozens of men
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* 100+ deputies
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| Casualties and losses | |||||||
| Some injuries, no fatalities | Some injuries, no fatalities | ||||||
The Battle of Athens (sometimes called the McMinn County War) was a rebellion led by citizens in Athens and Etowah, Tennessee, United States, against the local government in August 1946. The citizens, including some World War II veterans, accused the local officials of political corruption and voter intimidation. The event is sometimes cited by firearms ownership advocates as an example of the value of the Second Amendment in combating tyranny.
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Contents
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Background
There had been long-standing concern in McMinn County about political corruption and possible election fraud.[1] At citizen request, the U.S. Department of Justice had investigated allegations of electoral fraud in 1940, 1942, and 1944, but had not taken action.[1][2] The wealthy Cantrell family (supporters of the Democrats' New Deal policies in the 1932 Presidential elections) essentially ruled the county. Paul Cantrell was elected sheriff in the 1936, 1938, and 1940 elections, then was elected to the state senate in 1942 and 1944, while his former deputy, Pat Mansfield, was elected sheriff.[1][2] A state law enacted in 1941 had reduced local political opposition by reducing the number of voting precincts from 23 to 12 and reducing the number of justices of the peace from fourteen to seven (including four "Cantrell men").[1] 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] Often, buses passing through the county were pulled over and the passengers were randomly ticketed for drunkenness, whether guilty or not.[1]
In the August 1946 election, Paul Cantrell was once again a candidate for sheriff, while Pat Mansfield sought the state senate seat.[1] After World War II ended, some 3,000 military veterans (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 candidates and working for a fraud-free election.[1] Veteran Bill White described the veterans' motivation:
| “ | There were several beer joints and honky-tonks 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 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] | ” |
_-_county_jail_-site_of_the_battle.jpg)
Combat veteran Knox Henry stood as candidate for sheriff in opposition to Cantrell.[1] 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] | ” |
In the media
- The 1992 made-for-television movie An American Story (produced by the Hallmark Hall of Fame) was based upon the McMinn County War but set in a Texas town in 1945. It was nominated for two 1993 prime time Emmy Awards and one American Society of Cinematographers award.
References
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j Lones Seiber (February/March 1985 Volume 36, Issue 2). "THE BATTLE OF ATHENS". American Heritage. http://www.americanheritage.com/articles/magazine/ah/1985/2/1985_2_72.shtml. Retrieved October 15, 2007.
- ^ a b "The Battle of Athens, Tennessee". Published in Guns & Ammo. October 1995, pp. 50-51. http://www.jpfo.org/filegen-a-m/athens.htm. Retrieved October 15, 2007.
- ^ Battle of Athens, Constitution Society website, accessed July 5, 2008
External links
- Press on the Battle of Athens
- Photo: Knox Henry becomes sheriff after battle.
- Battle of the Ballots, Time Magazine, Monday, Aug. 12, 1946
- The Battle of Athens, American Heritage Magazine, February/March 1985
- THE UNIVERSITY OF TENNESSEE, KNOXVILLE. AN INTERVIEW WITH BILL WHITE FOR THE VETERAN’S ORAL HISTORY PROJECT, CENTER FOR THE STUDY OF WAR AND SOCIETY, DEPARTMENT OF HISTORY
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