It Can’t Happen Here (The Battle of Athens, 1946)

The other day I was reading through a series of posts by some on the “anti” side of the gun control debate.

What astonished me most was the overwhelming sense that there was no need for average people to own or possess firearms because of the belief that the issue of the 2^nd amendment was basically made null and void because we have a military, as well as police, to keep us safe.

Lately, I often find myself being very concerned with the direction we are going as a nation. I am reminded of the quote by Edmund Burke (1729-1797) "Those who don't know history are destined to repeat it."

I never thought I would hear myself say this, but I would love to go back to elementary school, or even high school for that matter. I would love to know what the kids of today are being taught by our educators.

As often happens I find myself sitting here today with an opportunity to educate, and so I will leap at the chance. It’s funny how these things occur.

First let me say that I believe most people will accept that the 2^nd amendment was put in place for a reason. Whether you believe in guns or not isn’t the question. We all have our personal feelings and beliefs, but in the late 1700’s the founding fathers had some serious reservations about the country they were creating.

But first, let’s establish a few known facts about the cause of our fight for independance.

• The foundation for the war came about as the result, in part, of what was believed to be egregious taxation and a lack of ability on the part of those in the United States to have their voice be heard in England.
• The citizens formed a “Continental Congress” which was later declared a traitorous organization by the King.
• The war officially started on April 19^th, 1775 when the local militia (average citizens) faced off against the British Army (legal government authority) in what became known as the Battles of Lexington & Concord, when the latter came to seize a cache of weapons.
• The war lasted from 1775 until 1783 when the United States was official recognized as a sovereign country.
• This country was founded by the violent over through of a repressive government by its citizens

In talking about the militia, it is important to note that it was not the military reserves that we know today. In fact, it was the exact opposite. The military was the British Army and they were here in the United States. The militia existed on both sides (Patriot & Loyalist) in that it was simply citizens taking up arms. In some ways it can be argued that the Revolutionary War was in fact the first civil war. Some served the King, but neither was as an actual military organization. Their existence grew out of necessity.

Those who say that we have a militia today, in the form of the state military reserves, miss the key point. Whether they serve at the federal or the state level, they are an organization of the government. When the issue of the 2^nd amendment was being handled, the fear was that the government could one day become the problem again. The belief was that as long as the free man possessed firearms, individually, there would be a safeguard in place to protect that freedom.

Consider the following for a moment:

"I ask, Sir, what is the militia? It is the whole people. To disarm the people is the best and most effectual way to enslave them."
- George Mason, Co-author of the Second Amendment

"And that the said Constitution be never construed to authorize Congress to infringe the just liberty of the Press, or the rights of Conscience; or to prevent the people of the United States, who are peaceable citizens, from keeping their own arms; …"
- Samuel Adams, American Statesman and Founding Father

"Firearms stand next in importance to the constitution itself. They are the American people's liberty teeth and keystone under independence … from the hour the Pilgrims landed to the present day, events, occurrences and tendencies prove that to ensure peace security and happiness, the rifle and pistol are equally indispensable … the very atmosphere of firearms anywhere restrains evil interference — they deserve a place of honor with all that's good."
- George Washington, General and First President of the United States

"The strongest reason for the people to retain the right to keep and bear arms is, as a last resort, to protect themselves against tyranny in government."

- Thomas Jefferson, Third President of the United States

I have a very difficult time reading these quotes and wondering why it was so readily apparent to these men, and yet today we struggle with the question of “what does the 2^nd amendment mean?”

Are we really so naïve to believe that we live in a time when we can turn our swords into plowshares because the government will provide for all our needs, including our safety? I pray that is not the fact as it is truly a delusional belief.

The truth is, despite what we are told from both political parties, the government is under no obligation to provide us with anything. That they do so is only to garner the votes necessary to keep them in office. I dare say that it is an impressive job that requires you to accomplish so little and yet receive so generously from the coffers of the American taxpayer.

But what about the argument we no longer need the guarantee afforded to us by the 2^nd Amendment that says we have the right to keep and bear arms. That those in the pro gun camp are the ones with vivid imaginations, who see imaginary threats. That they revel in conspiracy theories while fantasizing about taking up arms against the government. Surely they are no such recorded events of anything so vile.

Which brings us to the Battle of Athens, Tennessee (1946).

The Battle of Athens, also known as the McMinn County War, was an armed revolt led by citizens in Athens and Etowah, Tenn. against the local government in August 1946. The citizens, including some World War II veterans, accused the local officials of engaging in political corruption and voter intimidation. 

The story of Athens is one that will especially resonate with those living in rural communities. Many are well versed with “historical families” that seem to be the perpetual oil of the local county political machine. One has only to go to the local court house and read the names of the board members or local office holders to see a pattern quickly emerge. But the truth is that this story is not uncommon and is alive and well in urban areas today. Voter fraud is certainly well documented into the current day.

In this particular case, there had long been complaints about political corruption and election fraud in McMinn County. The Justice Department had investigated allegations in 1940, 1942, and 1944, but had not taken any action. The Cantrell family essentially ruled the county.

Sheriff Paul Cantrell was elected sheriff in 1936 and reelected in the 1938 and 1940 elections. He then went on to win the state senate seat elections in 1942 and 1944. After being elected to the state senate his former deputy, Pat Mansfield, was elected as sheriff. 

A state law enacted in 1941 by a friend of the Cantrell family had succeeded in reducing local political opposition in McMinn County by lowering the number of voting precincts from twenty-three to twelve and reducing the number of justices of the peace from fourteen to seven. Of the seven judges, four were known to be "Cantrell men". 

The sheriff and his deputies worked under a fee system whereby they received money for every person they booked, incarcerated, and released; the more arrests, the more money they made.

Deputies routinely boarded buses passing through and dragged sleepy-eyed passengers to the jail to pay their fine for drunkenness, whether they were guilty or not. Arrests ran as high as 115 per weekend. It was less troublesome to collect kickbacks for allowing roadhouses to operate openly. Cooperative owners would point out influential patrons. They were not bothered, but the rest were subject to shakedowns. Prostitution, liquor, and gambling grew so prevalent that it became common knowledge in Tennessee that Athens was “wide open.”

In the 1946 election, Paul Cantrell was once again a candidate for sheriff. At the same time, Pat Mansfield sought the state senate seat. This set the stage for what was to come.

After World War II ended, some 3,000 military veterans (about 10% of the population) had returned to McMinn County. Some of these veterans decided to challenge Cantrell and fielded their own non-partisan candidates.  They called themselves the GI Non-Partisan League.

According to one veteran, Bill White, their motivation stemmed from the fact that they “began 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…”

Combat veteran Knox Henry stood as candidate for sheriff in opposition to Cantrell. 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.”

In July 1946 the GI Party had petitioned the FBI to send election monitors, a request that went unanswered.

When the polls for the county election opened August 1, 1946 there were about three hundred armed “special deputies” patrolling the precincts, slightly more than the normal complement of fifteen deputies. The augmented force came in the form of paid reinforcements. Some from local police and the state highway patrol, some from out of state.

At the very beginning there were problems. Deputies seized Walter Ellis, a GI election judge and arrested him.  Ellis was taken to the county jail and was replaced by Fred West. Dispute over who exactly Fred West was immediately erupted. The sheriff's office described West as another GI, the GI Party advised that West was a deputy sheriff and local bartender.

There were a number of incidents that arose before the polls closed, the most serious of which, was when a deputy shot and wounded a black man who was trying to vote. Tom Gillespie, a farmer came into the Athens Water Company building, which was serving as the 11th Precinct, to vote. One of Cantrell's men positioned himself behind Gillespie to observe his vote. When he was observed to be preparing to vote "the wrong way" the Cantrell man told Gillespie, "nigger, you can’t vote here."

Gillespie protested to Deputy Windy Wise, "I've always voted here before." For this monumental impertinence, Wise slugged Gillespie with brass knuckles and shot him with what was said to be a U.S. Army .45 as he stumbled out the door. Gillespie suffered a flesh wound in the small of the back and was taken off by deputy sheriffs for what they said would be treatment, but he was actually taken to the jail.

When the polls closed, deputies seized the ballot boxes and took them to the jail. Opposition veterans responded by arming themselves and marching there. Some of them had raided the National Guard Armory, obtaining arms and ammunition. Estimates of the number of veterans vary from several hundred to as high as two thousand. When the men reached the jail, it was barricaded and manned by over fifty deputies.

The veterans demanded the ballot boxes but were refused. They then opened fire on the jail. In the end, the door of the jail was breached by explosives. The barricaded deputies, some with injuries, surrendered, and the ballot boxes were recovered. The recovered ballots certified the election of the five GI Non-Partisan League candidates.

During the fight at the jail, rioting had broken out throughout Athens, mainly targeted at police. This continued even after the ballot boxes were recovered, but subsided by morning. Following the victory by the GI Non-Partisan League, deputies of the prior administration resigned and were replaced.

The incident in McMinn County was a serious event and it had national consequences. In fact, former first lady, Eleanor Roosevelt, penned an article in which she offered the following statement:

“When the people decide that conditions in their town, county, state or country must change, they will change them. If the leadership has been wise, they will be able to do it peacefully through a secret ballot which is honestly counted, but if the leader has become inflated and too sure of his own importance, he may bring about the kind of action which was taken in Tennessee. If we want to continue to be a mature people who, at home and abroad, settle our difficulties peacefully and not through the use of force, then we will take to heart this lesson and we will jealously guard our rights. What goes on before an election, the threats or persuasion by political leaders, may be bad but it cannot prevent the people from really registering their will if they wish to.”

For those who believe that “it can’t happen here” I pity you. You are the very ones that Edmund Burke was speaking to. The question isn’t whether we require our guns because we believe something might happen, but that we require them to ensure nothing ever will happen.

Americans are patriots, and we hold the idea of this Republic with pride and honor. Even when we do not subscribe to the political folly of some, our fight is taken up at the ballot box. But what happens when that right is infringed upon? The battle of Athens is a case study in why the founding fathers believed so strongly in the 2^nd amendment.

As we move forward in the debate over gun control, I know a lot of good people in law enforcement who have already said that they will take no action to enforce any law that requires citizens from disarming. I salute them as it is a very brave thing to do. But I wonder about the ones who, when confronted over the decision to enforce a law they don’t believe in or risk their careers, will choose the former.

Will that be the flash point? Will it become the modern day “Battle of Lexington”?

I pray not.

There is a growing disillusionment with the political theater that is taking hold in this country. What side you are on does not matter, only the fact that the divide is becoming wider. Out of control spending, increasing taxation, coupled with an unending list of entitlements, is fueling the fears of many Americans. Now a renewed call for gun control, over otherwise law abiding people, may be the tipping point.

Reminds me of what Joseph Heller wrote in Catch-22: “Just because you're paranoid doesn't mean they aren't after you.”

I don’t know what the future brings, but I do know how we have gotten here. That is a matter of record. If we choose to ignore that history we do so at our own peril.

President Abraham Lincoln is held in very high esteem by the current President as well as many other notables, with good reason. In fact the President Obama has often quoted him. So I feel inclined to present another quote, this from President Lincoln’s first inaugural address:

"The government, with its institutions, belongs to the people who inhabit it. Whenever they shall grow weary of the existing government, they can exercise their constitutional right of amending it, or their revolutionary right to dismember or overthrow it."

-Abraham Lincoln