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Encyclopedia > Battle of Athens
Battle of Athens
Date August 1-2, 1946
Location Athens, Tennessee, United States
Result McMinn County government forced to disband, replaced by new government
Combatants
Local World War II Veterans, Citizens McMinn County Sheriff's Department
Commanders
Various GIs Sheriff Pat Mansfield, Paul Cantrell
Strength
* Dozens of men * 100+ deputies
Casualties
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 veteran GIs from World War II, accused the local officials of corruption, political machinery and voter intimidation. The event is sometimes cited by firearms ownership advocates as an example of the value of the Second Amendment to bring fair elections. This article is about the capital of Greece. ... This article is about the U.S. state of Tennessee. ... McMinn County is a county located in the state of Tennessee. ... Combatants Allied powers: China France Great Britain Soviet Union United States and others Axis powers: Germany Italy Japan and others Commanders Chiang Kai-shek Charles de Gaulle Winston Churchill Joseph Stalin Franklin Roosevelt Adolf Hitler Benito Mussolini Hideki Tōjō Casualties Military dead: 17,000,000 Civilian dead: 33,000... McMinn County is a county located in the state of Tennessee. ... The M1 Garand (more formally the United States Rifle, Caliber . ... The M1911 is a single-action, semiautomatic handgun chambered for the . ... The M1917 Enfield, the American Enfield (frequently misidentified or mislabelled as the P17, P1917, or Pattern 1917), formally named United States Rifle, cal . ... Dynamite is an explosive based on the explosive potential of nitroglycerin, initially using diatomaceous earth (kieselguhr) as an adsorbent. ... Tommy Gun redirects here. ... Look up rebellion in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... Athens is a city in McMinn County, Tennessee, United States. ... Etowah is a city located in McMinn County, Tennessee. ... This article is about the U.S. state of Tennessee. ... Year 1946 (MCMXLVI) was a common year starting on Tuesday (link will display full 1946 calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... GI may stand for: Galvanized Iron Gastrointestinal, a division of the human anatomy in medicine Generic identifier Geodætisk Institut, a former Danish cartographic institute Geographical indication Game Informer, a video games magazine Government issue, meaning army enlisted personnel Government Issue, A 1980s Hardcore Band G.I. Joe, a... Combatants Allied powers: China France Great Britain Soviet Union United States and others Axis powers: Germany Italy Japan and others Commanders Chiang Kai-shek Charles de Gaulle Winston Churchill Joseph Stalin Franklin Roosevelt Adolf Hitler Benito Mussolini Hideki Tōjō Casualties Military dead: 17,000,000 Civilian dead: 33,000... In this 1899 cartoon from Puck, all of New York City politics revolves around boss Richard Croker A political machine is an unofficial system of a political organization based on patronage, the spoils system, behind-the-scenes control, and longstanding political ties within the structure of a representative democracy. ... Firearms redirects here. ... The Bill of Rights in the National Archives Amendment II (the Second Amendment) of the United States Constitution’s Bill of Rights declares a well-regulated militia as being necessary to the security of a free State and prohibits infringement of the right of the people to keep and bear... This article is about the political process. ...

Contents

Background

For years local citizens of McMinn County had been asking for federal observers to monitor their elections which they claimed was marred by fraud[1]. The wealthy Cantrell family ruled the county with Paul Cantrell being elected sheriff in the 1936,1938 and 1940 elections. In 1942 and 1944 Cantrell was elected to the state senate and his former deputy, Pat Mansfield, was elected to Sheriff in his absence. A system of fees was set up where the sheriff or deputies received a cut of the money for every person they booked, incarcerated, and released; the more arrests, the more money they got[2]. Often buses were pulled over and people randomly ticketed for drunkenness guilty or not. During the 40s county residents alleged voter fraud and McMinn County residents petitioned the FBI to send election monitors but the Department of Justice had not responded to McMinn County residents' complaints of election fraud in 1940, 1942 and 1944[1]. The United States Department of Justice (DOJ) is a Cabinet department in the United States government designed to enforce the law and defend the interests of the United States according to the law and to ensure fair and impartial administration of justice for all Americans. ...


After World War II was over 3000 veterans returned to McMinn County. Tired of the corruption they created their own non-partisan ticket to fight the excessive fines: Combatants Allied powers: China France Great Britain Soviet Union United States and others Axis powers: Germany Italy Japan and others Commanders Chiang Kai-shek Charles de Gaulle Winston Churchill Joseph Stalin Franklin Roosevelt Adolf Hitler Benito Mussolini Hideki Tōjō Casualties Military dead: 17,000,000 Civilian dead: 33,000...

“ 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 …

 ”
 
— Bill White [2]

Five GIs were on the ballots but the main election was between Knox Henry, who had served in the North African campaign, and Paul Cantrell.


In the Media

  • Starship Troopers, by Robert A. Heinlein, makes reference to a similar incident as a trigger to the political system in the novel.
  • In the 2007 movie Shooter fictional characters Swagger and Nick visit the location of the "Battle of Athens" when they visit a local gun expert.

For other uses, see Starship Troopers (disambiguation). ... Robert Anson Heinlein (July 7, 1907 – May 8, 1988) was one of the most popular, influential, and controversial authors of hard science fiction. ... Shooter may refer to: Shooter (1988 film), a 1988 made-for-TV film. ...

References

  1. ^ a b The Battle of Athens, Tennessee (HTML). Published in Guns & Ammo (October 1995, pp. 50-51). Retrieved on 2007-10-15.
  2. ^ a b Lones Seiber (February/March 1985 Volume 36, Issue 2). THE BATTLE OF ATHENS (HTML). american heritage. Retrieved on 2007-10-15.

Year 2007 (MMVII) is the current year, a common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar and the AD/CE era in the 21st century. ... is the 288th day of the year (289th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 2007 (MMVII) is the current year, a common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar and the AD/CE era in the 21st century. ... is the 288th day of the year (289th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ...

External links


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