The Battle of Athens, or, the Last Use of Force in America to Depose a Dictator

[Oceander]

I got clued in to this little bit of history on another site (full disclosure: http://www.gopbriefingroom.com, the actual post with the goods is here).

The Battle of Athens, Tennessee

Published in Guns & Ammo October 1995, pp. 50-51

On August 1-2, 1946, some Americans, brutalized by their county government, used armed force as a last resort to overturn it. These Americans wanted honest open elections. For years they had asked for state or federal election monitors to prevent vote fraud (forged ballots, secret ballot counts and intimidation by armed sheriff's deputies) by the local political boss. They got no help.

These Americans' absolute refusal to knuckle under had been hardened by service in World War II. Having fought to free other countries from murderous regimes, they rejected vicious abuse by their county government.

These Americans had a choice. Their state's Constitution -- Article 1, Section 26 -- recorded their right to keep and bear arms for the common defense. Few "gun control" laws had been enacted.

These Americans were residents of McMinn County, which is located between Chattanooga and Knoxville in Eastern Tennessee. The two main towns were Athens and Etowah. McMinn County residents had long been independent political thinkers. For a long time they also had: accepted bribe-taking by politicians and/or the sheriff to overlook illicit whiskey-making and gambling; financed the sheriff's department from fines-usually for speeding or public drunkenness which promoted false arrests; and put up with voting fraud by both Democrats and Republicans.

*   *   *

The rest of the story, as Paul Harvey used to say, can be read at the originating site.

[rich_t]

Good post.

I've been aware of that situation for years.

Now others that have read this thread are too.

[Oceander]

Yup.  As the old cliche goes:  arm yourself with knowledge.

[Rebel]

Yup.  As the old cliche goes:  arm yourself with knowledge.

That's fine and dandy and all, but I prefer my FN FAL.

[Oceander]

That's fine and dandy and all, but I prefer my FN FAL.

Ahh, the two are complementary, knowledge without power is sterile, power without knowledge is dangerous; both are needed. 

[Rebel]

Ahh, the two are complementary, knowledge without power is sterile, power without knowledge is dangerous; both are needed. 

Power WITH knowledge is even more dangerous.

[Airwolf]

The Dems should be sent a copy of that article as a reminder of who really holds the final power under the Constitution.

[vesta111]

The Dems should be sent a copy of that article as a reminder of who really holds the final power under the Constitution.

I have read this long ago, not in school but with book exchanges among friends.  I must say it was unbelievable and why was this not taught in the schools.?

Along later came the Tuskegee experiments,  all the stuff of history that most kids that graduated from highschool got jobs, or went on to college with a major in math never heard of.

My book exchange was unusual, we never knew what kind of books, subject or Author we would get every 2-3 months.   Thing that kept this going was to agree to read all books sent regardless of personal interest.

I could not wait to unpack the sent box to see what I would have to either plow through, boring or find some great fun reading.     I must admit I would get a rather darn feeling when I found a box of bodice rippers, but to my surprise I found there had been much research behind the time of the book. 

It was this extreme diverse reading that left me to the conclusion that unless one locks themselves in a library and is forced to read very diverse subjects, there is no one man or woman that knows it all/

[rich_t]

The Dems should be sent a copy of that article as a reminder of who really holds the final power under the Constitution.

Dems and Repubs alike.

I suspect there is a reason why there are so many fedearl gun control laws on the books and it ain't about crime reduction or safety.