75 years ago today, veterans overthrew a corrupt local government to save democracy | War Is Boring

Source: 75 years ago today, veterans overthrew a corrupt local government to save democracy | War Is Boring

In the aftermath of lockdowns, civil unrest, authoritarian measures and a general feeling of uneasiness, it is far too easy to feel powerless these days.

In response, we as a society often blame each other and those in power, who in turn blame the people they replaced or oppose. We write passive-aggressive statements on our Facebook and Twitter feeds. We grumble in hushed tones at our local diners and places of work. We protest halfheartedly, rattling sabres or causing disturbances until the long arm of the law comes swinging down upon us. When all’s said and done, we quietly retreat to our homes and watch TikTok videos or 24-hour news until we can’t feel anymore. After a while, we head to bed, resting up in order to repeat the seemingly endless cycle of a present that seems more grim with every passing day.

However, things were not always thus. At one time, the citizenry took arms under the leadership of combat veterans and overthrew their oppressive government.

This great uprising didn’t occur over two centuries in the past. In fact, the last true armed uprising to overthrow an oppressive government in the United States -an “insurrection” of sorts- took place on this very day, 75 years ago.

In the August heat of 1946, veterans of the Second World War had hung up their helmets and resumed a life without war in their hometown of Athens, Tennessee. Election time was around the corner, though it didn’t really make a difference since the local government (of both Republican and Democratic constituencies, respectively) had already been well-rooted in the corrupt policies of bribery, voter fraud, police brutality and massive fine revenue generation for minor offenses such as public drunkenness and speeding.

The Great Depression -the economic turmoil of the time- had crippled the mostly agrarian society of McMinn County. The harsh drought crippled both the agricultural and business communities. Amid the suffering and chaos, the county’s wealthy Cantrell family backed Franklin Delano Roosevelt in the 1932 election, hoping “New Deal” programs would revive the local economy and help Democrats replace Republicans in the county government. It worked.

Having been sheriff for quite some time, Paul Cantrell resigned, assigning his head deputy to hold down the fort while he served in the state senate. In 1946, he decided he wanted to be Sheriff again. Using brutal bullying tactics, the sheriff’s office once again became the long arm of the local government, generating zero opposition and maximum revenue.

After having just fought a long war overseas to overthrow tyranny, the returning veterans were not at all pleased with the current state of affairs. They immediately sprung into action, challenging the ruling political party with a non-partisan party of their own known as the Veteran Party, made almost exclusively of returning war veterans. Their platform spit in the face of the ruling opposition, promising a fair ballot count and reform of local government.

”The principles that we fought for in this past war do not exist in McMinn County,” one veteran stated. “We fought for democracy because we believe in democracy but not the form we live under in this county.”

Veteran Bill White recounted the treatment he and his fellow comrades had been subjected to.

“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,” White recounted. “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.”

The public, though wary of government persecution, were quietly supportive of the veteran causes, hoping to silently let their voices be heard at the ballot box. At the end of July, in an attempt to help secure a fair election, 159 local veterans sent a petition to the FBI, requesting election monitors. There was no response. The Department of Justice had not responded to the citizens’ complaints of election fraud in 1940, 1942, or even 1944.

With election day upon them, Cantrell and his private army of government officials and law enforcement officers took to the streets. They arrested people for minor offenses. They bullied people in the hopes of deterring a vote against them. On August 1st, in an attempt to intimidate voters, Mansfield brought in some 200 armed “deputies” from both McMinn and nearby counties. Veteran poll-watchers were beaten by police without reprisal. At about 3 PM, an African-American voter was denied voting rights and bombarded with racial slurs. Despite being beaten, the man persisted until an enraged deputy shot him. Other deputies detained ex-GI poll-watchers in a polling place, as that made the ballot count “public”.

With chaos brewing, a crowd gathered. Sheriff Mansfield told his deputies to disperse the crowd and declared the polling place closed in the interest of “security”. When the two ex-GIs smashed a big window and escaped, the crowd surged forward. Deputies drew their firearms and formed a tight half-circle around the front of the polling place. One deputy brazenly waved his pistol about, threatening at the top of his lungs to kill anyone who dared cross the street. Under cover of other armed officers, deputies seized the polling boxes and retreated to the jailhouse to count the votes.

The line had been drawn, there was no going back.

With the recent defeat of two of the most oppressive war machines in modern history to their names, the veterans saw no choice but to once again step up and fight tyranny.

Short of firearms and ammunition, the vets scoured the county to find any privately owned weapons they could get their hands on. Some veterans (with help of rogue National Guardsmen) broke into the National Guard armory, securing semi-automatic M1 rifles (the 1940’s equivalent of the AR-15) and various other small arms.

By 8 PM, the veterans and other angry locals headed for the jail to secure the ballot boxes. Although they secured a solid perimeter, they occupied high ground facing the jail but left the back door unguarded (in a humane attempt to give the jail’s defenders an easy way out). These people did not hate Cantrell or his posse; they didn’t want to kill anyone. However, the Government had left them no room for peaceful reprisal and they were forced to embrace what could only be considered the final option.

The Battle of Athens had begun.

The first casualties were three veterans, shot while alerting passersby to the impending danger. The deputies, armed with pistols and submachine guns, began to lay down fire with little concern for who they hit. Immediately, hastily-organized units of veterans and irate citizens returned fire on the building. The main firefight lasted about 30 minutes, Several who ventured into the killzone were wounded. One man inside the jail was wounded but not killed. Most Sheriff’s deputies wanted to hunker down and await rescue.

At Cantrell’s urging, Governor McCord mobilized the State Guard, perhaps to scare the GIs into withdrawing. However, the Guard never mobilized, possibly due to fear of former active duty soldiers refusing to fire upon their own (or even turning on the governor). The men in the jail would receive no reinforcements.

Low on ammunition and running out of time before daylight, the veterans enlisted the help of locals from a nearby county, using dynamite to breach the jail walls. At around 2 AM, in the resulting aftermath of the explosion, panicked deputies surrendered and the attackers quickly secured the building. Paul Cantrell faded into the night. Mansfield’s deputies were kept overnight in jail for their own safety.

Calm soon returned and the GIs posted guards. In a sign of goodwill, all weapons taken from the armory were cleaned to inspection standard and returned before sunrise.

The democratic process had been restored. The votes were counted, the veterans had won. They posted a temporary police force of citizenry under the watchful eye of combat veterans. All newly-elected officials received a fixed salary of $5,000.00, and not a penny more. Those officers who had opposed the movement were allowed to resign and were subsequently replaced.

The national reaction to the incident was mixed, and The New York Times predictably condemned the actions of the veterans.

“There is a warning for all of us in the occurrence…and above all a warning for the veterans of McMinn County, who also violated a fundamental principle of democracy when they arrogated to themselves the right of law enforcement for which they had no election mandate,” one NYT article read. “Corruption, when and where it exists, demands reform, and even in the most corrupt and boss-ridden communities there are peaceful means by which reform can be achieved. But there is no substitute, in a democracy, for orderly process.”

However, a certain woman felt differently about the situation. She stated that “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”. That woman was none other than Eleanor Roosevelt, beloved former First Lady of the United States.

Interestingly, the Battle of Athens is often missing from school history curriculum, be it in secondary or post-secondary education. Over time, elected officials have claimed that the average American does not stand a chance against nuclear weapons, fighter jets or the might of an increasingly militarized police force. In the present day, corporations seemingly act as a vanguard for government agencies, using their own protections under the law to restrict free speech and curtail the rights of citizens.

Benjamin Franklin once gave a prophetic warning: that “any society that would give up a little liberty to gain a little security will deserve neither and lose both.” While the events seen on TV often feel far away, most in this nation are only a few events, laws and pen strokes away from such dystopian measures and chaotic events from becoming reality. What oppresses a man in New York is merely a matter of time for a man in North Carolina.

In the 2020s, it is easy to feel powerless or that one cannot make a difference. In the 1700s and 1940s, it seems, many felt the same way.

However, as we have seen time and again, those who are oppressed are often lifted up through the brave actions of those willing to risk everything for liberty.

After all, that’s the most American thing anyone could ever do.

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