Nov 10, 2020
Today on the Resistance Library Podcast Sam and Dave discuss the
Battle of Athens. This little known moment in history was part of
an overall pan-racial resistance to anti-democratic government
forms throughout the United States that took place after World War
II.
The fight for civil rights in America is not limited to black
Americans. Nor is the American Revolution limited to the 1700s.
Case in point: The Battle of Athens. This was a pitched physical
confrontation lasting two days in 1946, but with roots stretching
back into the 1930s.
A corrupt political machine run by E.H. Crump was centered in
Memphis, but had influence throughout the entire state of
Tennessee. This extensive influence was used to alter the election
laws and charters of cities and counties to make the electoral
process more favorable to Crump and his men. Sheriffs and their
deputies were paid on a fee system, whereby they received more
money the more people they incarcerated
--
with predictable results. Travelers and tourists were hit hardest,
with buses traveling through Crump-controlled areas pulled over
and
(the
entire bus) ticketed for drunkenness.
This was felt particularly sharply in McMinn County, which was
historically Republican. It has been alleged that the basis of
Crump’s political power was delivering this Republican stronghold
to Democrat President Franklin Delano Roosevelt in the 1936
election. The Justice Department investigated election fraud there
in 1940, 1942 and 1944, but declined to take action. The poll tax
and politicized ballot counting were the most common methods of
fraud, as well as that old standby of having dead people cast
ballots.
The advent of World War II made matters worse. Most of McMinn
County’s young men were off fighting the war. This meant that the
county began scraping the bottom of the barrel when it came to
appointing lawmen. Ex-cons were not considered unworthy and many
were hired to help the county meet its needs. Gambling and
bootlegging were permitted for those politically connected
individuals within the county. To make matters worse, the machine
was firmly in control of the newspapers and schools, and was the
most gainful employment in the county.
You can read the full article “Battle
of Athens: The Forgotten History of the Tennessee Rebellion Against
Local Government” at Ammo.com.
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