60 year anniversary - Battle of Athens, TN - Tilted Forum Project Discussion Community

dksuddeth · 08-02-2006, 09:16 AM

On 2 August 1946, some Americans, brutalized by their county government, used armed force 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.

http://www.constitution.org/mil/tn/batathen.htm

For those that argue that only the government and law enforcement should have guns, or that the second amendment is intended to be a states right to maintain an armed militia, should open their minds and throw off their anit-gun/armed civilian notions and remember this lesson well.

The second amendment was intended to protect the INDIVIDUAL right to keep and bear arms and, if necessary, overcome corrupt governments like that which was in Athens 60 years ago.

Painted · 08-17-2006, 09:38 PM

This is a very very interesting read. I recommend reading it to all, pro-Second Amendment or not. It is a prime example of what decent, law-abiding citizens can accomplish in the face of corrupt government.

The_Jazz · 08-18-2006, 05:14 AM

Being related to one of the actors in the post-election shakeout, maybe my eyes are a bit clouded, but the stories that I always heard from 1) my family member, 2) my history teachers and 3) my neighbors were that these were a bunch of drunken hillbillies that were led by a bunch of guys that proved to be just as much a bunch of bums as those who they "deposed". McMinn County today has some pretty major problems, and this "revolt" didn't do much. Second Amendment aside for a moment, this was more of an embarrassment to the State of Tennessee than a patriotic moment, and there certainly aren't any statues or memorials to these guys.

08-02-2006, 09:16 AM	#1 (permalink)
dksuddeth Junkie Location: bedford, tx	60 year anniversary - Battle of Athens, TN On 2 August 1946, some Americans, brutalized by their county government, used armed force 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. http://www.constitution.org/mil/tn/batathen.htm For those that argue that only the government and law enforcement should have guns, or that the second amendment is intended to be a states right to maintain an armed militia, should open their minds and throw off their anit-gun/armed civilian notions and remember this lesson well. The second amendment was intended to protect the INDIVIDUAL right to keep and bear arms and, if necessary, overcome corrupt governments like that which was in Athens 60 years ago. __________________ "no amount of force can control a free man, a man whose mind is free. No, not the rack, not fission bombs, not anything. You cannot conquer a free man; the most you can do is kill him."

08-18-2006, 05:14 AM	#3 (permalink)
The_Jazz Asshole Administrator Location: Chicago	Being related to one of the actors in the post-election shakeout, maybe my eyes are a bit clouded, but the stories that I always heard from 1) my family member, 2) my history teachers and 3) my neighbors were that these were a bunch of drunken hillbillies that were led by a bunch of guys that proved to be just as much a bunch of bums as those who they "deposed". McMinn County today has some pretty major problems, and this "revolt" didn't do much. Second Amendment aside for a moment, this was more of an embarrassment to the State of Tennessee than a patriotic moment, and there certainly aren't any statues or memorials to these guys. __________________ "They that can give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary safety deserve neither liberty nor safety." - B. Franklin "There ought to be limits to freedom." - George W. Bush "We have met the enemy and he is us." - Pogo

08-17-2006, 09:38 PM	#2 (permalink)
Painted Pleasure Burn	This is a very very interesting read. I recommend reading it to all, pro-Second Amendment or not. It is a prime example of what decent, law-abiding citizens can accomplish in the face of corrupt government.