Range 365 – by T. Logan Metesh
The Bill of Rights was created to protect citizens from potential abuses committed by their government. The Second Amendment was created to provide a means for those citizens to defend themselves.
Plenty of movies and novels have played out the grandiose scenario in which some form of martial law is declared in the U.S. by the government or an invading force (like in the 80s cult classic Red Dawn) often resulting in a post-apocalyptic or dystopian society, so we don’t have to go there. Suffice to say, this is a very specific and fairly unlikely scenario (but not impossible).
The fact of the matter is, armed American citizens have taken on their government many times in the past, but the events tend to be much more low-key than what makes for good movie fodder. As such, those very real stories tend to get glossed over and forgotten as time goes on.
The following is one of those stories from 1946. It is the tale of a group of World War II veterans who came back from the wars in Europe and the Pacific—from securing our democracy overseas—only to find it threatened in their own backyard.
This is the story of the “Battle of Athens” which took place in McMinn County, Tennessee, fought between a gang of corrupt local law enforcement officers and some fed-up local GIs who refused to be pushed around by corrupt people in power.
SETTING THE STAGE
Edward Hull Crump effectively was politics in Tennessee for the first half of the 20th century. Known as “Boss,” he served two terms as a Representative in the House and was the Mayor of Memphis for three terms. He established a political machine that gave him tremendous power, leading him to have the final say on who became the new mayor from 1915 up through 1954.
Read the rest and see the pics here: https://www.range365.com/battle-athens/