Old Mules 1/2
August 30, 2023 | Sundance |
In 1946, a small town of Athens, Tennessee, became a true battleground, as a siege was laid on the town jail by crowd mostly consisted of WWII veterans who decided to take justice into their own hands, as the local politics were plagued by corruption, police brutality and electoral fraud.
The political turmoil was present prior to the Second World War, when an influential political figure in from Memphis, Edward Hull “Boss” Crump, appointed Paul Cantrell as the candidate for Sheriff in 1936. Cantrell won the election in what became known as the “vote grab of 1936”.
Around that time a system of fees was introduced in the Sheriff’s office, which meant that a fee would be paid per arrest. The system proved to be very dysfunctional ― shady arrests were made, often without substantial evidence, which also included numerous fines for “drunkenness” and “fee grabbing” from tourists and travelers on a similar pretext. In a period between 1936 and 1946, it is estimated that more than 300,000 dollars amounted to these fees.
In the meantime, Cantrell ran for State Senate, leaving his trusty deputy, Pat Mansfield, in charge. The racquet worsened, and the local population was greatly displeased. After several investigations by the U.S. Department of Justice failed to make a dent in this lucrative violation of authority, the situation reached its boiling point.
During wartime, thousands of men from the McMinn County, which includes Athens, joined the fight against fascism overseas. The shortage of able men led to low criteria in employing law-enforcement officers, which often included ex-convicts with violent criminal records.
As the war ended in 1945, around 3,000 soldiers from McMinn returned home, only to find that the corruptive local government was stronger than ever. Apart from the sheriff’s office, the corrupt clique, controlled by E. H. Crump held the local media, schools, and pretty much all of the government institutions.
The GI’s decided to respond to this. During the 1946 local elections, they formed a non-partisan political option, stating their candidates. Knox Henry, a decorated veteran of the North African campaign, was elected by the GI party to run against Cantrell who was once again running for Sheriff, while his former deputy Mansfield was holding the chair.
Due to prior scams involved in local elections, the GI’s pointed out their slogan ― Your Vote Will Be Counted As Cast. In addition, a precaution measure was made ― another veteran, Bill White, organized a militia which was to observe the voting process in case Cantrell and Mansfield tried to rig them again. The veteran militia adopted the name The Fighting Bunch, and pistols were handed out to around 60 men who joined in.
The elections scheduled for the 1st of August 1946 were followed by a number of incidents. On one of the polling places in Athens, an elderly African American farmer called Tom Gillespie was refused to cast his vote by Sheriff Mansfield’s patrolman, C.M. “Windy” Wise.
Wise used racists slurs, despite the presence of a protesting GI poll watcher, and denied Gillespie his right to vote. The deputy then hit Gillespie with a brass knuckle. The farmer dropped his ballot and tried to run away. In response, Wise pulled out his gun and shot him in the back.
This event sparked more quarrel. After a few stand-offs between Sheriff Mansfield’s deputies and the GI militia, a crowd was gathered in protest of the obvious violation of protocol and the clear intention of the administration to rig the election and keep the office despite the will of the people…..
(This article sounds like the definition of an "allegory" to me)
https://theconservativetreehouse.com/blog/2023/08/30/old-mules/