LIMITed Government
Definitions of Limited Government:
Applications of Limited Government:
Battle of Athens 1946
In McMinn County, a small Tennessee community, there was a situation in which the citizens began to question whether or not the government was taking advantage of its power, and overstepping the boundaries of limited government. In 1940, the U.S. Department of Justice placed an investigation of electoral fraud in McMinn County due to suspicions pointing towards a Paul Cantrell. Paul Cantrell was the Democratic candidate for sheriff in McMinn County. The investigation went nowhere and Paul Cantrell became a state senator as his former deputy became the county sheriff. These men ran their county as corrupt leaders. They received money for every arrest that they made which promoted them to make arrests at any given time. It was not uncommon for a vehicle to have been randomly searched in pursuit of a random arrest that may or may not have been for a valid reason. After the war, World War II veterans came home to this surprisingly corrupt government. They saw their government taking away freedom that was rightfully their's. In protest of the corruption going on in their current government system, the veterans decided to put together their own nonpartisan candidates for the up-coming election. Their candidate running against Paul Cantrell was Knox Henry, a combat veteran. Election day was the day that started the battle known as the Battle of Athens. On August 1, 1946, 200 armed police men were on patrol due to the tension that had been building up to this day. After the votes were collected, the deputies took all the ballots and brought them to the county jail where they were to be counted. The veterans asked to be present for the counting of the ballots and were denied this request, so in response, the veterans (all armed) marched to the county jail which they found to be guarded by 55 deputies. Asking once more to see the ballots, they were denied a second time, upon this denial the veterans opened fire. Thus began The Battle of Athens, which was ended when they veterans used dynamite to open the jail door which finally led to the deputies surrendering. The ballots were recovered and find to be tampered with. After a proper count, it was discovered that Knox Henry was the winner of the election.
Information gathered from these websites:
- The principle of limited government holds that no government is all-powerful, that a government may do only those things that the people have given it the power to do.
- The people are the only source of any and all of government's authority; and the government has only that authority the people have given it.
- Government must obey the law. Stated this way , the principle is often called constitutionalism-that is, that government must be conducted according to constitutional principles of government.
- The concept of limited government is also described as the rule of law, which holds that government and its officers are always subject to, never above, the law.
Applications of Limited Government:
Battle of Athens 1946
In McMinn County, a small Tennessee community, there was a situation in which the citizens began to question whether or not the government was taking advantage of its power, and overstepping the boundaries of limited government. In 1940, the U.S. Department of Justice placed an investigation of electoral fraud in McMinn County due to suspicions pointing towards a Paul Cantrell. Paul Cantrell was the Democratic candidate for sheriff in McMinn County. The investigation went nowhere and Paul Cantrell became a state senator as his former deputy became the county sheriff. These men ran their county as corrupt leaders. They received money for every arrest that they made which promoted them to make arrests at any given time. It was not uncommon for a vehicle to have been randomly searched in pursuit of a random arrest that may or may not have been for a valid reason. After the war, World War II veterans came home to this surprisingly corrupt government. They saw their government taking away freedom that was rightfully their's. In protest of the corruption going on in their current government system, the veterans decided to put together their own nonpartisan candidates for the up-coming election. Their candidate running against Paul Cantrell was Knox Henry, a combat veteran. Election day was the day that started the battle known as the Battle of Athens. On August 1, 1946, 200 armed police men were on patrol due to the tension that had been building up to this day. After the votes were collected, the deputies took all the ballots and brought them to the county jail where they were to be counted. The veterans asked to be present for the counting of the ballots and were denied this request, so in response, the veterans (all armed) marched to the county jail which they found to be guarded by 55 deputies. Asking once more to see the ballots, they were denied a second time, upon this denial the veterans opened fire. Thus began The Battle of Athens, which was ended when they veterans used dynamite to open the jail door which finally led to the deputies surrendering. The ballots were recovered and find to be tampered with. After a proper count, it was discovered that Knox Henry was the winner of the election.
Information gathered from these websites:
Click on this button to watch a short overview of the events that took place in McMinn County, on election day of 1946.
|
The Whiskey Rebellion of 1794
The Whiskey Rebellion of 1794 was an uprising of citizens due to an excise tax on whiskey in 1791. Secretary of Treasury, Alexander Hamilton proposed the tax on whiskey as a way to lessen the financial burden that the U.S. was facing at the time due to the great amount of debt that had accumulated after the Revolutionary War. Hamilton was in favor of increased federal authority and he believed that this taxation was in America's best interest. Unfortunately, many disagreed, particularly the farmers living in Western Pennsylvania who made a portion of their living off of the whiskey which they distilled and sold for a profit. Despite the many arguments against this proposal, including that of Thomas Jefferson. Congress passed the levy in 1791. When the Western Pennsylvanian farmers discovered this tax that was being imposed on them, they regarded it as a an abuse of federal authority. Many refused to acknowledge the new taxation, and decided to not pay it at all. Despite President Washington's efforts to end the rebellion peacefully in 1792, by 1794 the rebellion had become violent The President was forced to take action after 400 rebels set fire to the regional tax collection supervisor's home. The President put together a militia of 12,950 men which he led to Western Pennsylvania, this brought the rebellion to an end. By the time the militia had reached Pennsylvania, word got around that they were coming and the rebels had already dispersed and were nowhere to be found.
Information gathered from these websites:
The Whiskey Rebellion of 1794 was an uprising of citizens due to an excise tax on whiskey in 1791. Secretary of Treasury, Alexander Hamilton proposed the tax on whiskey as a way to lessen the financial burden that the U.S. was facing at the time due to the great amount of debt that had accumulated after the Revolutionary War. Hamilton was in favor of increased federal authority and he believed that this taxation was in America's best interest. Unfortunately, many disagreed, particularly the farmers living in Western Pennsylvania who made a portion of their living off of the whiskey which they distilled and sold for a profit. Despite the many arguments against this proposal, including that of Thomas Jefferson. Congress passed the levy in 1791. When the Western Pennsylvanian farmers discovered this tax that was being imposed on them, they regarded it as a an abuse of federal authority. Many refused to acknowledge the new taxation, and decided to not pay it at all. Despite President Washington's efforts to end the rebellion peacefully in 1792, by 1794 the rebellion had become violent The President was forced to take action after 400 rebels set fire to the regional tax collection supervisor's home. The President put together a militia of 12,950 men which he led to Western Pennsylvania, this brought the rebellion to an end. By the time the militia had reached Pennsylvania, word got around that they were coming and the rebels had already dispersed and were nowhere to be found.
Information gathered from these websites:
Limited Government Today
One of the most talked about issues regarding limited government today, is the government's use of monitoring U.S. citizens through technology. The modern world of technology offers any civilian the ability to own vast amounts of technological devices, some of which contain GPS systems, cameras, and large amounts of personal information. Our smart phones are a prime example, because most smart phones contain all of these things which means that the government can watch you wherever you are as long as you are with your smart phone. Technology can obviously be used as a safety tool to protect our country from threats and terrorism, but the question is whether the government's ability to monitor us (even within our own homes) is a violation of our rights, and over stepping the boundaries of limited government.