Veterans' Revolt for Democracy in Tennessee

In 1946, a group of World War II veterans came home to Athens, Tennessee and ended

up in a gunfight with their own local government. Not overseas, not against an enemy

country, but against the sheriff running their hometown. For 10 years,

McMinn County had been controlled by Paul Cantrell, a politician who rotated between

sheriff and state senator so his group never lost power. His deputies made money through fee-grabbing.

They arrested people for fake charges, fined them, and pocketed the cash.

Tourists, locals, it didn't matter. The more arrests, the more money.

And when election season came around, they controlled that too, stealing ballot