Editing Prentice Cooper (section)

==Early life==
Cooper was born at the home of his maternal grandparents, [[River Side Farmhouse]],<ref>{{cite web|title=National Register of Historic Places Registration Form: River Side Farmhouse|url=https://npgallery.nps.gov/GetAsset/45550bd2-8b1f-4153-8a97-30d47a90569c/|website=National Park Service|publisher=United States Department of the Interior|access-date=October 9, 2017}}</ref> along the [[Duck River (Tennessee)|Duck River]] in [[Bedford County, Tennessee]].  He was the son of [[William Prentice Cooper]], an attorney and businessman, and Argentine (Shofner) Cooper. He attended private schools in nearby [[Shelbyville, Tennessee|Shelbyville]] and graduated in 1913 from the [[The Webb School (Bell Buckle, Tennessee)|Webb School]] in [[Bell Buckle, Tennessee|Bell Buckle]], where he was president of the debate team.<ref name=tsla />

In 1914, Cooper enrolled in [[Vanderbilt University]], where he was a member of [[Phi Delta Theta]] and vice president of the freshman class. After two years, he transferred to [[Princeton University]], from which he graduated in 1917 with a [[Bachelor of Arts]].<ref name=tsla /> Following the U.S. entry into [[World War I]], he enlisted in the Army, initially serving with the 307th Field Artillery before being transferred to [[Fort Monroe]] in Virginia.  He was discharged in January 1919 with the rank of [[second lieutenant]].<ref name=tehc />

Cooper enrolled in [[Harvard Law School]] in February 1919 and graduated with an [[Bachelor of Laws|LL.B]] in 1921.<ref name=tsla /> He was admitted to the [[bar (law)|bar]] in 1922 and began practice in Shelbyville. That same year he was elected to the [[Tennessee House of Representatives]], where he secured passage of the state's Uniform Declaratory Judgments Act.<ref name=tsla />

Cooper left the house after one term and was elected [[district attorney]] of the state's Eighth Judicial District in 1925. He later served as a [[city attorney]] for Shelbyville.<ref name=tehc /> In the 1930s, he helped organize the Duck River Electric Membership Corporation, an [[utility cooperative|electric cooperative]].<ref name=tsla />