Tennessee Valley Authority
Introduction:
“The Depression created a desire among the American people for new leadership. The overwhelming victory of Franklin Delano Roosevelt (served 1933–1945) and the Democrats in the 1932 presidential election brought sweeping changes.” ("Tennessee Valley Authority 1933-1939.") Roosevelt desired for America's economy to be stable again. He created many projects that provided jobs for civilians.
Change:
“The Tennessee Valley was home to millions of poor subsistence farmers who had little opportunity to improve their lives because the economy there had been depressed since at least the end of the Civil War.” (“Tennessee Valley Authority 1933-1939.") FDR saw that and wanted to help the poor civilians of not only Tennessee, but six other states; in providing jobs and opportunities to make money. “The TVA promoted agricultural and forestry reforms that improved the fertility of the land and put money into the pockets of farmers.” (“Tennessee Valley Authority 1933-1939.")
Government influence:
“The Tennessee Valley Authority was one of the largest experiments in government-funded public works and regional planning in AMerican history at that point.” (Alan Brinkley, page 633) “The TVA is a public corporation governed by a board of three directors appointed by the president with the advice and consent of the Senate. The constitutionality of the TVA was immediately challenged upon the agency’s establishment, but it was upheld by the Supreme Court in the case of Ashwander v. Tennessee Valley Authority (1936) and in later decisions.” (Britannica School)
Liberal or conservative?
The TVA was a liberal movement because it focused on creating more jobs for civilians rather than giving more opportunity to “Big Businesses.” “ Once the crisis of the 1930s passed, the traditional American fondness for free enterprise and distrust of government reasserted themselves, although it was in a new world in which the TVA illustrated the potential benefits of massive government action.” ( “Tennessee Valley Authority 1933-1939.")
TVA:
One of FDR new deal projects was the “Tennessee Valley Authority,” also known as the “TVA.” “The Tennessee River, one of the largest rivers in the United States, flows for 652 miles and drains an area of 40,900 square miles that includes parts of seven states: Tennessee, Virginia, North Carolina, Georgia, Alabama, Mississippi, and Kentucky.” ("Tennessee Valley Authority 1933-1939.") The “Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA), U.S. government agency established in 1933 to control floods, improve navigation, improve the living standards of farmers, and produce electrical power along the Tennessee River and its tributaries.” (Britannica School) “The mission of TVA was comprehensive--whether it was power production, rural poverty, flood and erosion control, navigation, agricultural reform, disease prevention, reforestation, or cultural resource management--and each project was studied to determine all attendant conditions. Special attention was paid to concerns of long-term impact upon man and the environment.” (Neil Schlager and Josh Lauer)
Picture URL:
Citations:
Brinkley, Alan. The Unfinished Nation. N.p.: Chris Freitag, n.d. Print.
"'Mr. Carmody, We Want Lights': The Tennessee Valley Authority and Rural Electrification Under the New Deal." Science and Its Times. Ed. Neil Schlager and Josh Lauer. Vol. 6. Detroit: Gale, 2001.World History in Context. Web. 10 Mar. 2016.
"Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA)." Britannica School. Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc., 2016. Web. 10 Mar. 2016. <http://school.eb.com/levels/high/article/71698>.
"Tennessee Valley Authority 1933-1939." Historic Events for Students: The Great Depression. Ed. Richard C. Hanes and Sharon M. Hanes. Vol. 3. Detroit: Gale, 2002. 229-256. World History in Context. Web. 10 Mar. 2016.