Tennessee Valley Authority
Dates
Enacted on May 18, 1933 by President Roosevelt, and it still is present today (Our Documents).
Purpose
The purpose of the Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) was to address problems facing the valley including flooding issues, providing electricity to businesses and homes, and replanting forests, which had suffered from loggers (National Archives). The TVA was also responsible for improving travel on the Tennessee River, and helping develop businesses in this region and farmers. This was the first time a single agency was to address all of the recourse development in a single area. This included dealing with the effects of major floods, eroded lands, and a poor economy (Our Documents).
The formation of the TVA alone was a major step the government took toward addressing the natural disaster problems plaguing Tennessee, by consolidating all of the small companies addressing problems into one big one, the TVA (Britannica).
Achievements
Once formed the TVA took an aggressive approach to built dams, hydroelectric generation stations, and flood control projects (Britannica). Once passed by the government the TVA was authorized to complete the Muscle Shoals dam, as well as many others in the region. Despite the position of Conservatives the TVA introduced better farming technique, improved the drainage with the installation of many dams and provided electricity to many people throughout he valley who did not have it (Brinkley, 632-633). The Authority, a public corporation would also dig a 650-mile ditch from Knoxville to Paducah (Leuchtenburg, 54-55).
People Involved
Part of the TVA's job was to provide a better standard living for those living in the valley. The TVA was intended to help farmers increase their productivity, increase and support reforestation, and to help grow local industries (Brinkley, 633). One of the main reasons that Progressives supported the TVA was to help preserve the environment and conserve our natural recourses (Brinkley, 632-633). This is where hydroelectric stations began to emerge as a way to generate energy without putting toxins in the air (Britannica). The TVA offered a lot of job opportunities the many poorer jobless people, and also resulted in more towns being formed in construction zones. Unfortunately many people and graves had to be relocated because of construction (National Archives). Joe Martin of Massachusetts believed the power that the TVA has was in line with Socialist ideals (Leuchtenburg, 54-55).
Typically the Progressives favored the TVA partly, which championed ideas such as environmental cleanliness, and conservation. They strongly supported the ideas of using water as an energy source (Brinkley, 632)
Success?
The TVA was a success in that in provided electricity too much of the Tennessee valley area which did not already have it. It built many dams along the Tennessee Valley to help control and irrigate water flow, as well as increase the safety and efficiency of traveling down the Tennessee River. Overall I think that the TVA was a success short term in that it provided jobs the many people, help farmers increase heir productivity, and better irrigate water. Conservatives argued that the TVA was actually hurting the environment more than it was helping it, and managed to block some of their projects, but as a whole, the TVA improved and helped more than it hurt (Brinkley, 633). I believe it was more of long term project, to increase the farming capabilities of this region, provide a cleaner source of energy, and improve irrigation.
Progressives vs. Conservatives
The TVA was more of a liberal movement than a conservative one. Many progressives who strongly valued ideas of preserving and helping the planet, thought that the many different communities who had cropped up were ineffective and that they must be united into one large group to help improve the lives of people living in the Tennessee valley, and improve water ways (Brinkley, 632-633). The Conservatives argued that the construction projected were hurting the environment, more than helping, and that the TVA was dislocating town and villages, as well as burial grounds( National Archives). Many of these Utility Companies opposed the TVA because they saw it as a threat to their industries (Brinkley, 632).
Bibliography
Brinkley, Alan. The Unfinished Nation. New York: McGraw Hill, 2010. Print.
Leuchtenburg, William E. Franklin D. Roosevelt and The New Deal. New York: Harper Torchbooks, 1963. Print.
"Tennessee Valley Authority (1933)." Our Documents. N.p., n.d. Web. 18 Feb. 2016. <http://www.ourdocuments.gov/doc.php?flash=true&doc=65>.
"Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA)." Encyclopedia Britannica. N.p., 2 June 2015. Web. 18 Feb. 2016. <http://www.britannica.com/topic/Tennessee-Valley-Authority>.
"Valley of the Dams:The impact and legacy of the Tennessee Valley Authority." National Archives at Atlanta. N.p., n.d. Web. 18 Feb. 2016. <http://www.archives.gov/atlanta/exhibits/exhibits-tva.html>.
http://www.explainthatstuff.com/powerplants.html
http://uh.edu/engines/epi2261.htm
http://beyondplanb.eu/projects/project_tennessee_valley_autho.html