FDR’s Tennessee Valley Authority

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The Tennessee Valley Authority was entablished on May 18, 1933 by President Franklin Roosevelt. USA was going through severe economic dpression during that period. The President formulated several programs to lift the country out of this depression. These programs were collectively known as the New Deal. Apart from providing employment to people all over the country, the Tennessee Valley Authority provided much needed succor to the inhabitants of the Tennessee Valley by bringing electricity and irrigation facility to the area.

Since the area of the Tennessee Valley is directly around the Tennessee River, the Authority planned to generate power by harnessing the natural energy of the river. Due to the Depression, residents of Tennessee Valley did not have electricity in their homes and businesses like much of the country. Therefore, the project was to tackle the problem of power as top priority.

From an economic standpoint, the Tennessee Valley’s residents were quite poor and even referred to as the “Forgotten Americans.” Due to the area being strapped for funds, it is no surprise electricity was lacking in the valley. For this reason, Roosevelt’s TVA was critical in remembering these forgotten individuals and helping them in stimulating a rebirth of the area. After the TVA brought electricity to the valley’s residents, the average incomes began increasing and the once forgotten Americans were forgotten no more.

Apart from producing electricity, the TVA worked to control the river itself, which was prone to flooding every year causing great deal of damage to the land and the towns along the river’s destructive path. Houses and crops were ruined when the river broke its banks and came tearing into the valley. The TVA built dams in an effort to control the river and stop this devastating flooding.

The dams provided a source of irrigation. During the years of the Depression, crops failed due to lack of water and farmers were often plunged deeper and deeper into debt. With electricity and irrigation facilities available the residents quickly changed to modern agricultural techniques of irrigation and gave up the old methods used by their forefathers.

It was very difficult to traverse the river by boats before the TVA built these new dams. Once these dams were built, it became much more easy to navigate through the river. This brought in increased traffic to the area, thereby bringing much needed funds.

The natural effects of the Tennessee Valley Authority were also substantial. The project worked to control and prevent forest fires. Additionally, the workers replanted trees to rebuild the forest that had been cleared for a variety of reasons. This reforestation in turn encouraged wildlife to converge in the newly minted forests, just as the dams encouraged fish to populate the new bodies of water.

The Tennessee Valley Authority was an excellent program initiated during a critical time in this country’s history. In addition to providing jobs for thousands of Americans who were unemployed at the time, the TVA worked to better the life for the residents of the Tennessee Valley.

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