FDR’s Tennessee Valley Authority

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.

As the flooding was controlled, a source of irrigation was also formed. During the years of the Depression, crops suffered tremendously due to lack of water and farmers were often plunged deeper and deeper into debt due to these crop failures. The modern agricultural techniques of irrigation were quite new to area residents who were used to farming using the same methods as their forefathers, but the techniques quickly caught on.

Even the boat captains benefited from the TVA’s development of the system of dams in the valley. The once difficult to navigate river became a lot easier. It, in turn, gave a boost to the travel industry, bringing more money into the Tennessee Valley.

There were other substantial natural benefits from the TVA. The TVA helped in controlling forest fires. Another benefit was the replanting of trees which lead to the regeneration of the depleted forest reserves. The regeneration of the forest acted as a glue for the wild life and they returned to the forests in drove. Similarly the construction of dams also brought in more fish to inhabit the river.

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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