Tennessee Valley Authority

start

Tennessee Valley Authority

Overview

• The New Deal had dramatically expanded the size and scope of the federal government.
• It had also increased the national debt. Millions of Americans who were struggling to survive in the Great Depression welcomed the New Deal, but it also had its critics.
• One major target of criticism was the Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) program that provided jobs and electricity to a large region of the South.

One of the main goals of the Tennessee Valley Authority Act was to improve the economy in the Tennessee River Valley region. The Tennessee Valley included the states of Alabama, Georgia, Kentucky, Mississippi, North Carolina, Tennessee, and Virginia. In all, the TVA built 16 dams with locks that allowed ships to pass through each dam. Additionally, the authority opened up a 650-mile channel from Knoxville to the Ohio River, allowing trade and navigation along the Tennessee River.

On May 18, 1933, Roosevelt signed the Tennessee Valley Authority Act into law. The act was created to do the following:

• provide employment
• control flooding
• build dams along the Tennessee River
• generate and provide inexpensive hydroelectric power to the Tennessee Valley
• improve navigation along the Tennessee River
• develop agriculture and forestland in the Tennessee Valley
• manufacture nitrates and phosphorus for producing fertilizer

Tennessee Valley Authority act

effects of the tva

The sale of inexpensive electricity was just a secondary benefit. The Tennessee Valley Authority did much more than just build dams to provide electricity and control water flow to this region. The TVA actually revitalized an area which had been over-farmed and over-lumbered for many years.

TVA in Action

The Tennessee Valley Authority Act allowed the federal government to buy up many electric companies in the Tennessee Valley. In turn, the authority formed a single company that would provide the people of that area with hydroelectric power at a cheaper cost. Many independent electric companies went out of business. They could not compete with the inexpensive rates of the Tennessee Valley Authority, especially since the TVA did not have to pay taxes. By 1941, the TVA was the largest producer of electricity in the United States. This fact created much controversy. Critics argued that the TVA was intended to improve the standard of living for the people of the Tennessee Valley region, not enrich the government.

about 650 miles. In 1959, Congress passed legislation to make the TVA power system self-financing. This led to the TVA bringing larger, more efficient electrical generating units into service during the 1960s that kept electrical rates among the lowest in the nation. The Tennessee Valley Authority continues to thrive to this day.

effects of the tva (continued)

The formation of the TVA led to the development of fertilizers that enriched the soil of the Tennessee Valley. It also created an atmosphere where agriculture and livestock raising thrived. The TVA taught farmers how to increase crop yields, replace nitrates in the soil, rotate crops, replant forests, and improve habitats for wildlife. On top of that, the development and spread of electrical power attracted businesses and improved home life for farming families. During World War II, The TVA provided electricity for factories to build war supplies. By the end of the war, the various projects completed by the TVA allowed boats and barges to travel the length of the Tennessee River—