Tennessee Valley Authority
In 1933, Congress created the Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) as a federal corporation. TVA was perhaps the most original and broad reaching program to come from FDR's 'New Deal' to put America back on its feet. The TVA was created to improve and develop the Tennessee River Basin which reached across 7 states in the South '...an act to improve the navigability and to provide for the flood control of the Tennessee River; to provide for reforestation and the proper use of marginal lands in the Tennessee Valley; to provide for the agricultural and industrial development of said valley; to provide for the National Defense...'One of the main concerns of the TVA was to bring electricity to the rural areas in the Valley where few people had access to electricity. Power companies argued that it was too expensive to string the necessary lines to bring power to rural areas. FDR believed that if private enterprise could not supply electric power to those people, then it was the Government's responsibility to do so. In 19
All in all, the TVA was innovative and successful in turning around the decline of that region in the South. The channel connects the Ohio River and serves to lower flooding on the Tennessee, Ohio and Mississippi rivers. John Battle, the Executive Secretary of the National Coal Association, testified before Congress and speaking for many others in the utility business stated:". Construction of the dams and development of the surrounding areas was a major project. The environmental impact is questionable and many incidents of pollution by the factories that line the river have been an issue for many years. Opposition to TVA came mostly from private enterprise. The dams serve to increase the water supply in the region, provide flood control and also lakes for recreation. With the cooperation of other State and Federal agencies, Land Grant Colleges and other Works programs, the Tennessee Valley became and remains today a prosperous region in industry and agriculture. Wendall Wilkie, president of a large power utility, Commonwealth and Southern Company led the fight against TVA. Many court cases in the 1930's involved the TVA and the main thrust of the suits claimed that the government was exceeding its Constitutional powers by entering into the electric business. Labor and materials were both needed to see the project through.
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Acceptance Essays
