The Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) constructed new dams and hydroelectric plants to control river flooding and supply power. TVA projects provided jobs and training, generated electricity, and promoted commerce. The agency built new housing, schools and park facilities. These projects, however, forced the relocation of some 15,000 families living within the reservoir areas.
Manuscript Division, Library of Congress
“The Tennessee Valley,” inside TVA pamphlet The Development of the Tennessee Valley, n.d.
Harnessing Nature, Generating Jobs
Congress created the Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) in 1933 as a federal corporation to control floods, improve river navigation, provide electricity and foster economic development in the South. Nebraska Senator George W. Norris proposed the idea in 1921 and pursued it until President Franklin D. Roosevelt made it part of his New Deal program for economic recovery. Based in Knoxville, Tennessee, and Muscle Shoals, Alabama, the TVA had an immense impact on jobs, industry, housing and the environment.
The Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) constructed new dams and hydroelectric plants to control river flooding and supply power. TVA projects provided jobs and training, generated electricity, and promoted commerce. The agency built new housing, schools and park facilities. These projects, however, forced the relocation of some 15,000 families living within the reservoir areas.
Manuscript Division, Library of Congress
