Initial Actions of the TVAThe Tennessee Valley Authority stayed very true to what it was created to do. In its first years as a organization, it began the creation of dams that helped with flood control and protecting crops as well as creating hydroelectric power. The New Deal program, most prominently under Harcourt Morgan, worked with local governments to increase centralization of government in the rural areas of the south through a "grassroots program."
The dams set up under Arthur Morgan were engineering feats. The greatest ones were the Norris Dam and Kentucky Dam which both greatly helped the area. Nine reservoirs had also been constructed by 1938, which aided in control of the area water. Arthur Morgan also created community education opportunities for the people of the area. These consisted of both skills and academic training which helped the quality of life in the valley land. Since some farmers were moved from their lands because of the reshaping of the Tennessee Valley, they were promptly given new land and taught how to productively cultivate their land with the most modern techniques, which was all sponsored by the TVA. |
Muscle Shoals, a dam for the production of nitrogen, had great successes in the early years of the TVA. The nitrogen it made was used both as a fertilizer that was distributed to poor farmers in the area as well as for material for weapons, which was extremely important during World War II. With the introduction of fertilizers to improve southern farming, the TVA worked on ways to stop soil erosion to further promote agricultural production. They worked with farmers to develop sustainable farming techniques to stop soil erosion (which was aided by the reservoirs and dams that controlled excess water).
One of the major projects that the Tennessee Valley Authority undertook in its early years, was electrification of the area, which was strongly supported and headed by David Lilienthal. Using the power created by the hydroelectric dams, the TVA sold electricity to the people of the Tennessee Valley. The government sold it much cheaper than competing private companies in order to make electricity affordable to the poor, rural farmers. The people living in the Tennessee valley typically did not have the modern conveniences of the rest of the country, and many household chores took much energy. This, the TVA sought to rectify and set up the Electric Home and Valley Authority (EHVA). With the use of advertisements to persuade rural farmers that electricity and household appliances as well as aided purchase of the appliances, the TVA sought to modernize and improve the life of many in the south. In 1940, fewer than 50% of southerns had electricity, but following WWII, a much larger percent of the population did.
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The consumer culture that the introduction of electricity created also helped the quality of life. Poor farmers were more inclined to purchase goods and partake in a monetary market and credit systems, which began to end the isolation and self-sufficient farming techniques that had plagued the area for years by inhibiting progress. Lilienthal, through the program, hoped that interaction with electricity and its benefits would modernize a backwards society.
In the early years of the Tennessee Valley Authority, the organization accomplished many of its goals. The TVA managed to educate southern citizens on improved farming techniques, built a great number of dams and reservoirs to stop flooding and to create electricity, prometed river navigation and local government participation, and used the natural resources of the area to improve the livelihood of the area's residents, all while lessening the effects of the Great Depression. Since its founding in 1933, the Tennessee Valley Authority has continued being active in the Tennessee Valley, helping to improve the area.
In the early years of the Tennessee Valley Authority, the organization accomplished many of its goals. The TVA managed to educate southern citizens on improved farming techniques, built a great number of dams and reservoirs to stop flooding and to create electricity, prometed river navigation and local government participation, and used the natural resources of the area to improve the livelihood of the area's residents, all while lessening the effects of the Great Depression. Since its founding in 1933, the Tennessee Valley Authority has continued being active in the Tennessee Valley, helping to improve the area.