Alternating Current and Electricity

The TVA was more successful in helping the environment because it greatly improved the condition of the land in the Tennessee Valley, which was thought to be irreparable. A major goal of Roosevelts going into his first presidential term was land preservation. “A nation that destroys its soils destroys itself. Forests are the lungs of our land, purifying the air and giving fresh strength to our people”(Roosevelt). The area of the Tennessee Valley was so badly damaged, the land was believed by some to be nearly beyond repair. As reported by the assistant secretary of agriculture at the time, Rexford Tugwell, the land conditions in the Tennessee Valley were “little better, if any, than that of the early

The article The New Deal, by Thomas Kessner, outlines Franklin Delano Roosevelt’s pre presidency, but more importantly, the policy he used in an attempt to bring America back to its pre Great Depression economic greatness. In order to do so, Roosevelt expanded federal authority over American citizens. He implemented a progressive income tax as well as created numerous federal work projects, aimed at increasing employment, as well as use federal money to help the economy. One example the author uses to prove this point of the large amount of projects is the Tennessee Valley Authority initiative, which spanned across seven states. The projects worked towards economic development and conservation. This projects protected endangered forests, built dams, and brought electricity and running water to the people.

Roosevelt had to fulfill his most important campaign promise, the new deal. “If the new deal is a success, a friend told Roosevelt in 1933, you will be remembered as the greatest American president. If I fail, Roosevelt replied, I will be remembered as the last one. “ (“FDR”) Roosevelt moved to put the government itself on a budget, freeing up federal dollars for relief and reform measures. (www.pbs.org) He boosted the morale by making the sale of beer and wine legal. FDR also launched a congregation of recovery endeavors, which were dubbed “alphabet soup” programs for the acronyms that identified them. The civilian conservation Corps (CCC) put 2.5 million men to work on conservation and reforestation projects. (Stolley, 86) FDR believed that the assembling of the National Recovery Administration was the most important legislation of the early New Deal. “The NRA was meant to stop wasteful competition, encourage better regulated pricing and selling policies and provide for higher wages and shorter hours throughout the American business community.” (Alsop, 123) During the Farm crisis, President Roosevelt initiated the Agricultural Adjustment Act (AAA). This financed farmers for limiting the size of their crops. It assisted to make the farming community more solvent, also at the same time reducing the massive surpluses that had run down produce prices. (Alsop, 124) The most popular New Deal ideas

Once President Franklin Roosevelt was elected during the Great Depression, his first 100 days enacted what he called the New Deal. This “deal” was a series of reforms that were meant to increase available jobs, better the working conditions, and put money back into the economy. Jobs offered during this time, as well as the relief, recovery, and reform efforts gave a kick start to the American economy, helping to pull us out of the Great Depression. Some examples of these efforts can be seen in the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC), the National Recovery Administration (NRA), and the Social Security Act (SSA).

Other programs during the New Deal were the civil Works Administration, which created jobs for the unemployed, and the Public Works Administration, which was created to provide economic stimulus and jobs. A very important program passed during the New Deal was the Tennessee Valley Authority, a program established to develop the economy in the Tennessee Valley region, and it was the largest public provider of electricity in the United States.

The nature of industrialisation changed in the 1930s. In the 1920s industrialisation had occurred because of free enterprise and big business. But with the onset of the Depression, industrial output fell dramatically. (statistics needed). To combat this, the federal government adopted a role of directly stimulating industrial growth. The Public Works Administration (PWA) instituted in began many large industrial projects with the aim of spurring the economy and providing many jobs. The Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) was a federal project to energise the economy through a massive industrial scheme sponsored by the federal government. Twenty five dams were built to reshape the land and generate hydro-electricity, which could further contribute to industrial growth. Another example of government leadership of industry was the National Recovery Administration (NRA), which attempted to foster industrial growth through the creation of ‘codes’ for each industry. These federal programs fundamentally changed the nature of industrialisation. In the 1930s, the government’s approach to industrialisation was more akin to socialist-state-style industrialisation than it was to the American capitalism-style industrialisation of the 1920s. Further, the federal government’s

The New Deal program was providing jobs and helping natural resources from another plan: the Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA). Established by congress a little over a week after the Fireside Chat was given, the TVA was to cover the environmental, economic and technological issues in the lower Appalachian area. The authority was also to start the delivery of low-cost electricity to most of Tennessee, Alabama, Georgia, Kentucky, Mississippi, western North Carolina, and southwest Virginia. FDR stated, “It should be charged with the broadest duty of planning for the proper use, conservation and development of the natural resources of the Tennessee River drainage basin and its adjoining territory for the

Franklin Roosevelt had also battled private companies when he established the Tennessee Valley Authority which had determined how fair the rates being charged by private companies for electricity were. The New Deal legislation had led to an increased union membership and the winning of better wages and rights for the labor force.

In February 1933, “the Senate passed a resolution calling for the newly elected president, Franklin Roosevelt to assume unlimited power” (Bailey, Beth, et al. “Chapter 22: The Great Depression and the New Deal.” A People and A Nation: Brief Tenth Edition. Vol. 2. Stamford: Cengage Learning, 2015. 632-667. Book. [Further: Bailey, Blight, and Chudacoff]). Through the New Deal, Roosevelt sought to “revive the economy through economic planning and relief programs” (Bailey, Blight and Chudacoff). These relief programs helped many Americans find jobs and ultimately restore the economy.

The income change from 1929-1933 was drastic. It went from $700 per year down to $375 per year, as seen in Trends in Personal Income, 1929-1933 (Document #5). That is a difference of $325, which is nearly 50% of what the annual income was in 1929! After FDR observed this, he immediately took action to try and change this trend. He encouraged the federal and state governments to start the Public Works Administration (PWA), and the National Recovery Administration (NRA) to recover this crisis, as seen in Document #8. The PWA is an administration that issues public works projects. The purpose of it was to not only improve the nation’s infrastructure, but also create thousands of jobs, which will decrease the unemployment rate. The NRA was an administration simply aimed to improve the economy and the nation in general. It tried to keep prices stable, as well as employ people. Many people took advantage of these opportunities, and they got jobs, and started making an income, however small it may be. As FDR correctly assumed, the more people working and out of the streets, the more the nation will shape up and slowly begin to

The TVA passed on May 18, 1933, played an important role during the Great Depression. This program played a vital role in relieving some of the economic hardships that farmers in Tennessee, Kentucky, Alabama, Georgia, North Carolina, and Virginia were experiencing. The TVA taught farmers of this area better farming techniques, such as replanting trees, rotating crops, and soil conservation. Dams were built to help with flooding and to provide hydroelectric power. The development of the TVA also created many jobs opportunities for the unemployed. (“Tennessee Valley Authority”

-O’ Brother, Where Art Thou quote: movie was centered around flooding of the valley by TVA dam (Coen & Coen, O Brother, Where Art Thou?, 2000) -Created by the TVA Act in 1933 election of President Franklin D. Roosevelt (FDR). -New Deal which was a series of programs, ‘alphabet soup,’ established during the Great Depression, restoring dignity back to the American people. (History.com Staff, 2009)-Energy, environment, jobs, economy (Our History, n.d.) It did this through power production, flood control, and reforestation and staying with its mission of “making lives better for the people of the Tennessee Valley region.” (How TVA Changed Lives, n.d.) -Effects are still felt today in the citizens of the southeastern United States. (The Editors

During this time, “…FDR promised ‘a new deal for the American people’” (Polenberg, 8). FDR quickly realized that in order to win over the citizens of the United States and to fix the crisis they were in, he had to address the two main things that he saw every American wanted during this economical depression. Polenberg informs his readers that FDR saw that the two things every American wanted was “…Work; work with all the moral and spiritual values that go with work. And with work, a reasonable measure of security—security for themselves and for their wives and children” (p.8). Knowing that these were the two main aspects (at the time) that FDR had to place the majority of his attention on, he went to work immediately as “He feared that a resolution was likely if he failed, as Hoover had, to solve the nation’s problems” therefore he begun formation of the first New Deal reforms (Polenberg, 8). These reforms were “…designed not so much to promote reform as to proceed recovery,” (Polenberg, 9) therefore indicating that “…the Roosevelt administration intended to move the country in a dramatically new direction” (Polenberg, 9). Some of the programs that the New Deal initiated were: the NIRA (National Industrial Recovery Act), the NRA (the National Recovery Administration), the AAA (Agricultural Adjustment Act), the WPA (Works Progress Administration), the CWA (Civil Works Administration), and the TVA (Tennessee Valley Authority) just to name a few (Polenberg, 9-13). Each reform act was aimed at recovering a different but specific area of society. For example, the TVA worked to “…provide cheap electrical power… and… help prevent soil erosion and control floods” (Polenberg, 13) while the AAA “…served as the foundation of New Deal farm policy… balancing agricultural production and consumption so as to avoid surpluses and ensure that

One of the best examples of a successful recovery program was the Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA). This program was proposed by Senator George Norris 5 during the Hoover Administration. Resurrected and expanded under Roosevelt, despite opposition from private utilities, The TVA constructed and maintained dams, provided hydroelectric power where there was no electricity before, and stimulated investment in the region. The TVA is one of the shining success stories of the New Deal.

Relevance Statement: Electricity is the heart of our current civilization. Without electricity we would regress into a feudal like stage which will slow down our evolution as a society