Misplaced Pages

#118881

142-664: The NGE was launched in 2004. It was the first state encyclopedia to be conceived and designed exclusively for publication online. The idea for the project grew out of the 1996 joint publication of The New Georgia Guide by the Georgia Humanities Council and the University of Georgia Press. The guide, itself a spiritual successor to the New Deal -era American Guide Series , was a literary success. Georgia Humanities and UGA Press then convinced Governor Zell Miller , who commissioned

284-530: A library service was instituted for this area. The professional staff at headquarters were generally composed of experts from outside the region. By 1934, TVA employed more than 9,000 people. The workers were classified by the usual racial and gender lines of the region, which limited opportunities for minorities and women. TVA hired a few African Americans , generally restricted for janitorial or other low-level positions. TVA recognized labor unions ; its skilled and semi-skilled blue collar employees were unionized,

426-499: A "hidden loss" by preventing the creation of "factories and jobs that would have come into existence if the government had allowed the taxpayers to spend their money as they wished". Defenders note that TVA remains overwhelmingly popular in Tennessee among conservatives and liberals alike. Business historian Thomas McCraw concludes that Roosevelt "rescued the [power] industry from its own abuses" but "he might have done this much with

568-405: A breakthrough in an area known for corporations hostile to miners' and textile workers' unions. Women were excluded from construction work. Many local landowners were suspicious of government agencies, but TVA successfully introduced new agricultural methods into traditional farming communities by blending in and finding local champions. Tennessee farmers often rejected advice from TVA officials, so

710-555: A decisive point in the consolidation of the conservative coalition in Congress. The liberal bloc in the House had been halved, and conservative Democrats had escaped 'relatively untouched ' ". In the House elected in 1938 there were at least 30 anti-New Deal Democrats and another 50 who were "not at all enthusiastic". In addition, "The new Senate was split about evenly between pro- and anti-New Deal factions." The Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938

852-547: A diverse portfolio that includes nuclear , coal-fired , natural gas -fired, hydroelectric , and renewable generation. TVA sells its power to 153 local power utilities, 58 direct-serve industrial and institutional customers, 7 federal installations, and 12 area utilities. In addition to power generation, TVA provides flood control with its 29 hydroelectric dams. Resulting lakes and other areas also allow for recreational activities. The TVA also provides navigation and land management along rivers within its region of operation, which

994-704: A four-day bank holiday and implemented the Emergency Banking Act , which enabled the Federal Reserve to insure bank deposits; this was made permanent with Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC). Other laws established the National Recovery Administration (NRA), which allowed industries to create "codes of fair competition"; the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), which protected investors from abusive stock market practices; and

1136-466: A gold outflow. Under the gold standards, price–specie flow mechanism countries that lost gold, but nevertheless wanted to maintain the gold standard, had to permit their money supply to decrease and the domestic price level to decline ( deflation ). As long as the Federal Reserve had to defend the gold parity of the dollar it had to sit idle while the banking system crumbled. In March and April in

1278-567: A great deal less agitation and ill will". New Dealers hoped to build numerous other federal utility corporations around the country but were defeated by lobbyist and 1940 Republican presidential nominee Wendell Willkie and the conservative coalition in Congress. The valley authority model did not replace the limited-purpose water programs of the Bureau of Reclamation and the Army Corps of Engineers . However, it has been shown that in river policy,

1420-434: A much stronger position. The House contained 169 non-southern Democrats, 93 southern Democrats, 169 Republicans, and 4 third-party representatives. For the first time, Roosevelt could not form a majority without the help of some southerners or Republicans. In addition, the president had to contend with several senators who, having successfully resisted the purge, no longer owed him anything. Most observers agreed, therefore, that

1562-635: A plan to meet the energy needs of the Tennessee Valley through 2020. In 1992 work resumed on Watts Bar Unit 1 , and the reactor began operation in May 1996. This was the last commercial nuclear reactor in the United States to begin operation in the 20th century. In 2002, TVA began work to restart Browns Ferry Unit 1 , the last of TVA's reactors that had been mothballed in 1985. This unit returned to service in 2007. In 2004, TVA implemented recommendations from

SECTION 10

#1732848434119

1704-422: A projected future increase in electrical consumption, TVA began constructing 500 kilovolt (kV) transmission lines, the first of which was placed into service on May 15, 1965. Electric rates were among the nation's lowest during this time and stayed low as TVA brought larger, more efficient generating units into service. Plants completed during this time included Paradise , Bull Run , and Nickajack Dam . Expecting

1846-823: A projection of further rapid increase in power demand. However, in the 1980s, it became increasingly evident that the agency had vastly overestimated the Valley's future energy needs, and rapid increases in construction costs and new regulations following the Three Mile Island accident posed additional obstacles to this undertaking. In 1981, the board voted to defer the Phipps Bend plant, as well as to slow down construction on all other projects. The Hartsville and Yellow Creek plants were cancelled in 1984 and Bellefonte in 1988. Citing safety concerns, all of TVAs five operating nuclear reactors were indefinitely shut down in 1985 with

1988-564: A proposal from industrialist Henry Ford to build a private dam and create a utility to modernize the Tennessee Valley. In 1930, Norris sponsored the Muscle Shoals Bill , which would have built a federal dam in the valley, but it was vetoed by President Herbert Hoover , who believed it to be socialistic . The idea behind the Muscle Shoals project became a core part of President Franklin D. Roosevelt 's New Deal program that created

2130-588: A provision for the "construction, reconstruction, alteration, or repair under public regulation or control of low-cost housing and slum-clearance projects". Many unemployed people were put to work under Roosevelt on a variety of government-financed public works projects, including the construction of bridges, airports, dams, post offices, hospitals, and hundreds of thousands of miles of road. Through reforestation and flood control, they reclaimed millions of hectares of soil from erosion and devastation. As noted by one authority, Roosevelt's New Deal "was literally stamped on

2272-537: A series of laws and executive orders, the government suspended the gold standard. Roosevelt stopped the outflow of gold by forbidding the export of gold except under license from the Treasury. Anyone holding significant amounts of gold coinage was mandated to exchange it for the existing fixed price of U.S. dollars. The Treasury no longer paid out gold for dollars and gold would no longer be considered valid legal tender for debts in private and public contracts. The dollar

2414-922: A small number of 115kV and 230kV lines in Alabama and Georgia that connect to Southern Company lines of the same voltage. TVA has conveyed approximately 485,420 acres (1,964.4 km ) of property for recreation and preservation purposes including public parks, public access areas and roadside parks, wildlife refuges, national parks and forests, and other camps and recreation areas, comprising approximately 759 different sites. Currently, TVA manages approximately 293,000 acres (1,190 km ) of Federally-owned land for public use. These lands are managed as either TVA Natural Areas or TVA Day-Use Recreation Areas. Natural Areas are smaller, ecologically or historically significant areas set aside for conservation, with some areas including hiking and walking trails. Day-Use Recreation Areas comprise approximately 80 different locations throughout

2556-576: A steady, sharp upward recovery. Thus the Federal Reserve Index of Industrial Production sank to its lowest point of 52.8 in July 1932 and was practically unchanged at 54.3 in March 1933. However, by July 1933 it reached 85.5, a dramatic rebound of 57% in four months. Recovery was steady and strong until 1937. Except for employment, the economy by 1937 surpassed the levels of the late 1920s. The Recession of 1937

2698-450: A system of domestic allotments, setting total output of corn, cotton, dairy products, hogs, rice, tobacco, and wheat. The farmers themselves had a voice in the process of using the government to benefit their incomes. The AAA paid land owners subsidies for leaving some of their land idle with funds provided by a new tax on food processing. To force up farm prices to the point of "parity", 10 million acres (40,000 km ) of growing cotton

2840-455: A total of five million. Political and business leaders feared revolution and anarchy. Joseph P. Kennedy Sr. , who remained wealthy during the Depression, recalled that "in those days I felt and said I would be willing to part with half of what I had if I could be sure of keeping, under law and order, the other half." Throughout the nation men and women, forgotten in the political philosophy of

2982-575: Is governed by a nine-member part-time board of directors, nominated by the president of the United States and confirmed by the Senate . A minimum of seven of the directors are required to be residents of TVA's service area. The members select the chair from their number, and serve five-year terms. They receive annual stipends of $ 45,000 ($ 50,000 for the chair). The board members choose the TVA's chief executive officer . When their terms expire, directors may remain on

SECTION 20

#1732848434119

3124-502: Is staffed 24 hours a day to spot any threats to TVA's 16,000 miles of transmission lines. Given continued economic pressure on the coal industry, the TVA board defied President Donald Trump and voted in February 2019 to close two aging coal plants, Paradise Unit 3 and Bull Run. TVA chief executive Bill Johnson said the decision was not about coal, per se, but rather "about keeping rates as low as feasible". They stated that decommissioning

3266-552: Is the fifth-largest river system in the United States, and assists governments and private companies on economic development projects. TVA's headquarters are located in Downtown Knoxville , with large administrative offices in Chattanooga (training/development; supplier relations; power generation and transmission) and Nashville (economic development) in Tennessee and Muscle Shoals, Alabama . TVA's headquarters were housed in

3408-505: Is under the jurisdiction of the SERC Reliability Corporation . Like most North American utilities, TVA uses a maximum transmission voltage of 500 kilovolts (kV), with lines carrying this voltage using bundled conductors with three conductors per phase. The vast majority of TVA's transmission lines carry 161 kV, with the company also operating a number of sub-transmission lines with voltages of 69 kV and 46kV. They also operate

3550-649: Is used by the National Nuclear Security Administration for nuclear weapons , where it is used to supercharge and boost the explosive yield of the U.S. nuclear arsenal . TVA owns and operates its own electric grid , which consists of approximately 16,200 miles (26,100 km) of lines, one of the largest grids in the United States. This grid is part of the Eastern Interconnection of the North American power transmission grid , and

3692-665: The Agricultural Adjustment Administration (AAA), which raised rural incomes by controlling production. Public works were undertaken in order to find jobs for the unemployed (25 percent of the workforce when Roosevelt took office): the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) enlisted young men for manual labor on government land, and the Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) promoted electricity generation and other forms of economic development in

3834-526: The Bonus Bill that would give World War I veterans a cash bonus. Congress finally passed it over his veto in 1936 and the Treasury distributed $ 1.5 billion in cash as bonus welfare benefits to 4 million veterans just before the 1936 election. New Dealers never accepted the Keynesian argument for government spending as a vehicle for recovery. Most economists of the era, along with Henry Morgenthau of

3976-527: The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), four state governments, and three environmental groups to drastically reduce pollution and carbon emissions. Under the terms of the agreement, TVA was required to retire at least 18 of its 59 coal-fired units by the end of 2018, and install scrubbers in several others or convert them to make them cleaner, at a cost of $ 25 billion, by 2021. As a result, TVA closed several of its coal-fired power plants in

4118-481: The Great Depression 's economic damage was caused directly by bank runs. Herbert Hoover had already considered a bank holiday to prevent further bank runs but rejected the idea because he was afraid to incite a panic. However, Roosevelt gave a radio address, held in the atmosphere of a Fireside Chat . He explained to the public in simple terms the causes of the banking crisis, what the government would do, and how

4260-651: The Old Customs House in Knoxville from 1936 until 1976, when the current complex opened. The building is now operated as a museum and is listed on the National Register of Historic Places . The Tennessee Valley Authority Police is the primary law enforcement agency for the company. Initially part of the TVA, in 1994 the TVA Police was authorized as a federal law enforcement agency . The Tennessee Valley Authority

4402-536: The Public Utility Holding Company Act of 1935 (PUHCA). During his 1932 presidential campaign, Franklin D. Roosevelt expressed his belief that private utilities had "selfish purposes" and said, "Never shall the federal government part with its sovereignty or with its control of its power resources while I'm President of the United States." U.S. Senator George W. Norris of Nebraska also distrusted private utility companies, and in 1920 blocked

New Georgia Encyclopedia - Misplaced Pages Continue

4544-503: The Securities Act of 1933 was passed. It required the disclosure of the balance sheet, profit and loss statement, and the names and compensations of corporate officers for firms whose securities were traded. Additionally, the reports had to be verified by independent auditors. In 1934, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission was established to regulate the stock market and prevent corporate abuses relating to corporate reporting and

4686-700: The Tennessee Electric Power Company (TEPCO), Jo Conn Guild , was vehemently opposed to the creation of TVA, and with the help of attorney Wendell Willkie , challenged the constitutionality of the TVA Act in federal court. The U.S. Supreme Court again upheld the TVA Act, however, in its 1939 decision Tennessee Electric Power Company v. TVA . On August 16, 1939, TEPCO was forced to sell its assets, including Hales Bar Dam , Ocoee Dams 1 and 2 , Blue Ridge Dam and Great Falls Dam to TVA for $ 78 million (equivalent to $ 1.34 billion in 2023 ). In 1981

4828-492: The Tennessee Valley , a region that had suffered from lack of infrastructure and even more extensive poverty during the Great Depression than other regions of the nation. TVA was envisioned both as a power supplier and a regional economic development agency that would work to help modernize the region's economy and society. It later evolved primarily into an electric utility. It was the first large regional planning agency of

4970-679: The Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA). The largest programs still in existence are the Social Security System and the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). From 1929 to 1933 manufacturing output decreased by one third, which economist Milton Friedman later called the Great Contraction . Prices fell by 20%, causing deflation that made repaying debts much harder. Unemployment in the United States increased from 4% to 25%. Additionally, one-third of all employed persons were downgraded to working part-time on much smaller paychecks. In

5112-531: The United States between 1933 and 1938, with the aim of addressing the Great Depression , which began in 1929. Roosevelt introduced the phrase upon accepting the 1932 Democratic presidential nomination, and won the election in a landslide over Herbert Hoover , whose administration was viewed by many as doing too little to help those affected. Roosevelt believed that the depression was caused by inherent market instability , and that massive government intervention

5254-571: The federal government , TVA receives no taxpayer funding and operates similarly to a private for-profit company. It is headquartered in Knoxville, Tennessee , and is the sixth-largest power supplier and largest public utility in the country. The TVA was created by Congress in 1933 as part of President Franklin D. Roosevelt 's New Deal . Its initial purpose was to provide navigation , flood control , electricity generation , fertilizer manufacturing, regional planning , and economic development to

5396-563: The late December 2022 North American winter storm . As many as 24,000 Nashville Electric Service customers were without power, with thousands more from smaller distributors affected as well. TVA was heralded by New Dealers and the New Deal Coalition not only as a successful economic development program for a depressed area but also as a democratic nation-building effort overseas because of its alleged grassroots inclusiveness as articulated by director David E. Lilienthal . However,

5538-422: The 1920s more than five hundred banks failed per year, and then it was less than ten banks per year after 1933. Under the gold standard , the United States kept the dollar convertible to gold. The Federal Reserve would have had to execute an expansionary monetary policy to fight the deflation and to inject liquidity into the banking system to prevent it from crumbling—but lower interest rates would have led to

5680-713: The 1920s, such as the TVA. The "First New Deal" (1933–1934) encompassed the proposals offered by a wide spectrum of groups (not included was the Socialist Party , whose influence was all but destroyed). This first phase of the New Deal was also characterized by fiscal conservatism (see Economy Act , below) and experimentation with several different, sometimes contradictory, cures for economic ills. Roosevelt created dozens of new agencies. They are traditionally and typically known to Americans by their alphabetical initials. The American people were generally extremely dissatisfied with

5822-473: The 1950s. In 1955 coal surpassed hydroelectricity as TVA's top generating source. On August 6, 1959, President Dwight D. Eisenhower signed into law an amendment to the TVA act, making the agency self-financing. During the 1950s, TVA's generating capacity nearly quadrupled. The 1960s were years of further unprecedented economic growth in the Tennessee Valley. Capacity growth during this time slowed, but ultimately increased 56% between 1960 and 1970. To handle

New Georgia Encyclopedia - Misplaced Pages Continue

5964-564: The 2010s, converting some to natural gas. These include John Sevier in 2012, Shawnee Unit 10 in 2014, Widows Creek in 2015, Colbert in 2016, Johnsonville and Paradise Units 1 and 2 in 2017, Allen in 2018, and Paradise Unit 3 in 2020. In 2018, TVA opened a new cybersecurity center in its downtown Chattanooga Office Complex. More than 20 Information Technology specialists monitor emails, Twitter feeds and network activity for cybersecurity threats and threats to grid security. Across TVA's digital platform, two billion activities occur each day. The center

6106-610: The AAA. In 1936, the Supreme Court declared the AAA to be unconstitutional , stating, "a statutory plan to regulate and control agricultural production, [is] a matter beyond the powers delegated to the federal government". The AAA was replaced by a similar program that did win Court approval. Instead of paying farmers for letting fields lie barren, this program subsidized them for planting soil-enriching crops such as alfalfa that would not be sold on

6248-452: The American landscape". The rural U.S. was a high priority for Roosevelt and his energetic Secretary of Agriculture, Henry A. Wallace . Roosevelt believed that full economic recovery depended upon the recovery of agriculture and raising farm prices was a major tool, even though it meant higher food prices for the poor living in cities. Many rural people lived in severe poverty, especially in

6390-520: The Democratic Party's base to the New Deal coalition of labor unions , blue-collar workers, big city machines , racial minorities (most importantly African-Americans), white Southerners, and intellectuals. The realignment crystallized into a powerful liberal coalition which dominated presidential elections into the 1960s, as an opposing conservative coalition largely controlled Congress in domestic affairs from 1937 to 1964. Historians still debate

6532-831: The Eastern District of Tennessee . The initial spill resulted in no injuries or deaths, but several of the employees of an engineering firm hired by TVA to clean up the spill developed illnesses, some of which were fatal, and in November 2018, a federal jury ruled that the contractor did not properly inform the workers about the dangers of exposure to coal ash and had failed to provide them with necessary personal protective equipment. In 2009, to gain more access to sustainable, green energy, TVA signed 20-year power purchase agreements with Maryland-based CVP Renewable Energy Co. and Chicago-based Invenergy Wind LLC for electricity generated by wind farms. In April 2011, TVA reached an agreement with

6674-702: The Farm Security Act to raise farm incomes by raising the prices farmers received, which was achieved by reducing total farm output. The Agricultural Adjustment Act created the Agricultural Adjustment Administration (AAA) in May 1933. The act reflected the demands of leaders of major farm organizations (especially the Farm Bureau ) and reflected debates among Roosevelt's farm advisers such as Secretary of Agriculture Henry A. Wallace, M.L. Wilson , Rexford Tugwell and George Peek . The AAA aimed to raise prices for commodities through artificial scarcity . The AAA used

6816-479: The Government, look to us here for guidance and for more equitable opportunity to share in the distribution of national wealth... I pledge myself to a new deal for the American people. This is more than a political campaign. It is a call to arms. Franklin D. Roosevelt , 1932 The phrase "New Deal" was coined by an adviser to Roosevelt, Stuart Chase , who used A New Deal as the title for an article published in

6958-579: The NGE website today. Unlike other state and regional encyclopedias, the project partners and editorial staff believed that the NGE should cover a wide range of subjects, instead of only history and culture. Today, the NGE separates its articles into 10 topics: Arts and Culture, Business and Economy, Counties, Cities, and Neighborhoods, Education, Geography and Environment, Government and Politics, History and Archaeology, Science and Medicine, Sports and Outdoor Recreation, and People. Just under 800 writers contributed to

7100-438: The NGE. The site received 1-2 million page views a month at the beginning of January 2011. The site was redesigned in 2013. Site improvements included updated media players and a search engine for articles compliant with Georgia Educational Standards . New Deal The New Deal was a series of domestic programs, public work projects , and financial reforms and regulations enacted by President Franklin D. Roosevelt in

7242-579: The NRA and the first version of the Agricultural Adjustment Act (AAA) unconstitutional, but the AAA was rewritten and then upheld. Republican President Dwight D. Eisenhower (1953–1961) left the New Deal largely intact, even expanding it in some areas. In the 1960s, Lyndon B. Johnson 's Great Society used the New Deal as inspiration for a dramatic expansion of progressive programs, which Republican Richard Nixon generally retained. However, after 1974

SECTION 50

#1732848434119

7384-606: The New Deal, such as unemployment relief and public works programs. Roosevelt entered office with clear ideas for policies to address the Great Depression , though he remained open to experimentation as his presidency began implementing these. Among Roosevelt's more famous advisers was an informal " Brain Trust ", a group that tended to view pragmatic government intervention in the economy positively. His choice for Secretary of Labor , Frances Perkins , greatly influenced his initiatives. Her list of what her priorities would be if she took

7526-662: The New Dealers' spending mood by expanding the Army Corps' flood control program. They also helped defeat further valley authorities, the most promising of the New Deal water policy reforms. When Democrats after 1945 began proclaiming the Tennessee Valley Authority as a model for countries in the developing world to follow, conservative critics charged that it was a top-heavy, centralized, technocratic venture that displaced locals and did so in insensitive ways. Thus, when

7668-681: The Reservoir Operations Study (ROS) on how it operates the Tennessee River system. The following year, the company announced its intention to construct an Advanced Pressurized Water Reactor at its Bellefonte site in Alabama, filing the necessary applications in November 2007. This proposal was gradually trimmed over the following years, and essentially voided by 2016. In October 2007, construction resumed on Watts Bar Unit 2 . which began commercial operation in October 2016. Watts Bar Unit 2

7810-595: The Roosevelt administration launched the Tennessee Valley Authority , a project involving dam construction planning on an unprecedented scale to curb flooding, generate electricity, and modernize poor farms in the Tennessee Valley region of the Southern United States. Under the Farmers' Relief Act of 1933, the government paid compensation to farmers who reduced output, thereby raising prices. Because of this legislation,

7952-694: The South. Major programs addressed to their needs included the Resettlement Administration (RA), the Rural Electrification Administration (REA), rural welfare projects sponsored by the WPA, National Youth Administration (NYA), Forest Service and Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC), including school lunches, building new schools, opening roads in remote areas, reforestation and purchase of marginal lands to enlarge national forests. In 1933,

8094-628: The TVA Board of Directors broke with previous tradition and took a hard line against white-collar unions during contract negotiations. As a result, a class action suit was filed in 1984 in U.S. District Court charging the agency with sex discrimination under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 based on the large number of women in one of the pay grades negatively impacted by the new contract. TVA reached an out-of-court settlement in 1987, in which they agreed to contract modifications and paid

8236-689: The TVA Board voted to approve an advanced approach of nuclear energy technology with an estimated $ 200 million investment, known as the New Nuclear Program (NNP) in February 2022. This would promote the construction of new nuclear power facilities, particularly small modular reactors , with the first facility being constructed in partnership with Oak Ridge National Laboratory at the Clinch River Nuclear Site in Oak Ridge . On December 23, 2022, TVA had several hours of rolling blackouts due to

8378-419: The TVA chairman and another board member, saying they were overpaid and had outsourced 200 high-tech jobs. The move came after U.S. Tech Workers, a nonprofit that works to limit visas given to foreign technology workers, criticized the TVA for laying off its own workers and replacing them with contractors using foreign workers with H-1B visas . Citing its aspiration to reach net-zero carbon emissions in 2050,

8520-477: The TVA forced residents to sell their property at values less than the fair market value , and indirectly destabilized the real estate market for farmland. Some displaced residents committed suicide, unable to bear the events. On some occasions, land that TVA had acquired through eminent domain that was expected to be flooded by reservoirs was not flooded, and was instead given away to private developers. The 1960 film Wild River , directed by Elia Kazan , tells

8662-475: The TVA was controversial early on, as some believed its creation was an overreach by the federal government. Supporters of TVA note that the agency's management of the Tennessee River system without appropriated federal funding saves federal taxpayers millions of dollars annually. Opponents, such as Dean Russell in The TVA Idea, in addition to condemning the project as being socialistic , argued that TVA created

SECTION 60

#1732848434119

8804-492: The TVA. The agency was initially tasked with modernizing the region, using experts and electricity to combat human and economic problems. TVA developed fertilizers, and taught farmers ways to improve crop yields. In addition, it helped replant forests, control forest fires , and improve habitats for fish and wildlife. The Authority hired many of the area's unemployed for a variety of jobs: they conducted conservation , economic development , and social programs . For instance,

8946-714: The Tennessee River for electricity generation and navigation improvements. The National Defense Act of 1916 , signed into law by President Woodrow Wilson , authorized the construction of a hydroelectric dam on the Tennessee River in Muscle Shoals, Alabama , for the purpose of producing nitrates for ammunition. During the 1920s and the 1930s, Americans began to support the idea of public ownership of utilities , particularly hydroelectric power facilities. Many believed privately owned power companies were charging too much for power, did not employ fair operating practices, and were subject to abuse by their owners, utility holding companies, at

9088-435: The Tennessee Valley Authority. Even by Depression standards, the Tennessee Valley was in dire economic straits in 1933. Thirty percent of the population was affected by malaria . The average income in the rural areas was $ 639 per year (equivalent to $ 11,947 in 2024), with some families surviving on as little as $ 100 per year (equivalent to $ 1,870 in 2023). Much of the land had been exhausted by poor farming practices, and

9230-609: The Tennessee Valley largely concentrated on or near TVA reservoirs that include water access points, campgrounds, hiking trails, fishing piers, and equestrian facilities. TVA operates an economic development organization that works with companies and economic development agencies throughout the Tennessee Valley to create jobs via private investments. They also work with businesses to help them choose locations for facilities and expand existing facilities. Services provided include assistance with site selection, employee recruitment and training, and research. A total of seven sites throughout

9372-549: The Treasury Department, rejected Keynesian solutions and favored balanced budgets. At the beginning of the Great Depression, the economy was destabilized by bank failures followed by credit crunches . The initial reasons were substantial losses in investment banking, followed by bank runs . Bank runs occur when a large number of customers withdraw their deposits because they believe the bank might become insolvent. As

9514-402: The U.S. federal government, and remains the largest. Under the leadership of David E. Lilienthal , the TVA also became the global model for the United States' later efforts to help modernize agrarian societies in the developing world . The TVA historically has been documented as a success in its efforts to modernize the Tennessee Valley and helping to recruit new employment opportunities to

9656-563: The United States and the third largest nuclear power fleet, with seven units at three sites . In addition, they also operate four coal-fired power plants , 29 hydroelectric dams, nine simple-cycle natural gas combustion turbine plants, nine combined cycle gas plants, 1 pumped storage hydroelectric plant, 1 wind energy site, and 14 solar energy sites. In fiscal year 2020, nuclear generation made up about 41% of TVA's total energy production, natural gas 26%, coal 14%, hydroelectric 13%, and wind and solar 3%. TVA purchases about 15% of

9798-408: The Valley are certified by TVA as megasites , which contain a minimum of 1,000 acres (4.0 km ), and have access to an Interstate Highway and the potential for rail service, and environmental impact study, and contain or have the potential to contain direct-serve industrial customers. In the late 19th century, the Army Corps of Engineers first recognized a number of potential dam sites along

9940-401: The Valley's electric power needs to continue to grow, TVA began building nuclear power plants in 1966 as a new source of power. The following year, TVA began work on the construction of Tellico Dam , which had been initially conceived in the 1930s and would later become its most controversial project. During the 1970s significant changes occurred in the economy of the Tennessee Valley and

10082-495: The administration, in which he met with Congress for 100 days. During those 100 days of lawmaking, Congress granted every request Roosevelt asked and passed a few programs (such as the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation to insure bank accounts) that he opposed. Ever since, presidents have been judged against Roosevelt for what they accomplished in their first 100 days. Walter Lippmann famously noted: At

10224-400: The agency's five nuclear reactors return to service, and the institution of a rate freeze that continued for ten years. As the electric-utility industry moved toward restructuring and deregulation , TVA began preparing for competition. It cut operating costs by nearly $ 800 million a year, reduced its workforce by more than half, increased the generating capacity of its plants, and developed

10366-430: The aggregate, almost 50% of the nation's human work-power was going unused. Before the New Deal, USA bank deposits were not "guaranteed" by government. When thousands of banks closed, depositors temporarily lost access to their money; most of the funds were eventually restored but there was gloom and panic. The United States had no national safety net, no public unemployment insurance and no Social Security . Relief for

10508-560: The average income of farmers almost doubled by 1937. In the 1920s, farm production had increased dramatically thanks to mechanization, more potent insecticides, and increased use of fertilizer. Due to an overproduction of agricultural products, farmers faced severe and chronic agricultural depression throughout the 1920s. The Great Depression even worsened the agricultural crises and, at the beginning of 1933, agricultural markets nearly faced collapse. Farm prices were so low that in Montana wheat

10650-590: The bank run progressed, it generated a self-fulfilling prophecy : as more people withdrew their deposits, the likelihood of default increased and this encouraged further withdrawals. Milton Friedman and Anna Schwartz have argued that the drain of money out of the banking system caused the monetary supply to shrink, forcing the economy to likewise shrink. As credit and economic activity diminished, price deflation followed, causing further economic contraction with disastrous impact on banks. Between 1929 and 1933, 40% of all banks (9,490 out of 23,697 banks) failed. Much of

10792-532: The banks in the Federal Reserve System reopened within the next three days. Billions of dollars in hoarded currency and gold flowed back into them within a month, thus stabilizing the banking system. By the end of 1933, 4,004 small local banks were permanently closed and merged into larger banks. Their deposits totaled $ 3.6 billion. Depositors lost $ 540 million (equivalent to $ 12,710,128,535 in 2023) and eventually received on average 85 cents on

10934-496: The board until the end of the current congressional session (typically in December) or until their successors take office, whichever comes first. The current board members as of January 4, 2023: President Biden has nominated the following to fill a seat on the board. They await Senate confirmation. With a generating capacity of approximately 35 gigawatts (GW), TVA has the sixth highest generation capacity of any utility company in

11076-666: The call for deregulation of the economy gained bipartisan support. The New Deal regulation of banking ( Glass–Steagall Act ) lasted until it was suspended in the 1990s. Several organizations created by New Deal programs remain active and those operating under the original names include the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC), the Federal Crop Insurance Corporation (FCIC), the Federal Housing Administration (FHA), and

11218-641: The company's nuclear reactor fleet. This includes fuel for the Browns Ferry Nuclear Plant , fuel handling equipment upgrades across the fleet and steam generator replacements at the Watts Bar Nuclear Plant . Framatome will provide its state-of-the-art ATRIUM 11 fuel for the three boiling water reactors at Browns Ferry . This contract makes TVA the third U.S. utility to switch to the ATRIUM 11 fuel design. On August 3, 2020, President Trump fired

11360-528: The crumbling economy, mass unemployment, declining wages, and profits, and especially Herbert Hoover 's policies such as the Smoot–Hawley Tariff Act and the Revenue Act of 1932 . Roosevelt entered office with enormous political capital . Americans of all political persuasions were demanding immediate action and Roosevelt responded with a remarkable series of new programs in the "first hundred days" of

11502-541: The decline in prices would finally end. In her essay "What ended the Great Depression?" (1992), Christina Romer argued that this policy raised industrial production by 25% until 1937 and by 50% until 1942. Before the Wall Street Crash of 1929 , securities were unregulated at the federal level. Even firms whose securities were publicly traded published no regular reports, or even worse, rather misleading reports based on arbitrarily selected data. To avoid another crash,

11644-412: The dollar of their deposits. The Glass–Steagall Act limited commercial bank securities activities and affiliations between commercial banks and securities firms to regulate speculations. It also established the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC), which insured deposits for up to $ 2,500, ending the risk of runs on banks. This banking reform offered unprecedented stability because throughout

11786-524: The drainage basin of the Tennessee River . Although the First New Deal helped many find work and restored confidence in the financial system, by 1935 stock prices were still below pre-Depression levels and unemployment still exceeded 20 percent. From 1935 to 1938, the "Second New Deal" introduced further legislation and additional agencies which focused on job creation and on improving the conditions of

11928-446: The effectiveness of the New Deal programs, although most accept that full employment was not achieved until World War II began in 1939. The First New Deal (1933–1934) dealt with the pressing banking crisis through the Emergency Banking Act and the 1933 Banking Act . The Federal Emergency Relief Administration (FERA) provided US$ 500 million (equivalent to $ 11.8 billion in 2023) for relief operations by states and cities, and

12070-554: The elderly, workers, and the poor. The Works Progress Administration (WPA) supervised the construction of bridges, libraries, parks, and other facilities, while also investing in the arts; the National Labor Relations Act guaranteed employees the right to organize trade unions ; and the Social Security Act introduced pensions for senior citizens and benefits for the disabled, mothers with dependent children, and

12212-415: The emergency budget, which was needed to defeat the depression. It was imbalanced on a temporary basis. Roosevelt initially favored balancing the budget, but soon found himself running spending deficits to fund his numerous programs. However, Douglas—rejecting the distinction between a regular and emergency budget—resigned in 1934 and became an outspoken critic of the New Deal. Roosevelt strenuously opposed

12354-422: The end of February we were a congeries of disorderly panic-stricken mobs and factions. In the hundred days from March to June, we became again an organized nation confident of our power to provide for our own security and to control our own destiny. The economy had hit bottom in March 1933 and then started to expand. Economic indicators show the economy reached its lowest point in the first days of March, then began

12496-402: The expense of consumers. The concept of government-owned generation facilities selling to publicly owned distribution utilities was controversial, and remains so today. The private sector practice of forming utility holding companies had resulted in them controlling 94 percent of generation by 1921, and they were essentially unregulated. In an effort to change this, Congress and Roosevelt enacted

12638-605: The federal government the largest employer in the nation), the Social Security Act and new programs to aid tenant farmers and migrant workers. The final major items of New Deal legislation were the creation of the United States Housing Authority and the FSA, which both occurred in 1937; and the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 , which set maximum hours and minimum wages for most categories of workers. The FSA

12780-690: The group $ 5 million (equivalent to $ 11.5 million in 2023 ), but denied wrongdoing. TVA has received criticism throughout its entire history for what some have perceived as excessive use of its authority of eminent domain and an unwillingness to compromise with landowners. All of TVA's hydroelectric projects were made possible through the use of eminent domain, and displaced more than 125,000 Tennessee Valley residents. Residents who initially refused to sell their land were often forced to do so via court orders and lawsuits. Many of these projects also inundated historic Native American sites and early Colonial -era settlements. Historians have claimed that

12922-484: The guide in the first place, to fund the planning and development of a comprehensive print and online state encyclopedia. The name "New Georgia Encyclopedia" was chosen as an homage to the New Georgia Guide and as a reference to the new online medium. As the project developed, plans for a print volume of the encyclopedia fell through. The planning committee argued that the increased receptiveness to change offered by

13064-655: The informal conservative coalition . By 1942–1943, they shut down relief programs such as the WPA and the CCC and blocked major progressive proposals. Noting the composition of the new Congress, one study argued The Congress that assembled in January 1939 was quite unlike any with which Roosevelt had to contend before. Since all Democratic losses took place in the North and the West, and particularly in states like Ohio and Pennsylvania, southerners held

13206-468: The intent of also controlling floods, greatly improved the lives of farmers and rural residents, making their lives easier and farms in the Tennessee Valley more productive. They also provided new employment opportunities to the poverty-stricken regions in the Valley. At the same time, however, they required the displacement of more than 125,000 valley residents or roughly 15,000 families, as well as some cemeteries and small towns, which caused some to oppose

13348-570: The investigation. In 1963, U.S. Senator and Republican presidential candidate Barry Goldwater was quoted in a Saturday Evening Post article by Stewart Alsop as saying, "You know, I think we ought to sell TVA." He had called for the sale to private companies of particular parts of the Authority, including its fertilizer production and steam-generation facilities, because "it would be better operated and would be of more benefit for more people if it were part of private industry." Goldwater's quotation

13490-712: The job illustrates: "a forty-hour workweek, a minimum wage, worker's compensation , unemployment compensation , a federal law banning child labor , direct federal aid for unemployment relief, Social Security , a revitalized public employment service and health insurance". The New Deal policies drew from many different ideas proposed earlier in the 20th century. Assistant Attorney General Thurman Arnold led efforts that hearkened back to an anti-monopoly tradition rooted in American politics by figures such as Andrew Jackson and Thomas Jefferson . Supreme Court Justice Louis Brandeis , an influential adviser to many New Dealers, argued that "bigness" (referring, presumably, to corporations)

13632-522: The late 1940s and early 1950s, however. TVA was one of the first federal hydropower agencies, and was quickly hailed as a success. While most of the nation's major hydropower systems are federally managed today, other attempts to create similar regional corporate agencies have failed. The most notable was the proposed Columbia Valley Authority for the Columbia River in the Pacific Northwest , which

13774-493: The market. Federal regulation of agricultural production has been modified many times since then, but together with large subsidies is still in effect. Tennessee Valley Authority The Tennessee Valley Authority ( TVA ) is a federally owned electric utility corporation in the United States . TVA's service area covers all of Tennessee , portions of Alabama , Mississippi , and Kentucky , and small areas of Georgia , North Carolina , and Virginia . While owned by

13916-708: The money came from the PWA agency. PWA also built warplanes, and the WPA built military bases and airfields. To prime the pump and cut unemployment, the NIRA created the Public Works Administration (PWA), a major program of public works, which organized and provided funds for the building of useful works such as government buildings, airports, hospitals, schools, roads, bridges, and dams. From 1933 to 1935, PWA spent $ 3.3 billion with private companies to build 34,599 projects, many of them quite large. The NIRA also contained

14058-501: The nation's largest electricity supplier. Even so, the demand for electricity was outstripping TVA's capacity to produce power from hydroelectric dams, and so TVA began to construct additional coal-fired plants. Political interference kept TVA from securing additional federal appropriations to do so, so it sought the authority to issue bonds. Several of TVA's coal-fired plants, including Johnsonville , Widows Creek , Shawnee , Kingston , Gallatin , and John Sevier , began operations in

14200-411: The nation, prompted by energy crises in 1973 and 1979 and accelerating fuel costs throughout the decade. The average cost of electricity in the Tennessee Valley increased fivefold from the early 1970s to the early 1980s. TVA's first nuclear reactor, Browns Ferry Unit 1 , began commercial operation on August 1, 1974. Between 1970 and 1974, TVA set out to construct a total of 17 nuclear reactors, due to

14342-426: The officials had to find leaders in the communities and convince them that crop rotation and the judicious application of fertilizers could restore soil fertility. Once they had convinced the leaders, the rest followed. TVA immediately embarked on the construction of several hydroelectric dams, with the first, Norris Dam in upper East Tennessee , breaking ground on October 1, 1933. These facilities, designed with

14484-413: The online medium would quickly obviate a printed volume. They also stressed that the proposed online-only encyclopedia would abide by the authoritative editorial standards of a print encyclopedia. Georgia Library Learning Online (GALILEO), a web portal to hundreds of subscription-only databases meant for Georgian libraries and schools, joined UGA Press and GH in fall 1998 as a project partner. GALILEO hosts

14626-835: The planned nuclear plants put the agency in deep financial trouble. In an effort to restructure and improve efficiency and financial stability, TVA began shifting towards a more corporate environment in the latter 1980s. Marvin Travis Runyon , a former corporate executive in the automotive industry , became chairman of the TVA in January 1988, and pledged to stabilize the agency financially. During his four-year term he worked to reduce management layers, and reduced overhead costs by more than 30%, which required thousands of workers to be laid off and many operations transferred to private contractors. These moves resulted in cumulative savings and efficiency improvements of $ 1.8 billion (equivalent to $ 3.51 billion in 2023 ). His tenure also saw three of

14768-463: The planning of the entire agricultural sector of the economy and was the first program on such a scale for the troubled agricultural economy. The original AAA targeted landowners, and therefore did not provide for any sharecroppers or tenants or farm laborers who might become unemployed. A Gallup poll printed in The Washington Post revealed that a majority of the American public opposed

14910-611: The poor was the responsibility of families, private charity and local governments, but as conditions worsened year by year demand skyrocketed and their combined resources increasingly fell far short of demand. The depression had psychologically devastated the nation. As Roosevelt took the oath of office at noon on March 4, 1933, all state governors had authorized bank holidays or restricted withdrawals—many Americans had little or no access to their bank accounts. Farm income had fallen by over 50% since 1929. Between 1930 and 1933, an estimated 844,000 non-farm mortgages were foreclosed on, out of

15052-445: The population could help. He closed all the banks in the country and kept them all closed until new legislation could be passed. On March 9, 1933, Roosevelt sent to Congress the Emergency Banking Act , drafted in large part by Hoover's top advisors. The act was passed and signed into law the same day. It provided for a system of reopening sound banks under Treasury supervision, with federal loans available if needed. Three-quarters of

15194-453: The power it sells from other power producers, which includes power from combined cycle natural gas plants, coal plants, and wind installations, and other renewables. The cost of Purchased Power is part of the "Fuel Cost Adjustment" (FCA) charge that is separate from the TVA Rate. In addition, the Watts Bar Nuclear Plant is the only facility in the country to industrially produce tritium , which

15336-412: The president could at best hope to consolidate, but certainly not to extend, the New Deal. James Farley thought that Roosevelt's wisest course would be "to clean up odds and ends, tighten up and improve things [he] already has but not try [to] start anything new." In any event, Farley predicted that Congress would discard much of Roosevelt's program. As noted by another study, "the 1938 elections proved

15478-642: The program was used as the basis for modernization programs in various parts of the third world during the Cold War , such as in the Mekong Delta in Vietnam , its failure brought a backlash of cynicism toward modernization programs that has persisted. In 1953, President Dwight D. Eisenhower referred to the TVA as an example of "creeping socialism". The following year, then-film actor and later 40th President Ronald Reagan began hosting General Electric Theater , which

15620-430: The progressive magazine The New Republic a few days before Roosevelt's speech. Speechwriter Rosenman added it to his draft of FDR's presidential nomination acceptance speech at the last minute. Upon accepting the 1932 Democratic nomination for president, Roosevelt promised "a new deal for the American people". In campaign speeches, Roosevelt committed to carrying out, if elected, several elements of what would become

15762-434: The projects, especially in rural areas. The projects also inundated several Native American archaeological sites, and graves were reinterred at new locations, along with new tombstones. The available electricity attracted new industries to the region, including textile mills , providing desperately needed jobs, many of which were filled by women. A few regions of the Tennessee Valley did not receive electricity until

15904-473: The region through power generation, flood control, navigation assistance, fertilizer manufacturing, and agricultural development. Since the Depression years, it has developed primarily into a power utility. Despite its shares being owned by the federal government, TVA operates like a private corporation, and receives no taxpayer funding. The TVA Act authorizes the company to use eminent domain . TVA provides electricity to approximately ten million people through

16046-497: The region. Historians have criticized its use of eminent domain and the displacement of over 125,000 Tennessee Valley residents to build the agency's infrastructure projects. The Tennessee Valley Authority is a government-owned corporation created by U.S. Code Title 16 , Chapter 12A, the Tennessee Valley Authority Act of 1933. It was initially founded as an agency to provide general economic development to

16188-414: The sale of securities. In a measure that garnered substantial popular support for his New Deal, Roosevelt moved to put to rest one of the most divisive cultural issues of the 1920s. He signed the bill to legalize the manufacture and sale of alcohol, an interim measure pending the repeal of prohibition , for which a constitutional amendment of repeal (the 21st ) was already in process. The repeal amendment

16330-459: The same time, and design and construction employment reached a total of 28,000. In its first eleven years, TVA constructed a total of 16 hydroelectric dams. During the war, the agency also provided 60% of the elemental phosphorus used in munitions, produced maps of approximately 500,000 square miles (1,300,000 km ) of foreign territory using aerial reconnaissance , and provided mobile housing for war workers. The largest project of this period

16472-528: The short-lived CWA gave locals money to operate make-work projects from 1933 to 1934. The Securities Act of 1933 was enacted to prevent a repeated stock market crash. The controversial work of the National Recovery Administration (NRA) was also part of the First New Deal. The Second New Deal in 1935–1936 included the National Labor Relations Act to protect labor organizing, the Works Progress Administration (WPA) relief program (which made

16614-545: The soil was eroded and depleted. Crop yields had fallen, reducing farm incomes. The best timber had been cut, and 10% of forests were lost to fires each year. President Franklin Delano Roosevelt signed the Tennessee Valley Authority Act (ch. 32, Pub. L.   73–17 , 48  Stat.   58 , enacted May 18, 1933 , codified as amended at 16 U.S.C.   § 831 , et seq.), creating

16756-543: The states includes regulation of streams and that controlling floods is required for keeping streams navigable; it also upheld the constitutionality of the TVA under the War Powers Clause , seeing its activities as a means of assuring the electric supply for the manufacture of munitions in the event of war. The argument before the court was that electricity generation was a by-product of navigation and flood control and therefore could be considered constitutional. The CEO of

16898-414: The strength of opposing interest groups also mattered. The TVA bill was able to attain passage because reformers like Norris skillfully coordinated action at potential choke points and weakened the already disorganized opponents among the electric power industry lobbyists. In 1936, after regrouping, opposing river lobbyists and members of congress who were part of the conservative coalition took advantage of

17040-523: The two at Sequoyah coming back online three years later and Browns Ferry's three reactors coming back online in 1991, 1995 and 2007. Construction of the Tellico Dam raised political and environmental concerns, as laws had changed since early development in the valley. Scientists and other researchers had become more aware of the massive environmental effects of the dams and new lakes, and worried about preserving habitats and species. The Tellico Dam project

17182-633: The two plants would reduce its carbon output by about 4.4% annually. TVA announced in April 2021 plans to completely phase out coal power by 2035. The following month, the board voted to consider replacing almost all of their operating coal facilities with combined-cycle gas plants. Such plants considered for gas plant redevelopment include the Cumberland, Gallatin, Shawnee, and Kingston facilities. In early February 2020, TVA awarded an outside company, Framatome , several multi-million-dollar contracts for work across

17324-474: The unemployed but also to build needed schools, municipal buildings, waterworks, sewers, streets, and parks according to local specifications. While the regular Army and Navy budgets were reduced, Roosevelt juggled relief funds to provide for their claimed needs. All of the CCC camps were directed by army officers, whose salaries came from the relief budget. The PWA built numerous warships, including two aircraft carriers;

17466-526: The unemployed. The Fair Labor Standards Act prohibited "oppressive" child labor, and enshrined a 40-hour work week and national minimum wage. In 1938, the Republican Party gained control of Congress and joined with conservative Democrats to block further New Deal legislation, and some of it was declared unconstitutional by the Supreme Court . The New Deal produced a political realignment, reorienting

17608-488: The war effort. However, the abundance of TVA power was one of the major factors in the decision by the U.S. Army to locate uranium enrichment facilities in Oak Ridge, Tennessee , for the world's first atomic bombs . This was part of an effort codenamed the Manhattan Project . By the end of World War II, TVA had completed a 650-mile (1,050 km) navigation channel the length of the Tennessee River and had become

17750-535: Was a negative economic force, producing waste and inefficiency. However, the anti-monopoly group never had a major impact on New Deal policy. Other leaders such as Hugh S. Johnson of the NRA took ideas from the Woodrow Wilson Administration, advocating techniques used to mobilize the economy for World War I . They brought ideas and experience from the government controls and spending of 1917–1918. Other New Deal planners revived experiments suggested in

17892-487: Was a temporary downturn. Private sector employment, especially in manufacturing, recovered to the level of the 1920s but failed to advance further until the war. The U.S. population was 124,840,471 in 1932 and 128,824,829 in 1937, an increase of 3,984,468. The ratio of these numbers, times the number of jobs in 1932, means there was a need for 938,000 more jobs in 1937, to maintain the same employment level. The Economy Act , drafted by Budget Director Lewis Williams Douglas ,

18034-467: Was allowed to float freely on foreign exchange markets with no guaranteed price in gold. With the passage of the Gold Reserve Act in 1934, the nominal price of gold was changed from $ 20.67 per troy ounce to $ 35. These measures enabled the Federal Reserve to increase the amount of money in circulation to the level the economy needed. Markets immediately responded well to the suspension in the hope that

18176-662: Was also one of the oversight authorities of the Puerto Rico Reconstruction Administration , which administered relief efforts to Puerto Rican citizens affected by the Great Depression. Roosevelt had built a New Deal coalition , but the economic downturn of 1937–1938 and the bitter split between the American Federation of Labor (AFL) and Congress of Industrial Organizations (CIO) labor unions led to major Republican gains in Congress in 1938. Conservative Republicans and Democrats in Congress joined

18318-462: Was completed in 2015 at a cost of more than $ 1 billion, was the largest industrial spill in United States history, and considered one of the worst environmental disasters of all time. A 2009 report by engineering firm AECOM found a number of inadequate design factors of the ash pond were responsible for the spill, and in August 2012, TVA was found liable for the disaster by the U.S. District Court for

18460-615: Was initially delayed because of concern over the snail darter , a small ray-finned fish which had been discovered in the Little Tennessee River in 1973 and listed as an endangered species two years later. A lawsuit was filed under the Endangered Species Act and the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in favor of protecting the snail darter in Tennessee Valley Authority v. Hill in 1978. The project's main motive

18602-477: Was modeled off of TVA, but did not gain approval. In order to provide the power for essential industries during World War II , TVA engaged in one of the largest hydropower construction programs ever undertaken in the U.S. This was especially important for the energy-intensive aluminum industry, which was used in airplanes and munitions. By early 1942, when the effort reached its peak, 12 hydroelectric plants and one coal-fired steam plant were under construction at

18744-401: Was necessary to stabilize and rationalize the economy. During Roosevelt's first hundred days in office in 1933 until 1935, he introduced what historians refer to as the "First New Deal", which focused on the "3 R's": relief for the unemployed and for the poor, recovery of the economy back to normal levels, and reform of the financial system to prevent a repeat depression. Roosevelt declared

18886-429: Was passed on March 15, 1933. The act proposed to balance the "regular" (non-emergency) federal budget by cutting the salaries of government employees and cutting pensions to veterans by fifteen percent. It saved $ 500 million per year and reassured deficit hawks, such as Douglas, that the new president was fiscally conservative. Roosevelt argued there were two budgets: the "regular" federal budget, which he balanced; and

19028-448: Was plowed up, bountiful crops were left to rot and six million piglets were killed and discarded. The idea was to give farmers a "fair exchange value" for their products in relation to the general economy ("parity level"). Farm incomes and the income for the general population recovered fast since the beginning of 1933. Food prices remained still well below the 1929 peak. The AAA established an important and long-lasting federal role in

19170-514: Was ratified later in 1933. States and cities gained additional new revenue and Roosevelt secured his popularity especially in the cities and ethnic areas by legalizing alcohol. Relief was the immediate effort to help the one-third of the population that was hardest hit by the depression. Relief was also aimed at providing temporary help to suffering and unemployed Americans. Local and state budgets were sharply reduced because of falling tax revenue, but New Deal relief programs were used not just to hire

19312-410: Was rotting in the fields because it could not be profitably harvested. In Oregon , sheep were slaughtered and left to rot because meat prices were not sufficient to warrant transportation to markets. Roosevelt was keenly interested in farm issues and believed that true prosperity would not return until farming was prosperous. Many different programs were directed at farmers. The first 100 days produced

19454-461: Was sponsored by General Electric (GE). He was fired in 1962 after publicly referring to the TVA, which was a major customer for GE turbines, as one of the problems of "big government". Some claim that Reagan was instead fired due to a criminal antitrust investigation involving him and the Screen Actors Guild . However, Reagan was only interviewed; nobody was actually charged with anything in

19596-467: Was the Fontana Dam . After negotiations led by then-Vice President Harry Truman , TVA purchased the land from Nantahala Power and Light, a wholly owned subsidiary of Alcoa , and built Fontana Dam. Also in 1942, TVA's first coal-fired plant, the 267-megawatt Watts Bar Steam Plant , began operation. The government originally intended the electricity generated from Fontana to be used by Alcoa factories for

19738-401: Was the first new nuclear reactor to enter service in the United States in the 21st century. On December 22, 2008, an earthen dike impounding a coal ash pond at TVA's Kingston Fossil Plant failed, releasing 1.1 billion US gallons (4,200,000 m ) of coal ash slurry across 300 acres (1.2 km ) of land and into two tributaries of the Tennessee River. The spill, of which cleanup

19880-401: Was the last major New Deal legislation that Roosevelt succeeded in enacting into law before the conservative coalition won control of Congress. Though he could usually use the veto to restrain Congress, Congress could block any Roosevelt legislation it disliked. Nonetheless, Roosevelt turned his attention to the war effort and won reelection in 1940–1944. Furthermore, the Supreme Court declared

20022-471: Was to support recreational and tourism development, unlike earlier dams constructed by TVA. Land acquired by eminent domain for the Tellico Dam and its reservoir that encountered minimal inundation was sold to private developers for the construction of present-day Tellico Village , a planned retirement community . The inflation crises of the 1970s and early 1980s, combined with the cancellation of several of

20164-502: Was used against him in a TV ad by Doyle Dane Bernbach for then-President Lyndon B. Johnson 's 1964 campaign , which depicted an auction taking place atop a dam and promised that Johnson would not sell TVA. The TVA has faced multiple constitutional challenges. The United States Supreme Court ruled TVA to be constitutional in Ashwander v. Tennessee Valley Authority (297 U.S. 288) in 1936. The Court noted that regulating commerce among

#118881