The Tennessee Valley Authority brought the poverty stricken state of Tennessee out of the dark ages by providing employment and increases in the standards of living both through social and economic programs.

Prior to the TVA the level of poverty in the Tennessee Valley was the worst in the nation. The onset of the Great Depression added to the hardships Tennesseeans where already coping with. With an average yearly rain fall of 6ft that began in the spring and brought about devastating floods which destroyed homes and washed way valuable top soil needed to grow crops. The economic effects of the flooding meant that people had little to eat and no source of income because there where very little manufacturing jobs. Therefore they also suffered socially. Education by means of small one room school houses with one school master that taught all grades. No electricity, indoor plumbing, or adequate healthcare. Malaria was a common disease that was virtually unheard of in other parts of the country. Tennessee was socially and economically far behind the rest of the country.

In 1933 President Roosevelt New Deal policy brings a federal agency to the Tennessee Valley. Roosevelt proposes this

TVA was still constructing dams when the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor and brought the U.S. into World War II. Dam construction intensified during these years because more power would be need for wartime production. Factories all over Tennessee where converted over to produce goods need for the war effort. Fertilizer plants where converted over to produce ammonium nitrate, which is used in the production of ammunition. Textile mills made uniforms, hats, and some four million boots for U.S. troops during the war. One of the most important products produced for the war effort was aluminum for constructing aircraft. Aluminum requires massive amounts of energy to be refined and produce it. TVA also provided power for the secret city of Oak Ridge, TN that employed as many as 60,000 workers for the Manhattan project, which invented the atomic bomb. Oak Ridge refined the uranium need to make the atomic bombs that where dropped in Japan.

TVA's director, Author Morgan also sought to improve Tennesseeans standard of living by implementing social programs, these programs where also highly supported by Roosevelt. The creation of a town named Norris, five miles below Norris Dam, was a social experiment in how TVA could improve living for Tennesseeans. Nice electrified homes could be rented for about a weeks pay. For a few dollars more you could rent a home that also included electric appliances such as a stove and a refrigerator. A cafeteria severed meals on a daily basis to workers for 25 cents. TVA sought to improve education and skills by providing woodworking and machine shop classes to teach valuable trade skills. Draining swamps and spraying insecticides to kill mosquitoes virtually ended people contracting malaria in Tennessee. Vaccinating children to prevent disease. Also an early form of affirmative action was also implemented by hiring a percentage of black workers in proportion to their population in the areas of dam construction. Black workers earned the same wages as their white counterparts, but often lived in segregated housing.

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Approximate Word count = 1381
Approximate Pages = 6 (250 words per page double spaced)