On May 18, 1933, President Roosevelt signed the Tennessee Valley Authority Act, as part of the flurry of legislation that marked Roosevelt’s first 100 days in office. The Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) was similar in purpose and scope to the Grand Coulee Dam. Even by Depression standards, the Tennessee River Valley (which includes parts of seven states: Tennessee, Kentucky, Virginia, North Carolina, Georgia, Alabama, and Mississippi) was in sad economic shape in 1933. Much of the land had been farmed too hard for too long, eroding and depleting the soil. Crop yields had fallen along with farm incomes. The best timber had been cut.
Congress established the TVA to address a wide range of environmental, economic, and technological issues, including the delivery of low-cost electricity and the management of natural resources. Sixteen dams and a steam plant were constructed by the TVA between 1933 and 1944. At its peak, a dozen hydroelectric projects and a steam plant were under construction at the same time, and design and construction employment reached a total of 28,000 workers. (http://www.u-s-history.com/pages/h1653.html)
The dams controlled floods, improved navigation and generated electricity. The most dramatic change in Valley life came from the electricity generated by TVA dams. Electric lights and modern appliances made life easier and farms more productive. Electricity also drew industries into the region, providing desperately needed jobs. Today, TVA’s power service territory includes most of Tennessee and parts of Alabama, Georgia, Kentucky, Mississippi, North Carolina and Virginia, covering 80,000 square miles and serving more than nine million people. The TVA developed fertilizers, taught farmers how to improve crop yields and helped replant forests, control forest fires, and improve habitat for wildlife and fish. (http://www.tva.com/abouttva/history.htm)
“The TVA Song”, Pete Seeger, words George Rucker, is a paean to the TVA project, https://youtu.be/jPWIm1MJnTY
It was down in the valley that’s called Tennessee
Uncle Sam started something in the year thirty-three
We dreamed a great dream then, that’s now here to stay
Saw democracy’s future when we built TVANow rivers that once ran unchecked to the sea
Use the force that was wasted for electricity
And, rains that washed topsoil away in the night
Helped the great turbines turn dark into lightWhere once private power said it couldn’t be done
You can see farm lights twinkling, you can hear highlines hum
Fertilizer and science are reclaiming the soil
And REA co-ops help lighten the toilFrom the vision of Norris, who was true to his dream
Came a blueprint for freedom and democracy’s team
The farmer and worker helped build a new day
That was built for the people of the great USA
“Thank God for the TVA,” written by Jason Isbell and sung by Drive by Truckers (2009) sets out some of the benefits of the TVA. (https://youtu.be/2mK9C7s0jr0)
I grew up two hours north of Birmingham.
Me and my daddy used to fish next to Wilson Dam.
He told some stories about Camaros and J.W. Dant;
When I got a little older I wouldn’t and now daddy can’t.So I thank God for the TVA,
Thank God for the TVA,
When me and my daddy used to bow to the river and pray,
Thank God for the TVA.When I was fifteen, me and my girl sat out on the lock,
Watching the raccoons and terrapins dance on the rocks.
She let me put my hand up under her shirt;
I wanted her to want me so bad it hurt.So I thank God for the TVA,
Thank God for the TVA,
When me and my baby used to lay ’round and wait on the day,
Thank God for the TVA.My granddaddy told me when he was just seven or so,
His daddy lost work and they didn’t have a row to hoe,
Not too much to eat for seven boys and three girls;
All lived in a tent, a bunch of sharecroppers versus the world.So his mama sat down, wrote a letter to FDR,
‘En a couple days later, couple of county men came in a car,
Rode out in the field, told his daddy to put down the plow.
He helped build the dam, gave power to most of the South.So I thank God for the TVA,
Thank God for the TVA,
When Roosevelt let us all work for an honest day’s pay,
Thank God for the TVA.
“Uncle Frank” is another song sung by the Drive by Truckers (1999) that was written by Jason Isbell. It points out the pros and cons of projects like the TVA. https://youtu.be/Awcv95jwWqY
They powered up the city with hydro-electric juice.
Now we got more electricity than we can ever use.
They flooded out the hollow and all the folks down there moved out,
but they got paid so there ain’t nothin’ else to think about.Some of them made their living cutting the timber down,
snaking it one log at a time up the hill and into town.
T.V.A. had a way to clear it off real fast.
Lots of men and machinery, build a dam and drown the rest.Uncle Frank lived in a cabin down on Cedar Creek,
bought fifteen acres when he got back home from overseas.
Fifteen rocky acres, figured no one else would want,
’till all that backed up water had to have some place to go.Uncle Frank couldn’t read or write
Never held down a job, or needed one in his life.
They assured him there’d be work for him in town building cars.
It’s already going down.The cars never came to town and the roads never got built
and the price of all that power kept on going straight uphill
The banks around the hollow sold for lake-front property
where doctors, lawyers, and musicians teach their kids to water-ski.Uncle Frank couldn’t read or write
so there was no note or letter found when he died.
Just a rope around his neck and the kitchen table turned on its side
“The TVA Song,” written and sung by Jean Thomas (1939) expresses the optimism that came from having a job provided by the TVA. (Looking for audio)
My name is William Edwards
I live down Cove Creek way.
I’m working on the project
They call the T.V.A.“The Government begun it
When I was but a child;
But now they are in earnest
and Tennessee’s gone wild.“Just see them boys a-comin’
Their tool kits on their arm;
They come from Clinch and Holston
And many a valley farm.“Oh, see them boys a-comin,
Their Government they trust;
Just hear their hammers ringing
They’ll build that dam or bust.“I meant to marry Sally
But work I could not find;
The T.V.A. was started
And surely eased my mind.Oh things looked blue and lonely
Until this come along;
Now hear the crew a-singin’“The Government employs us,
Short hours and certain pay;
Oh things are up and comin’,
God bless the T.V.A.”
“The Valley (TVA Song),” was written and sung by Tessa Oglesby. (https://youtu.be/Xe27qc9yQQA) Not everyone thought the TVA was a good idea.
They say they’re going to flood the valley soon
Let the water come down and wash it all away
They say they’re going to flood the valley soon
Let the muddy water wash it all awayWell, the man from the TVA came to town
With the paper to take our homes and everything
He said they’re going to flood the valley soon
The TVA has taken away our landGrand Dad said that he would never sign those papers
Said that he would never go down
Said that would never sign those papers
With His two hands he built this townThey say they’re going to flood the valley soon
Let the water come down and wash it all away
They say they’re going to flood the valley soon
Let the muddy water wash it all awayWell, the day came when they would let the water go
The day that we would leave it all behind
We help to let that muddy water go
Grand Dad would not signThey say they’re going to flood the valley soon
Let the water come down and wash it all away
They say they’re going to flood the valley soon
Let the muddy water wash it all awayNow we just look upon the water
Now were going to … the lake
Somewhere underneath that muddy water
The TVA maybe is goodThe say there going to flood the valley soon
Let the muddy water come down to wash it all away
They say they’re going to flood the valley soon
Let the muddy water wash it all away
That muddy water wash it all away
“TVA,” written by Sam Quinn, sung by The Everybodyfields, represents another negative point of view regarding how the TVA’s took farm land away from farmers. (https://youtu.be/xKuKfvUygXE) Sam Quinn sings a solo of his song at (https://youtu.be/–2zMGbiQr4)
When I was a boy back in Tennessee
I was told I was too young to understand
I can remember just like yesterday
Seeing daddy’s hands deep down in his landsWalking down the road to the old driveway
I remember the old house and the love
Sun shines off the water some three hundred feet away
But silo top sticks out five feet aboveWe never talked about the way
Daddy had nothing to say
So close your ears brave mother dear
And damn that TVAI don’t need no dam for no damn FDR
Making power for some other factories
They can have their reasons, whatever they are
And take them back to their authorityGod the Father said Jesus Christ
I don’t know about this electricity
Use the days and steal the nights and make my waters rise
And try to take my job away from me
We never talked about the way
Daddy had nothing to say
So close your ears
Brave mother dear, damn that TVA