Tennessee Valley Authority Act

Questions for Further Study

• 1. During the expansion of the TVA and its efforts to control the river's floodwaters by creating floodwater storage areas, thousands of families were displaced and forced to move. Given the overall impact of the TVA on the region, was this a necessary evil? Why or why not?
• 2. Throughout its early history the TVA, as well as many other New Deal programs, faced numerous legal challenges from a variety of groups, including private businesses that claimed the government should not compete for customers with private business. The Supreme Court ruled that the Agricultural Adjustment Act and the National Industrial Recovery Act were unconstitutional but surprisingly ruled in favor of the TVA when it was challenged. What was different about the TVA? What gave the TVA the constitutionality that the other acts lacked?
• 3. In the first years of the TVA the three directors had vastly different views and ideas about how the TVA should be run. Their bickering cast a shadow on the TVA and resulted in Roosevelt firing one of them. Compare and contrast the three directors. Who do you think was right and why?