The Tennessee Valley Authority is a
government-owned corporation created as part of the
New Deal in 1933. The goals of its creation were multi-fold.
- It was part of the push for the government to take control of public utilities, which at the time were viewed as abusive to their customers.
- It was a works program, giving jobs to a part of the country that was extremely poor, even by the standards of the Great Depression. The federal government hoped this would help stimulate the economy and bring the country out of the Great Depression.
Reagan would speak out against the TVA in 1962 and, as the story goes, he was fired from his job hosting the
General Electric Theater for the criticism.
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Tennessee Valley Authority