21stCenturyScience&Technology Summer2011 39

President Franklin Roosevelt’s TVA brought themost backward region of the country into themodernage,settinganexamplefortherestofthe

country,andprovidingarecordofrapiddevelopmentthat the restof theworld rushed toemulate.TheTVAtamedrampagingrivers;replenishedthedepletedfarm-land;mechanizedagriculture;builtdams,powerplants,libraries, and educational facilities; trained and em-ployed legions of unskilled and skilled workers; and

The Development Program That Transformed A Region and Inspired the WorldbyMarshaFreeman

TVA

NorrisDamontheClinchRiverinTennesseewasthefirstmajorTVAproject.

ROOSEVELT’STVA

40 Summer2011 21stCenturyScience&Technology

helpedwinWorldWarII.America,andtheworld,hadseennothinglikeitbefore.

Today,westillenjoythebenefitsof theTVA,especiallyitsplentifulandcheapelectricity,butournation’seconomyover-allisawreck,farworsethantheDepressioninheritedbyRoos-evelt,andwithouteventheproductiveindustrialbasethatex-istedinthe1930s.

Theremedyisathand.ThepathwayoutofthecurrentthreattotheveryphysicalexistenceoftheUnitedStatesanditspeo-pleistoputintoplacethefinancialreorganizationoftheecon-omy,throughanewGlass-Steagallpolicy,toenableagreatin-frastructure project that will demand the rebuilding of thephysical economy, transform the population both materiallyandculturally,andenablelong-termscience-driverprojectsforfuturegenerations.

The1964NorthAmericanWaterandPowerAllianceproj-ect(NAWAPA),reformulatedbyeconomistLyndonLaRoucheandhiscolleaguesinexpandedform,cantransformAmerica,theglobaleconomy,andtheBiosphere.1Apartfromdeliver-ingwaterfromAlaskaandCanadatowater-starvedregionsoftheAmericanWest andMexico,NAWAPAwill create newwaterways from the Great Lakes to the Pacific and ArcticOceans,unleasha renaissanceofnuclearpowerandhigh-speedandmaglevraildevelopment,andquicklycreate4mil-lion new skilled jobs and job-training opportunities in theUnitedStates.Itwouldincludemajorinfrastructuredevelop-mentprojectssuchas theCongoRiver/LakeChaddevelop-mentproject,thehugeEurasianLand-Bridgeprogram,andaBeringStraitbridge/tunnelandDarienGapdevelopmentproj-ectthatwouldeventuallyconnectEurasiatothetipofSouthAmerica.ByextendingthereachofscienceanddevelopmenttotheArcticregions,NAWAPAwilllinktheEarthtoitscosmicenvironment.

ThisarticlewilllookatthehistoryoftheTennesseeValleyAu-thority(TVA),createdin1933byPresidentRooseveltnotonlytoprovideimmediateeconomicrelief,but,moreimportant,toreturntheU.S.economytoanAmericanSystemapproachofpermanent“internalimprovements.”TheTVAaimedtolaythebasis for economic development for “generations yet tocome.”

Althoughitsactivitywascenteredintheseven-statewater-shedof theTennesseeRiver, theTVAwasnevera“local”orevenregionalproject.TheleadpersonalitieswhocreatedtheTVA,protectedit,andmadeitasuccess,camefromNebraska,NewYork,andtheMidwest.Thematerialsneededforthecon-structionprojectscamefromacrossthecountry.

TheorganizersoftheTVAgavetheagencyandtheregiontheresponsibilityofbecomingaleaderinscienceandtechnology,inagriculture,mappingandgeographicanalysis,forestry,man-ufacturing,andnuclearandfusionenergy.Fromthetimeitbe-ganpouringconcretetobuilddams,theTVAwasamodelforworlddevelopment;aninspirationtoothernationswhosepeo-plealsolivedinthe“thirdworld.”ThegoaloftheleadersoftheTVAwastocreatesuchprojects“inathousandvalleys.”

ThehistoryoftheTVAisalsoinstructiveasamicrocosmofthetragichistoryofthesecondhalfofthe20thCentury.While

1. Articles, maps, and interviews on NAWAPA can be found here.

theTVAoperatedunderthevisionandprotectionofPresidentFranklinRoosevelt,itmetitsgoals.Butinmostofthesucceed-ingdecades,theTVAcameunderattack,bytheBritishEmpireanditssatrapsdirectly,andbytheparadeof“left”and“right”freemarketeers,budgetbalancers,financialinterests,andenvi-ronmentalists.

BuildingaNationIn 1824, Secretary ofWar John C. Calhoun sent President

JamesMonroeareportrecommendingtheimprovementoftheTennesseeRiveratMuscleShoals,aspartofanambitiousplanforasystemofintegratedroads,canals,andriverstoconnecttheeasternpartofthecountrytotheopeningwest.SurveysoftheOhioandMississippiRiverswereauthorized,whichfoundthatthemajorobstacletoconnectingthe600-mileTennesseeRivertotheOhioandMississippiRiverswasthe37-milestretchofrap-idsandirregularrockformationsatMuscleShoals,Alabama.

Akeyobstacletomovingforwardwasremovedbya1824SupremeCourtopinion,writtenbyChiefJusticeJohnMarshall,establishingexclusivecontroloverinterstatenavigationtotheFederal government. In the decades that followed, three at-temptsweremadetobuildcanalsatMuscleShoals,toenablenavigationfromtheeastcoasttotheMississippi,allofwhichfailed.

In 1916, the National DefenseAct authorized theWilsonDam, two nitrate munitions plants, and two steam-poweredelectricplantstobeconstructedatMuscleShoals,forWorldWarI.WilsonDamwasbeguntwoyearslater,butwasnotcom-pletedbeforetheendofthewar.Constructionofthedamwashaltedin1921,andwasfinallycompletedin1925,buryingthetreacherousshoalsunderanewlake.TheWilsonDamcomple-tionthenmadeitpossibletoplantousetheotherinfrastructurethathadbeenlaidatMuscleShoalsbutneverputtouse.

Butin1928,PresidentCalvinCoolidgeusedapocketvetotostopabillthatwouldhavedonejustthat.

The development of the wasted Muscle Shoals region be-cameapassionofGeorgeNorris,aRepublicanSenatorfromNebraska,whohadbeenborninOhiointheearlydaysoftheCivilWar.In1921,NorrisbecamechairoftheSenateCommit-teeonAgricultureandForestry.WhenPresidentWarrenHard-ing,eagertoprivatizeFederalprojects,hadstoppedthecon-struction of Wilson Dam, Henry Ford offered to buy thepropertyfor$5million.

ThePassionofGeorgeNorrisIn1926,Norriscounteredtheprivatizationdrive,byintro-

ducingabillforacomprehensiveplanforFederalfloodcontrolanddevelopmentoftheTennesseeRiverandtheValley,greatlyexpandingtheMuscleShoalsproject.Thenin1931,PresidentHerbertHoovervetoedthebill,whichhadpassedtheSenateina2:1votetheyearbefore.Hooverdescribedtheoperationofpublicutilities, ingeneral,as“degeneration.”This,while theFederalTradeCommissionwasinvestigatingthe“roaringtwen-ties”privateutilities,fortheirinflationofcapitalvaluesthrough“watered stocks,” theconcentrationof control throughpyra-midingholdingcompanies,andothercrimes.

By1933,138legislativeproposalshadbeeninitiatedtode-veloptheTennesseeValley,nonehavingsucceeded.

Meanwhile, in 1929, then-New York Governor Franklin

21stCenturyScience&Technology Summer2011 41

Roosevelt proposed that the State builddams and power plants on the St. Law-rence Seaway to produce electricity. Hewasangeredbythegrossprice-gougingbyprivate power companies, which werechargingNewYorkStatecustomerssever-altimesmorethantheirCanadianneigh-bors. Senator Norris took notice of thisproposal.

InDecember1932,justweeksafterwinningthePresidentialelection,President-electRooseveltinvitedSenatorNorristoac-companyhimtoMuscleShoals.RooseveltcouldimmediatelyseethepotentialofdevelopingtheTennesseeValley,tellingthepressthatthis“greatexperiment”couldprovide200,000jobs.MuscleShoals,Rooseveltsaid,wouldbecome“partofanevengreaterdevelopmentthatwilltakeinallthatmagnificentTen-nesseeRiverfromthemountainsofVirginiatotheOhio,”forthebenefitof“generationstocome,”and“millionsyetunborn.”

OnApril10,1933,RoosevelttransmittedaMessagetotheSeventy-ThirdCongress:“ArequestforLegislationtoCreateaTennesseeValleyAuthority—ACorporationClothedwith thePowerofGovernmentbutPossessedoftheFlexibilityandIni-tiativeofaPrivateEnterprise.”TheTennesseeValleyproject,ifenvisionedinitsentirety,thePresidentexplained,

transcendsmerepowerdevelopment;itentersthewidefieldsoffloodcontrol,soilerosion,afforestation,elimina-tionfromagriculturaluseofmarginallands,anddistribu-tionanddiversificationofindustry.Inshort,thispowerdevelopmentofwardaysleadslogicallytonationalplanningforacompleteriverwatershedinvolvingmanyStatesandthefuturelivesandwelfareofmillions.

FDRproposedthattheTVA“shouldbechargedwiththebroadestdutyofplan-ning ... for thegeneral social andeco-nomicwelfareoftheNation.”

TheActcreatingtheTVAgavethenewagencysweepingpowersandchargeditwithresponsibilitiesfornationaldefense,agriculturalandindustrialdevelopment,flood control, and navigation, also forthe Mississippi River Basin. The TVABoard was authorized to contract withcommercial producers for the produc-tionoffertilizers,toarrangewithfarmersforlarge-scalepracticaluseofnewfertil-izer;toproduce,distribute,andsellelec-tricpower.Theboardwasauthorizedtoissuebonds for$50million, “fully andunconditionally guaranteed both as tointerest and principal by the UnitedStates, [for] the economic and socialwell-being of the people” living in theTennesseeValley.

TheFatherofPublicPowerOneofthemostimportantactionstak-

enbyFDR,wastheappointmentofDa-vid E. Lilienthal to the three-manBoardofDirectorsoftheTVA.BorninMorton,Illinois,in 1899, Lilienthal went intolaw.Inhistwenties,hebeganhiscareerlitigatingagainsttheprivateutilitymonopolies,andhe was 34 when he becameone of the three Members ofthe Board of theTVA. Lilien-

thalservedaschairmanoftheBoardfrom1941to1946,over-seeingthemobilizationoftheTVAduringWorldWarII,whichincludedtheconstructionof12damsinfiveyears.Itwas,atthattime,thelargestengineeringandconstructionprojectinU.S.history,exceedingthePanamaCanal.

DavidLilienthal’svisionfortheTVAwasasanagencyforso-cial change.More than justprovidingfloodcontrol, electricpower,shipping,andrecreation,theTVAwouldbringtheresi-dentsoftheValleyintothemodern,scientificera.Withaman-datefromthePresidenttopromotethegeneralwelfare,Lilien-thalmeteachchallengeintheValleywithasolution.

InJanuary1933,justmonthsbeforehewouldjoinTVA,Lil-ienthalgaveaninformalspeechaboutitintheSouth.

MoretodaythanamereopportunityfortheFederalGovernmenttodoakindturnforthepeopleinonesmallsectionofacoupleofStates...itisanopportunitytoaccomplishagreatpurposeforthepeopleofmanyStates,and,indeed,forthewholeUnion.

Theplanningforregionaldevelopment,hesaid,isanoppor-tunity“notjustforourselvesbutforthegenerationstocome.”

In1944,inhisbook,TVA:DemocracyontheMarch,Lilien-

TVA

President-electRooseveltandSenatorNorrisvisitMuscleShoalsinDecember1932.InApril1933,thePresidentsentamessagetoCongresscreatingtheTennesseeValleyAuthority.

Agreatexperimentforthebenefitofgenerationstocomeandmillionsofyetunborn.

—FranklinRoosevelt,December1932

42 Summer2011 21stCenturyScience&Technology

thal sumsuphis belief, devel-opedafteradecadeattheTVA,that:

Thereisalmostnothing,howeverfantastic,thatgivencompetentorganizationateamofengineers,scientists,andadministratorscannotdotoday.Impossiblethingscanbedone,arebeingdone,inthismid-twentiethcentu-ry....

Nolongerdomenlookuponpovertyasinevitable,orthinkthatdrudgery,disease,filth,famine,floods,andphysicalexhaustionarevisitationsofthedevilorpunishmentbyadeity....[T]hequantityofelectricalenergyinthehandsofthepeopleisamodernmeasureofthepeople’scommandovertheirresources,andthebestsinglemeasureoftheirproductiveness,theiropportunitiesforindustrial-ization,theirpotentialitiesforthefuture.Akilowatthourofelectricityisamodernslave,workingtirelesslyformen....

WhenDavidLilienthalcametotheTennesseeValley in1933,only threeoutofeveryone-hundredhouseholdshadelectricity.Theaver-agefarmer’sincomewas$639,whilethenationalaveragewas$1,835, nearly three times as much. Per capita income was$168. More than 300,000acresoffarmlandhadbeendestroyed, and 4.5 millionacres were on the decline,becausefarmersweregrow-ing soil-depleting cashcrops—particularly cottonand tobacco. Erosion wasspreading, driven by defor-estation, planting on hill-sides, and the stripping ofnutrientsfromthesoil.Morethanamillionacresoftop-soil had disappeared. Fireshaddestroyedthreequartersofamillionacresofforests.

Malaria was endemic inmorethanhalfoftheValleyarea,withinfectionratesofupto60percentinsomere-gions,affectingupto30per-

cent of the total population.There were 7.6 deaths per100,000 population from ty-phoid and 79.4 deaths per100,000 population from tu-berculosis.Smallpoxwasstillathreat.Theaverageexpenditureper child for education wasabout$23.

This would quickly change.On the day the TVA Act wassigned into law by PresidentRoosevelt, less than one hun-dreddaysafterheassumedof-fice, people danced in thestreets of Muscle Shoals, andcelebrated with fireworks. InthedepthsoftheDepression,inone of the most depressed re-gions of the country, peoplenowlookedtowardtheirfuturewiththebeliefthatbettereco-nomictimeslayahead.

ElectrificationforAllThefirstchallengefacingthe

TVA was to gain control overtheTennesseeRiveranditsma-

jortributaries.Aseriesofdamswouldbe constructed, but these would notjustbefloodcontroldams,orirrigationdams,orhydroelectricpowerdams,ornavigation locks and dams—theywouldbealloftheabove.Manyengi-neersinsistedthatsuchmulti-purpose

damscouldnotbebuilt.TVAhiredthosewhobelievedtheycould.

OnOctober1,1933,thefirstdayofthenewfiscalyear,andlessthanfivemonthsafterthePresidentsignedtheleg-islationcreatingtheTVA,shovelswereintheground,with the startof constructionofNorrisDamon theClinch River. In its first 20 years, theTVA built 20

TVA

DavidE.Lilienthal,TVAchairman:“Thereisalmostnothingthatgivencompetentorganization,ateamofengineers,sci-entists,andadministratorscannotdotoday.”

“Akilowatthourofelectricityisamodernslave,working

tirelesslyformen.”

TVA

In1933,theaveragefarmer’sincomeintheTennesseeValleywas$639peryear,aboutathirdofthenationalaverage.

21stCenturyScience&Technology Summer2011 43

dams.Thisrequired113millioncubicyardsofconcrete,rock,andearth,or12timesthebulkofthesevengreatpyramidsofEgypt. The TVA employed nearly 200,000 people over thecourseof itsfirst20years,andapprenticeprogramscreatedskilledcraftsmanoutofsharecroppers,andmechanicsoutoftenantfarmers.

TVA’sdamscanstore22millionacre-feetofwater,enoughtocoverthestateofIllinoistoaneight-inchdepth.Thecomple-tionofthedamscreatedanavigablewatertransportationarterystretchingfrom Western Virginia to the OhioRiver, and connecting the EasternUnited States to the Mississippi andtheGulfofMexico.Theplacementofdamson the larger tributariesof theTennessee River greatly reducedflooding, and also helped regulatewaterflowinboththeOhioandMis-sissippiRivers.

But unquestionably, the contribu-tionthatthedamsmadetotheTennes-seeValley that was felt most by thelargestnumberofpeoplewasthepro-vision,forthefirsttime,ofelectricity.In1933,only3percentofthefarmsintheValleyhadelectricpower.Ayearlater, theTVA had 18 megawatts ofelectricgeneratingcapacity.By1942,therewasanearorder-of-magnitudeincrease in generating capacity online—1.37 gigawatts. In 1934, theTVA had 6,507 retail customers. In1942,therewerenearlyhalfamillion.Therewerezeromilesoftransmissionlinesbeingbuiltin1934.From1938to 1942, approximately 5,000 mileswerebuilteachyear.

AnoverridingmandateoftheTVAwastoprovidereli-ableelectricpowertotheentirepopulation,atthelowestpossiblerate.Inordertodoboth,theapproachoftheTVA

wastoencouragethemaximaluseofelectricity.Overmostofitshistory,TVAelectricrateshavebeenabouthalfthenationalaverage,whileannualusepercapitaisabouttwicethenationalaverage.

AbouthalfthefarmsintheValleyhadelectricitybythestartofWorldWarII,butmostfarmersdidnotknowwhattodowithit.TheTVAsentoutconvoysoftrucks,withthehelpofstudentsfromareacolleges,andsetuptentsinruralareastodemon-

TVA

ErosionwaswidespreadthroughouttheTVAarea.Morethanamil-lionacresoftopsoilhaddisappeared.

TVA

OneofthegoalsoftheTVAwasfloodcontrol.

TVA

ShovelswereinthegroundtostartconstructionofNorrisDamlessthanfivemonthsafterFDRsignedthelegislationcreatingtheTVA.

44 Summer2011 21stCenturyScience&Technology

strate the use of electrical appliances. Lilienthal persuadedPresidentRoosevelt toformtheElectricHomeandFarmAu-thority,whichprovidedlow-interestloanstostimulatethesalesofelectricappliances.TheTVAinduceddealerstoarrangestoredisplaysofappliances,andTVAeconomistsvisitedhomestodiscusstheiruse.In1938,salesofhomeapplianceswere$1.61million.By1941,saleswere$18.5million.

Butthedams,electricitytransmissionsystems,thenewroads,railtracks,andnewtownscouldnotbebuiltwithapopulationsufferingfromdisease.Malariawasattackedbyreducingthemosquitopopulation,becausetherewas(andstillis)noeffec-tive vaccine. By 1934, working with county health depart-ments,theTVAprovidedtyphoidshotsatdamworksites,andmadetheshotsmandatoryforallTVAemployees.Afteranepi-demicofsmallpox,oneofthebiggestkillersintheSouth,broke

TVA

TheCivilianConservationCorpscamp#19nearNewTazewell,Tennes-see, in1933,with the foundation for thewinterbarracks in the fore-ground.TheCCCworkedonreforestationintheClinchRiverwatershed,aboveNorrisDam.

TVA

A1934paradeinTupelo,Mississippi,tocelebratethecity’scontractwiththeTVAforelectricpower—TVA’sfirstsuchcontract.

TVA

StringingpowerlinesintheTennesseeValley.Startingin1933,theTVAbegantobringelec-tricitytoall,building5,000milesoftransmis-sionlineseachyearfrom1938to1942.

TVA

TheElectricHomeandFarmAuthori-tygavelow-interestloanstopeopleinthe valley, to help them purchaseelectricapplianceslikestoves.

TVA

Bythelate1930s,theTVAwascirculatingabout13,000booksamonth.

TVA

TheTVAsprayedagainstmosquitoestostopthespreadofmalariaandin-oculated half a million peopleagainstsmallpox.

21stCenturyScience&Technology Summer2011 45

outinAlabamain1938,theTVAofferedfreesmallpoxshots.By1951,TVAhadinoculatedhalfamillionpeopleinthere-gion, helping to produce a regional revolution in publichealth.

In1933,theValleyhadmanytotallyisolatedcountieswithpopulations in the thousands, with no railroad service, nonewspapers,noradio,andnopubliclibrary.AstheTVAsentarmiesofworkers in to remoteareas tobuild thedamsandpowersystems,itdecidedtoprovideaccesstobooks,forthe“welfareandwellbeing”of theworkers,and their families.TVAsetuprurallibraries,locatedinstores,postoffices,andgasstations.Bookmobilestravelledthecountryside.Bythelate1930s, TVA was circulating about 13,000 books a month.WhentheconstructionofTVA’sdamswasal-mostcomplete,DavidLilienthallobbied—andsecured—statesupportforthecontinuationofthelibraries.

ReclaimingtheLandIn1933,theprimaryeconomicactivityofthe

Valley region was farming. Immediate mea-sureshadtobetakentorestoretheproductivityoftheravagedland.

Teams of chemists and chemical engineerswereassembledtobeginoperationofaphos-phate-based fertilizer production program, totakefarmingoutofthe19thCentury.Twohun-dredTVAexpertsfannedoutacrosstheValley,tomeetwithfarmers,introducingthemtosci-entifically based modern farming methods.Thousandsofdemonstrationfarmsweresetup,with TVA donating its new phosphate-basedfertilizer,andthedemonstrationfarmeropen-inghisfarmtosharehisresultswithhisneigh-bors. In 1935,TVA produced 24,000 tons ofconcentrated superphosphate, which grew to

136,000tonsby1953.TVAfertilizer,whichwasshippedalloverthecountry,accountedfor24percentofnationalfertilizerproductionbetween1934and1955.By1941,47stateshadtestedtheTVAfertilizer,and27wereconductingtestdemon-strationprograms.

TheTVAprogramhadadramaticimpactworldwide.Itises-timatedthat2-3billionpeople,ornearlyhalftheworld’spop-ulation,arealive todaybecauseof thedevelopmentofsyn-theticfertilizer,morethan70percentofwhichwasdevelopedatTVA’s National Fertilizer Development Center, in MuscleShoals,Alabama.Aninvestmentof$41millionthrough1981returned$57billiontoU.S.agriculture.Fertilizersarerespon-sibleformorethanathirdofU.S.cropproduction,according

TVA

TVAagriculturalprogramsbroughtTennesseeValleyfarmersintothe20thCentury.Particularlyimportantwastheintro-ductionoffertilizer,whichwasshowcasedondemonstra-tionfarmsandinteachingfilms.Thisphotoisofatestfield,showingitsuseinproducinggroundcover.

TVA

ThefirstCCCgroupassigned toTVA toconcentrateonerosioncontrolandtreeplanting.By1944,theTVAhadplantedmorethan150milliontreesintheValley.

TVA

TheCopperBasininsouthernTennesseewasadesolatedesertafter90yearsofcopperminingkilledoffvegetationanderodedtheland.Today,morethan90percentoftheareahasbeenreforested.

46 Summer2011 21stCenturyScience&Technology

totheInternationalCenterforSoil Fertility and AgriculturalDevelopment at MuscleShoals. Dr. Norman Borlaug,father of the “Green Revolu-tion,”whichsavedmillionsintheThird World from starva-tion,wason theboardofdi-rectors of TVA’s InternationalFertilizerDevelopmentCenterfrom1994to2003.

The only bona fide deserteastof theMississippi in the1930swastheCopperBasininsouthernTennessee,whichismore than50 squaremilesofdesolation. Ithasbeencom-pared to the Dakota Badlands, the Gobi Desert, and theMoon.

Ninetyyearsofprocessingtheminedcopperthathadbeendiscoveredthereinthe1840s,hadkilledfloraandfauna,andpartsoftheOcoeeRiver.Nearly35,000acreswerecompletelybare,losingnearly200tonsofsoilayear,andsiltingtheriverwhereTVAhadthreedamsandreservoirs.By1944,theTVAhadplantedmorethan150milliontreesintheValley.Todaymorethan90percentoftheCopperBasinhasbeenreforested.

By1941,theTVAwaswellonthewaytotrans-forming theeconomy,and livesof thepeopleoftheTennesseeValley.Butitsgreatestchallengewastocome.

WinningtheWarItisreportedthatnotevenTVAChairmanLilien-

thalknewwhatwasgoingoninthebuildingsatthe“Clinton Engineering Works,” not too far fromTVA’sKnoxvilleheadquarters,in1943.Seeminglyovernight, new facilities, housing, and a wholenew townhadsprungup inOakRidge,Tennes-see.

WhenthedecisionwasmadebyPresidentRoos-evelttoembarkupontheManhattanProjecttode-velop anAmerican nuclear weapon, there weretwo prerequisites for success: the best scientificmindsthenationcouldmobilize,andavirtuallyunlimitedsourceofreliableelectricalpower.ThePresidentturnedtotheTVA,givingwhatbecametheOakRidgeNationalLaboratorythetaskofpro-ducingthenuclearmaterialsforthebomb,enrich-inguranium,andthenseparatingtheplutonium.EnricoFermiwhohadbuiltthenation’sfirst“graph-itepile”reactorinChicago,thenbuilttheGraphiteReactoratOakRidge,whichproducedtheworld’sfirstsustainednuclearreaction.Afterthewar,thisreactor produced the world’s first medical iso-topes.

EvenbeforetheUnitedStateswasfightinginthewar, in preparation, President Roosevelt askedCongresstoapprovefundingforDouglasDamineastTennesseein1941.Oppositiononthepartofthe Congress ended with the bombing of Pearl

Harbor.DouglasDamwascompletedinarecord-breaking12monthsand17days.Duringthewarmobilization,theTVAbuilt10dams,working24-hours-a-day,utilizingthreeshifts,andfloodlightsatnight.

Since1935,theAluminumCompanyofAmeri-ca(Alcoa)hadbeenbuyingTVApowerforitsfac-torynearKnoxville,whichwas then the largestaluminumplantintheworld.In1941,asWorldWar II loomed, Alcoa gave the government itsFontanaproperty,aprimesiteforadam,andthebill authorizing construction of the dam wassignedjust10daysbeforePearlHarbor.TheFon-

tanasitewaslocatedintheremoteSmokyMountainsofNorthCarolina,andinordertobuildthedam,arailroadwasbuilttotransportsupplies.Almostovernight,theTVAerecteddormito-ries,houses,trailers,andtentsfortheworkersandtheirfami-lies.Ahospital,bank,library,postoffice,andschoolswerebuiltfromscratch.

Inadditiontoaluminumforplanesduringthewarmobiliza-tion, theValleyprocessedmetals, food,fibers (foruniforms),timber, and chemicals, and manufactured ship boilers, gasmasks,andexplosives.The fertilizerplants inMuscleShoals

U.S. Army

AerialviewofthemassiveK-25plantonthe Oak Ridge reservation, which usedthegaseousdiffusionmethodtoseparateuranium-235 from uranium-238 for thewareffort.BeguninJune1943andcom-pletedinearly1945,theK-25plantem-ployed12,000workers.

TheTVA was crucial in the war effort,supplyingtheenormousamountofelec-tricityrequiredbytheK-25plant,alongwith materials and manufactures, andpreparingsurveymaps.WithouttheTVA,theUnitedStatesin1941wouldnothavebeenpreparedtofight,theFederalPowerCommissionstated.TVA

Anestimated2-3billionpeoplearealivetoday

becauseofthedevelopmentofsynthetic

fertilizer,morethan70percentofwhichwasdevelopedattheTVA.

21stCenturyScience&Technology Summer2011 47

suppliedtherawmaterialsforthousandsoftonsofmunitions,inadditiontothefertilizertohelpgrowfood.

In1943,theU.S.ArmyaskedtheTVAforhelpinpreparingsurveymapsofenemy-heldterritory.Thefirstassignmentwastomap30,000squaremilesofNazi-occupiedFrance,basedonits experience in mapping theValley.TheArmed Forces ac-quired470TVAmappingexpertsandtechnicians.TheTVA,to-getherwiththeU.S.GeologicalSurvey,developedadvancedmappingtechniquesandmademapsfromaerialphotographsofahalf-millionsquaremilesofforeignterritoryduringWorldWarII.Anestimated70millionofTVA-producedmapswereusedtopreparefortheNormandyinvasioninJune1944.

Afterthewar,theFederalPowerCommissiondeclaredthatwithout theTVA, theUnited States in1941wouldnothavebeenpreparedtofight.

ButsomedidnotappreciatetheTVA’ssuccess.OneyearafterFDRcreatedtheTVA,theAuthorityhadfivelawsuitspendingagainstit.By1938,TVA,likeotherofFDR’sNewDealprograms,hadbeenattackedonconstitutionalgrounds,in41le-galcases.DirectlegalexpensestotheTVAwere$518,159.Revenueslostfromthedelayofhydroelectricprojectsbecauseofsuchlegalbat-tlesamountedtonearly$5.5mil-lion.Thechallengeswouldeventu-allygoallthewaytotheSupremeCourt.

For20years, theTVAhad suc-cessfully beaten back attacks bytheprivateutilitiestostopitsdamandpowerprograms,andby“freemarket”-advocatingCongressmen.Under theprotectionofPresidentRoosevelt, the TVA had accom-plishedwhatonlyahandfulofvi-

sionarieshadbelievedwaspossible.After thewar,andwithPresident Roosevelt gone, TVA would face its most seriousthreatyet.

‘CreepingSocialism’In1952,forthefirsttimeintheTVA’sexistence,therewasa

RepublicanPresidentheadedfortheWhiteHouse.PresidentEisenhowerdescribedtheTVAas“creepingsocialism,”andin-structedhisnewTVABoardchairmanto“disbandtheagency,”astheCongresstriedtodismantlewhatwasleftofFDR’sNewDeal.ThestupidityofaccusingTVA“socialism”ofsquelchingprivateenterpriseintheregion,wasdemonstratedbythefactthatmorethanahalf-millionjobsinbusinessandindustrywerecreatedintheregionbetween1933and1950.

ItfelltoTVAchairmanGordonClapptodefendtheveryex-istence of theTVA. Clapp was hired by theTVA in its firstmonths,whenhewasjust27.AWisconsinnative,hebecameDirectorofPersonnel,thenin1939,hebecameGeneralMan-ager,becomingChairmanin1946afterDavidLilienthalwastappedtoheadthenewAtomicEnergyCommission.Clapp’sphilosophical approach, which cohered entirely with Roos-evelt’sandLilienthal’s,wastodeveloptheresourcesoftheVal-leytoraisethelivingstandardofthepopulation,notsimplyto“builddams.”TheRepublicanstriedtomakethecasethatTVA’sworkwasfinishedbecausethedamshadbeencompleted.

TVAChairmanClapppointedoutthehypocrisyoftheAd-ministration’ssupportfora“TVAontheJordan,”asanimpor-tantpeaceinitiativeintheMiddleEast,andthesimultaneousattackontheTVA,athome.TocountertheerroneousassertionthatFederalfundstoTVAconstitutedunfair“Federalaid”tooneparticularregion,Clapppointedoutthatmorethanhalfofthe$1.4billionthattheTVAspenttobuyequipmentandmaterials,wasspentoutsidetheTennesseeValley.Tenyearsearlier,DavidLilienthalhadexplainedthatthetensofthousandsofelectricranges,waterpumps,andrefrigeratorspurchasedbypeoplein

theValley,werenotmanufacturedthere,but inplaces like theGen-eralElectricfactories,inSchenect-ady,NewYork.

Throughout the Eisenhoweryears, the debate raged over cut-ting domestic spending, and theTVA’s budget dropped drastically.Finally, in 1959, although Con-gresswasunabletokilltheAuthor-ity,alawwaspassedamendingtheTVA Act, which authorized theTVA to sell bonds on the privatemarket to finance its operations,andremovedfundingforitspowerinvestments from Federal appro-priations. It further required theTVAtopaybackinannualinstall-mentstotheTreasury,fundsprevi-ouslyinvestedbyCongress,alongwithanannualrateofreturnontheoutstanding investment that hadbeen made over the previous 20years! Since 1959,TVA’s massive

ORNL

General LeslieGroves (left) andDavid Lilienthaldiscuss thetransferofresponsibilityforatomicenergyresearchanddevel-opmentandweaponsproductionfromtheArmytothecivilianAtomicEnergyCommission,whichLilienthalwasappointedtohead.

TVA

GordonClappsucceededLilienthalasTVAchairmanin 1946, having worked at the TVA from its firstmonths.

48 Summer2011 21stCenturyScience&Technology

electricpowerdevelopmentprogramhasbeenself-financed.Afterthewar,demandforresidentialelectricityaloneroseby

60percentfrom1945to1947.GordonClappproposedthatacoal-poweredsteamplantbebuilttohelpmeetthefast-grow-ingelectricneedsoftheValley.Congressopposedit,insistingthatcoal-firedplantswouldcompetewithprivateutilities.AftermanytripstoWashington,toarguehiscase,Clappgotapprov-alforthecoalplant.“IfTVAeverceasestobecontroversial,itwillceasetoexist,”hestated.Later,thisdefenseofTVA’sbroad-estpurpose,settheprecedentforleadingtheTVAtothefore-frontoftheageofnuclearpower.

TVA’sWorkWillNeverbeDoneOnMay18, 1963, President John F.Kennedy travelled to

MuscleShoals,Alabama,forthe30thanniversarycelebrationoftheTVA.AmongthedignitariesrecognizedfromthepodiumwasGovernorGeorgeWallace. (Thismusthavebeen some-whatawkward,notonlybecauseofPresidentKennedy’sstandoncivilrights,butalsobecausetheTVAwasraciallyintegratedandunionorganized,fromitsearliestdays.)

“Thereweremanywhostillregardedtheundertakingwithdoubt,somewithscorn,somewithoutrighthostility,”PresidentKennedysaidoftheTVA:

Somesaiditcouldn’tbedone.Somesaiditshouldn’tbedone.Somesaiditwouldn’tbedone.Buttoday,30yearslater,ithasbeendone.

Despitearecordofsuccess,TVAstillhasitsskepticsanditscritics.Therearestillthosewhocallit“creepingsocialism.”Therearestillthose,andsomeofthemfrom

Massachusetts,whosaythatthisassetservesonlythevalley....

Byworkingtogether,wehaverecognizedthatarisingtideliftsalltheboats,andthisvalleywillnotbeprosper-ousunlessothersectionsofthecountryarerich,norwillothersectionsofthecountryberichunlessthevalleyisprosperous.Thatisthelessonofthelast30years.

Finally,therearethosewhosaythatTVAhasfinisheditsjobandoutliveditschallenges.ButalloftheessentialrolesofTVAremain.

ThePresidentthencitedtheregion’simportanceforatomicenergy,commerce,andopeningnewfrontiers:

Inshort,theworkofTVAwillneverbedoneuntiltheworkofourcountryisdone.

FranklinRooseveltcamefromHydePark,NewYork,morethan1,100milesfromthiscommunity.GeorgeNorriswasnotarepresentativeofthisState.HecamefromMcCook,Nebraska,alsomorethan1,100milesfromthiscommunity.

ThePresidentcontinued:“GeorgeNorris’sfavoritephrasewashisreference,andhisdedicationto‘generationsyetunborn.’Soletusall...resolvethatwe,too,inourtime,30yearslater,will,ourselves,buildabetterNationfor‘generationsyetunborn.’”

HarnessingtheAtomThepromiseofthequantumjumpinenergyfluxdensitypos-

sible throughnuclear technologywasnowheremoreaggres-

TVA

PresidentKennedyspokeatMuscleShoalsonMay18,1963,theTVA’s30thanniversary.“Letusallresolvethatwe,too,inourtime,30yearslater,will,ourselves,buildabetterNationfor‘generationsyetunborn.’”

21stCenturyScience&Technology Summer2011 49

sivelypursuedthanintheTennesseeValley,andnotjustfortheUnitedStates.

In1963,astheTVAwasdevelopingitsplanforgoingnucle-ar,OakRidgeNationalLaboratoryscientistPhilipHammondsuggested that fresh water, so desperately needed globally,couldbeproducedeconomicallybyusingtheexcessheatfromnuclearpowerplantsfordesalination.LaboratorydirectorAl-vinWeinberg,amemberofPresidentKennedy’sScienceAdvi-soryBoard,promotedtheidea,asawaytomakethe“desertsbloom.”

Thenextyear, theterm“nuplex”wascoined, fornuclear-centered agro-industrial complexes, to describe the multi-purposepotentialofnuclearenergy.In1964,OakRidgeLabo-ratory staff members travelled to India, Israel, Puerto Rico,Pakistan,Mexico,andtheSovietUnion,tohelpplandesali-nation projects. In 1965, 100 researchers at the Lab werestudyinghowtoapplynewtechnologiestonucleardesalina-tion.

BecauseofitslocationwithintheTVAservicearea,thenu-plexresearchcarriedoutduringthe1960sattheLabbynucle-ar scientists, chemists, materials specialists, agricultural ex-perts,andengineerscouldbeputtothepracticaltest.In1971,forexample,itwasdecidedthattheTVA’sBrownsFerrynuclearreactor,thenunderconstruction,wouldincludeademonstra-tiongreenhouse,whichwouldusethewasteheatfromthenu-clearplanttogrowfood.

In1966,theTVAannouncedplanstobuild17nuclearplantsatsevensitesinTennessee,Alabama,andMississippi.Thiswasslated to be the largest nuclear construction project in theworld.Constructionbeganthenextyearontheworld’slargestnuclearpowerplant,atBrownsFerry,justwestofHuntsville,Alabama.Sevenyearslater,thefirstgeneratingunitwentintooperation.

Atthesametime,the1973warintheMiddleEast,organizedandprovokedbyBritish andBritish-controlledfinancial andpetroleum interests, createdan“energycrisis” in theUnitedStates,whichsawthepriceforoil,gasoline,andcoalquadru-ple,virtuallyovernight.Theskyrocketingcostofenergyandtheoveralleconomiccontractionledtoadropinenergyconsump-tion.Thiswasfollowedbythesecond“oil”crisisin1979andfurthereconomicdecline.Asenergyconsumptionfell,doubtwas raised that more generating capacity, meaning nuclear,wouldbeneeded,evenbytheTVA.

Inthemidstoftheseconcocted“energycrises,”theelectionofJimmyCarterasPresidentin1976broughtanewlineofat-tackupontheTVA,thistime,fromtheso-called“left.”

AttackoftheEco-FascistsIn1977,JimmyCarterappointedS.DavidFreeman(norela-

tiontothisauthor),aschairmanoftheTVA.AttheendofhistenureattheTVA,in1984,Freemanwouldbragthatheover-sawthecancellationof8oftheTVA’splanned17nuclearpow-erplants.

In 1978, Freeman told the Christian Science Monitor that“conservation”wouldbeoneofTVA’smajorgoals.Freemanhadbeenthedirectorofthe$3millionFordFoundationEnergyPolicyProject,between1971-1974,whichpromoted the in-saneideathatenergyefficiencyandcuttingbackonconsump-tion,couldbeamajor“source”ofpower.(laterdescribedas

“negawatts”).FormerTVAchairmanAubreyWagnerdescribedFreeman’sapproachasmakingelectricityuse“asin.”

FreemanwastheprincipalarchitectandpromoterofCart-er’santi-humanenergyandenvironmentpolicies.HewassenttotheTVAexplicitlytoopposeconstructionoftheClinchRiv-erBreederReactor and thecompletionof theTellicoDam.ClinchRiverwasnotneeded,andwasabadinvestmentFree-man counseled.There were nonproliferation concerns, andthedemandforelectricitywaslowerthanprojected,hesaid,somorenuclearplantswerenotneeded.Further,Freemanad-visedthatthebreedermustbeableto“compete”withsolarenergy.

In June 1978, Freeman’s second assignment was fulfilled,whentheSupremeCourtstoppedtheTellicoDamproject,ontheLittleTennesseeRiver.This,underaprovisionofthe1973EndangeredSpeciesact,whichprotectedthetinysnaildarterfish, whose habitat was threatened by the dam.TheTellicoDam,whichhadbeenfirstplannedin1939,wasthenhaltedwhen95percentcomplete,aftertheTVAhadspent$109.4mil-liontobuildit.Itwasfinallycompletedin1979,whentheU.S.Senatevoted toexemptTellicoDamfromtheEndangeredSpeciesAct.

Playingon themedia-induced irrational fearsofnuclearenergyaftertheMarch28,1979accidentat theThreeMileIslandnuclearplantinPennsylvania,FreemangaveaspeechinOctober that year, stating thatmillionsofAmericansareconcernedaboutsafety.Whileprofessingtobe“pro-nuclear,”Freemanannouncedhispolicytolimitconstructionof fu-tureTVAnuclearplants to thesevensiteswhereTVAwas

Video image from Institute of International Studies, University of California at Berkeley

S.DavidFreeman,appointedbyPresidentCartertoheadtheTVA in1977,made“conservation”aTVAgoal.Healsoop-posedtheClinchRiverBreederReactorandthecompletionoftheTellicoDam.

50 Summer2011 21stCenturyScience&Technology

already building reactors. “I really don’t know for surewhethernuclearpowerissafe,”hesaid.

Then, to “save” energy, Freeman’s TVA started deliveringwoodburningstovestopoorerfamiliesintheValleyin1978,alongwithasmokealarmandafireextinguisher!TheTVAgave20-yearlowinterestloanstobuyandinstallsolarwaterheaters,andloansforatticinsulation.

RatherthanfighttheMalthusianswhoweremakingpoliciesin the Environmental Protection Agency, that, if enforced,wouldhave shutdownall ofAmerican industry, Freemannegotiateda“deal”withtheEPA,whicheventuallycosttheTVAmorethan$6billionforpollutioncontrolsatitscoal-burningplants,noneofwhichwouldhavebeennecessary,hadthenuclearprogramcontinued,andthecoalplants,re-tired.

WhenhewasnotreappointedtotheTVABoardbyPresidentReagan in 1984, Freeman continued his destructive career,whichincludedoverseeingthedevelopmentofthePowerEx-change(spotmarket)andIndependentSystemOperatorfortheStateofCalifornia,intheearly1990s.“Ithoughtderegulationmightwork,”Freemansaidin2001,asrollingblackoutshittheState.

InJanuary2009,astheTVAwasrestartingworktocompletethenuclearplantsthatS.DavidFreemanhadstalled,Freemanapparentlyfinally“gotit.”Hesaid:

ItriedrealhardtomakeTVAmoreenvironmentallysensitive.But...IfeltlikeIwasahearttransplantthatgotrejected....Theorganizationitselfnevergotoveritslow-costpowermissionastheoverridingmission.

Thankgoodnessforusall!

Nuclear:ASlowClimbBackAspartoftheeconomicfalloutfromThreeMileIsland,all

fiveofTVA’soperatingnuclearreactorswereshutdownin1985forafewyears,toupgradesafety.AsRonaldReagan’s1980sworeon,andtheeconomydidnotimprove,workwasstoppedonTVA’sBellefonte1and2units(88percentand57percentcompleted), andWattsBarunit2 (60percent completed) in1988.Butstaffwerekeptonsite,whiletheunitsweredeferredindefinitely.Thebillionsofdollarsthathadbeenspentfornu-clearconstructionwasnowdebtbeingcarriedandservicedbytheTVA,asadeadweight.

WiththeascensionoftheNewtGingrichneo-conservatives,astheRepublicanPartygainedtheCongressionalmajorityinthe1994election,deregulationoftheelectricutilityindustrybecamethelatestattack,notonlyonpublicpower,butonvir-tuallyanykindofpower.TheindustrywouldbeturnedovertothelikesofEnron.In1995,HouseSpeakerNewtGingrichsetupaHouseprivatizationtaskforce,butlostaproposaltopriva-tizetheTVAbyavoteof284-144.“Therearethosewhowouldprivatize theGrandCanyon if theygotachance,” remarkedTVAchairmanCravenCrowell.

Threatsweremade,andpressurewasputontheTVAtobereadyto“compete”withderegulatedprivatecompanies.Thou-sandsofTVAemployeesandcontractorswerelaidoff,manyofwhomtheTVAhadtriedtoretaininthenuclear/constructionfield,astheagencysoughttoreduceitsdebt,whichwascom-ingperilouslyclosetoitsCongressionallymandated$30bil-lionlimit.

In1996,CrowellsaidtheTVAwasseekingcompetitivepro-posalsonoptionstobuypower,“asanalternativetobuildingplansorcompletingunfinishednuclearunits.”(In1994,asimi-larrequestforproposalsresultedinpurchaseagreementcon-

TVA

ConstructionisnowunderwaytobringtheuncompletedWattsBar2nuclearplantintooperation.

21stCenturyScience&Technology Summer2011 51

tractswithEnron,whichtheTVAendedupsuingin1999fornon-deliveryofpower.)

Butthismadnesscametoascreechinghalt inearly2000.TVAchairmanCrowellobserved:“It’sinterestingtonotethatTVAwastemptedtofollowCalifornia’sexample—relyonthemarketplaceforelectricityratherthaninvestingcapitalinnewgeneratingcapacity.”GoodthingtheTennesseeValleyisn’tSili-conValley,wasonecomment.

Withdemandrising,andthecollapseofthe“freemarket”inelectronsaftertheimplosionofEnron,theTVAhadonlyonevi-ableoptionformeetingthecomingincreaseddemandforbase-loadpower:torestartthenuclearbuildprogram.ThatisexactlywhattheTVAdid.In2002,theBoardvotedtospend$1.7bil-liontoreturnthedormantBrownsFerryunit1toservicewithinfiveyears.Andfiveyearslater,inMay2007,BrownsFerryunit1wentintoservice.Itwasthefirst“new”U.S.nuclearreactorinthe21stCentury.

InJuly2006,theTVABoardauthorizedanevaluationofthecostandscheduletofinishthenearlycompletedWattsBar2nuclearplant,andapproved$20millionforthestudy.ThenextSummer,theBoardapprovedthecompletionofWattsBar2,atacostof$2.49billionover54months.Morethan2,300con-structionworkerswerehiredbytheendof2009.

Twoyearsago,theTVAallocated$10millionforastudytoseeifoneorbothofthemothballedtwinreactorsattheBelle-fonte site should be completed. In August 2010, the Boardunanimouslyapprovedspending$248millioninthenextfiscalyear,todeveloptheplantofinishUnit1,whichwouldcostupto$4.7billion. It hadbeenmore than80percent completewhenconstructionwasstoppedinthe1980s.

In2005,theTVA,cameundertheprovisionsoftheSarbanes-Oxleylaw,whichhadbeenenactedin2002inresponsetotheEnrondebacle.TVAchairmanCrowellcharacterizeditas“the

first steps toward privatizationofTVA.”ItmandatedregulationbytheSecuritiesandExchangeCommission,forcingawrite-offofbillionsofdollarsofnuclearplantassets,and“allowed”TVAto borrow money from banksandfinancialinstitutions.

Today,theTVAisbuildingtheonlynuclearplantintheUnitedStates.

AModelforWorldDevelopment

It had always been the in-tention of President FranklinRooseveltandDavidLilienthalfor theTVA tobe amodel forother nations, where peopleweresuffering fromthecondi-tionsofpoverty thathadbeenendemic to theTennesseeVal-ley before theTVA. As wouldlater be the case for the suc-cessful effort of the United

StatestolandamanontheMoon,theeconomicandculturaltransformationofa“ThirdWorld”regionofAmerica,washeldingreatadmiration,andwasAmerica’smosteffectivepresenta-tionofitselftotherestoftheworld.(Infact,stagesofthehugeSaturnVrocketsthatwouldtakementotheMoonwereassem-bledatNASA’sMarshallSpaceFlightCenterinHuntsville,Ala-bama,andshippedtoFloridathroughthelocksatTVAdams).

By1944,DavidLilienthalwrote,the“morethanelevenmil-lionpeoplewhohavevisitedtheTVAinrecentyears,”havein-cludedanagriculturalcommissionerfromNewDelhi,agroupofSwedishjournalists,aBrazilianscientist,aCzechelectricalexpert,IsraeliPrimeMinisterDavidBen-Gurion,IndianPrimeMinister Nehru, and President Gabriel Gonzales Videla ofChile.

TheTVAalso functionedas a “trainingground for foreigntechnicians,”hereported,including

twoscoreengineersandagriculturalistsfromadozenrepublicsofSouthAmerica;asimilarcontingentfromChina....TherehasbeenagroupofRussianengineersworkingwithTVAtechniciansonLendLeasehydro-electricplantsthatin1944willbeproducingpoweronstreams“somewherebeyondtheUrals.”

David Lilienthal reported in his 1944 book, that SupremeCourt Associate Justice William O. Douglas spent summerstravellingonhorsebackinremoteareasofAsia,andDouglasrelatedthat

ADruzechieftain,southofDamascusinquiredaboutit[theTVA].IwasaskedaboutitmanytimesasItraveledthelengthoftheTigrisandEuphrates....BelowBaghdadIsaw50,000peoplehomelessbyreasonofaflood.They

TVA

BrownsFerrynuclearplantunit1wasbroughtintoservicefromitsdormantstatein2007.

52 Summer2011 21stCenturyScience&Technology

toohadheardoftheTVA,andwantedoneforthemselves.

Inthe1953revisededitionofhis1944book,TVA—Democracy on the March, which had been translatedinto14languages(withmorethan50,000copiesincir-culationinChinesealone),DavidLilienthalsummarizedsomeofthepotentialregionaleconomicplansunderdis-cussion forTVAsaround theworld.Nomajor regionwouldhavebeenleftuntouchedbyTVA-inspireddevelopment.Proj-ectswereoutlinedfortheValleyoftheNileRiver,embracingmore thanamillionsquaremiles,with reaches in toSudan,Egypt,Ethiopia,Kenya,andUganda.Partsofthethen-BelgianCongoandTanganyikawerealsoincluded.TVA-modelledproj-ectswereconceivedforNigerandUganda(theAfricanTVA).

ThehistoricTigrisandEuphratesRiversenterIraqfromTurkeyandSyriatothenorthwest,andflowsoutheasterlyacrossthecountry,toemptyintothePersianGulf.TheIraqplan,tode-velop this potentially fertile region, Lilienthal reported, “hasbeendescribedasaprojectthatisessentiallyanexpansionandadaptationalongthelinesofTVA.”ExtensiveworkwasdonelaterbyDavidLilienthal,personally,andhisD&RCorporationinIran.

“TothenorthwestofIndiaandPakistanbeyondthefamousKhyber Pass lies the extremely mountainous country” ofAf-ghanistan,Lilienthalwrote.Thereareplans,theformerheadofTVAstated,todeveloptheHelmandRiveranditstributary,theArghandab,forpowerandirrigation.JamesB.Hayes,aformer

TVAprojectengineer,wastheprojectchieffortheAmericancontractorwhoworkedonthe1950sAfghanproject,Lilienthalreport-ed.

For India, inaddition to twoprojectsal-readyunderwayalongTVAlines,LilienthaloutlineddevelopmentprojectsontributariesoftheGangesRiver.TheSutlejDevelopmentprojectwouldincludea560-foot-highdam,electricgeneratingcapacity,anda1.5mil-lion-acreirrigationarea.

Today’sdestroyednationofHaiti,whichisaboutonefourththeareaoftheTennesseeValley,hadplanstodeveloptheArtiboniteValley,Lilienthalreported.In1952,theIn-ter-AmericanInstituteofAgriculturalScienc-es,foundedinCostaRicain1942byPresi-dent Roosevelt, put forward a plan for a“littleTVA”intheValley.Itencompassednotonlyaseriesofpower,floodcontrol,andir-rigationprojects, but also industrial devel-opmentandexpandedpublichealthanded-

ucation.In1946,LilienthaltravelledtoMex-

ico, where he encountered formerTVAengineers,andyoungMexicanswhohadtrainedwith theTVA.Con-structionequipmentstillhad the let-ters“TVA”onthetrucksandgondolas,he observed. The Papaloapan Com-mission,oras itwas referred to, the“MexicanTVA,”developedaplantobuildfourdamsforfloodcontrol,andthe integrated expansion of naviga-tion, industry, agriculture, irrigation,andpowerdevelopment.

Theunderdeveloped“vacation”ha-venislandofPuertoRicohadplansin

theearly1950sfora“junior-sizedTVA.”Fourdamswerepro-posedforpowerandirrigation.Thechiefengineerfortheproj-ectwasCarlBock,formerlywiththeTVA.

In1942,thegovernmentofPeruaskedtheU.S.tosendex-pertstothatnationtosuperviseaprojecttodevelopDuckCan-yon,formedbytheSantaRiver.This“AndeanTVA”wasover-seen by three engineers—civil, construction, and electrical—whowereallformeremployeesoftheTVA.SpecialistsfromtheChileanDevelopmentCorporation,whichwasestablishedin1939,trainedattheTVAfor6to12months.ExtensiveplansforColombiaandBrazilwerealsodeveloped.

Inthe1930sand1940s,theTennesseeValleywasatraininggroundforvisitingexpertsfromabroadwhocouldbringinte-gratedregionaleconomicdevelopmentplanningbacktotheirnations.Inthe1950s,theexperiencedtechnicalmanagersoftheTVAwerereadytofanoutacrosstheglobetohelptheseprojectscometofruition.

In1945,DavidLilienthalwasdistraughtatthedeathofPres-identRoosevelt.Althoughhecontinuedingovernment,asheadofthenewAtomicEnergyCommission,Lilienthalcouldseeno

TVA

TVAchairmanDavidLilienthalwithavisitingChineseengineer,discussing theTVAandpotentialprojects fortheYangtzeRiver.InsetisLilienthal’s1944book,Democ-racyontheMarch.

21stCenturyScience&Technology Summer2011 53

way that theTrumanAdminis-trationwouldcarrytheTVAto“thousands of valleys” aroundtheworld.Infact,Truman,wasbusyhelpingWinstonChurchillreestablish theBritishEmpire’scontrolovertheverynationsintheMiddleEastandAfricathatLilienthal had hoped to helpdevelop.

In1955,LilienthalandGor-don Clapp formed the Devel-opmentandResourcesCorpo-ration, to “provide planningand administrative services inresource development alongTVA lines.” With experiencedexperts from the TVA, and acadre of young, eager engi-neers,D&Rworkedaroundtheglobe over the course of thenext20years, to replicate the successof theTVA.

TheTVAontheJordanTheareaofwhatwascalledPalestineinthe

1940s,isslightlyover10,000squaremiles,oronequartertheareaoftheTennesseeValley.Inthemid-1950s,themenwhohadplayedkeyleadershiprolesintheTVApresentedaplanforintegrateddevelopmenttotheregion’snationsandtotheUnitedNations.TheproposalwastobuildaseriesofdamsontheupperJordanRiv-eranditstributaries,whichwouldstorewateranddivert resources intoanetworkof irriga-tioncanals.Tocompensate theDeadSea forthe loss of these waters, seawater from theMediterraneanwouldbeintroducedatapointnear Haifa, and conducted through tunnelsand canals down the below-sea-level Jordandepression,totheDeadSea.

It was estimated that 660 million kilowatt-hoursofelectricityperyearcouldbeprovidedbythedams,andmorethen600,000acresoflandcouldbeirrigatedforcultiva-tion.Inthemid-1950s,GordonClapp,whohada21-yearca-reerasgeneralmanagerandchairmanoftheTVA,headedtheU.N.EconomicSurveyMissionfor theMiddleEast.Thenet-workofwaterprojectsrequiredtheparticipationofSyria,Leba-non, Israel, and Jordan. Only such a multinational projectwouldbreakthedeath-gripontheregion,stemmingfromtheBritish-FrenchSykes-PicotAgreementof1916.InanticipationofthebreakupoftheOttomanEmpireafterWorldWarI,West-ernAsiawassecretlypartitionedbythesecolonialpowersintospheresofinfluenceandcontrol,throughwhichtheBritishstilltodaykeeptheentireregiononthecuspofwar.TheTVAontheJordanwasnotstartedin1954,andtwoyearslater,theBritishthrewtheregionintotheSuezcrisis.

In1990,duringthebuild-uptotheGulfWar,economistLyn-donLaRoucheresurrectedhisearlier,1974plan for regional

economicdevelopmentplanning,his“OasisPlan”fortheMid-dleEast.Bythattime,withthepossibilityofusingthemostad-vanced nuclear energy technologies for regional economicprojects,LaRoucheproposedthatwaternotonlybecapturedanddiverted,butalsocreatedthroughtheuseofhigh-tempera-turenuclearreactorsfordesalination.Theseprojects,andpeaceintheregion,stillawaitrealization.

TheChallengeoftheYangtzeOneofthegreatestlegaciesoftheTennesseeValleyisthe

roleitplayedinthetamingofChina’sYangtzeRiver.AsDavidLilienthalremarkedindescribingthechallengeinthe1950s,“Thetermsgiganticorcolossalarenotinappropriateforthisplan,whichdwarfs theTVAbycomparison.”Withina300-mileradiusoftheproposeddamsite,morepeoplewouldbeaffected than live in the entire United States, he said.TheYangtzeRiver,more than3,500miles in length, is the thirdlongestriverintheworld,withadrainageareathatisnearly

National Archives

BureauofReclamationengineerJohnLucienSavage(center),wasinvitedtoChinabyChiangKai-shekin1944.Savage,whohadworkedonmanyTVAdams,madeadetailedproposalin1945fortheYangtzeRiverdevelopment(below).Butittookuntil1992fortheThreeGorgesDamprogramtogetunderway.

54 Summer2011 21stCenturyScience&Technology

20percentofthelandareaofChina.Plans todam the river toprevent itsperiodiccatastrophic

floodingandbringelectricpowertoanisolatedandbackwardpopulation,wereputforwardbySunYat-sen,thefoundingfa-therofmodernChina,asearlyastheseconddecadeofthe20th

Century.AmassivefloodontheYangtzein1931tookthelivesof145,000peopleandanequallydevastatingfloodfouryearslater,killednearlyasmanypeople.

In 1939, China’s ambassador to the U.S., HuShih, suggested toTVA Chairman Lilienthal thattheTVAshouldhelprebuildChinaafterthewar.During thewar,engineers fromChina’sNationalResourcesCommissionvisitedtheTVA,andaTVAengineerwasanadvisortoChina’sWarProductionBoard.InJuly1944,theResourcesCommissionofChina met at the headquarters of theTVA.Thatyear,JohnLucienSavage,amasterbuilderfromtheU.S.BureauofReclamationwhohadworkedonanumberofTVAdams,wasinvitedtoChina.SavagelaidoutadetailedandextensiveplanfortheYang-tzeRiverprogram,andrecommendedthetrainingofChineseengineersattheTVA.

Nearthewar’send,PresidentRoos-evelt dispatched representatives toChina, who brought with them theTVA’splans,aChinese translationofLilienthal’s 1944book, andoffers ofcooperation. But the death of Roos-evelt,andthecivilwarinChina,de-layed for decades what, finally, in1992,becametheThreeGorgesDamdevelopmentproject.

In1980,theyearafterthere-estab-lishmentofdiplomaticrelationswiththe People’s Republic of China, theUnited States and China signed a“ProtocolonCooperationonHydro-electricPowerandRelatedWaterRe-source Management.” Unfortunately,theteamdispatchedbyPresidentCart-ertoChina,todiscussjointprojects,includedhisTVAChairmanandMal-thusianfanaticS.DavidFreeman,whoboasteduponreturn:

Ithinkourdelegationsucceed-edinkillinga700-foothighdamontheYangtzeRiverthata

bunchofengineerstherehadbeeninlovewithforthepast20years.

IntheSpringof1981,a10-mandelegationfromtheReaganAdministration’sBureauofReclamationwasinChinatostudytheproposedThreeGorgesProject.ButwiththeadventoftheClinton/GoreAdministrationin1993,the“environmental”lob-bynowhadacatbirdseat in theVicePresident’soffice,andAmericanfirmswereforbiddenfromparticipationinthisvastproject.Nevertheless,both theChinese,andtheTVA,perse-vered.AsPresidentClintonworkedtoimproverelationswithChinain1998,doinganend-runaroundeco-saboteurAlGore,TennesseeGovernorDonSundquistandTVAChairmanCrow-ellorganizedaconferenceinBeijingon“EconomicOpportu-nitiesThroughWaterandEnergy.”ItwasfacilitatedbyClinton’sAmbassadortoChina,JimSasser,aformerTennesseeSenator.

In1998,aCooperativeAgreementwassignedwithChinafortheTVAtoreviewChina’smasterplanfordamsanddevelop-

ForahistoryoftheThreeGorgesDam,see“ThreeGorgesDam:TheTVAontheYangtzeRiver,”byWilliamC.JonesandMarshaFreeman,21stCentury,Fall2000.Atext-onlyversionisavailablehere.

TheMekongRiver:PresidentKennedytriedtorecruitDavidLilienthalintoadiplomaticpositiontodevelopa“SoutheastAsianTVA”here.

Ourdelegationsucceededinkillinga700-foothighdamontheYangtzeRiverthatabunchofengineerstherehadbeeninlovewithforthepast20years.

21stCenturyScience&Technology Summer2011 55

mentoftheHanRiver,thelargesttributaryoftheYangtze,whichisoneandahalftimesthelengthoftheTennessee.InadditiontodecreasingtheflowtotheYangtzeforfloodcontrol,theplanisforachanneltobebuilttodivertsomeoftheexcesswaterfromtheHanRivertothedrynorth,andtoBeijing.

TheThreeGorgesDamisnowproducingpower,controllingfloods,andallowingnavigationalongoneoftheworld’sgreatrivers,thanks,insignificantpart,tothemodelthatwasprovid-edbytheTVA.

TheWarWeCouldHaveWonIntheearly1960s,theKennedyAdministrationtriedunsuc-

cessfully to recruitDavidLilienthal toadiplomaticposition.OfferinghimtheambassadorshiptoThailand,UnderSecretaryofStateChesterBowlestriedtotempthim,bysuggestingthatthejobwouldhelpto“createtheatmosphereandsteambehindthedevelopmentof theMekongRiver,abigSoutheastAsianTVA.” History would have been written differently, had thatprojectbecomethecenterpieceoftheJohnsonAdministration’spolicyinVietnam,ratherthanthedeploymentofhundredsofthousandsoftroops.

TheMekongprojectwasunfortunatelyconceivedofbytheWhiteHouseprimarilyasa“postwar”reconstructioninitiative,althoughtherewereattemptstouseitasaninstrumentofrec-onciliation.DavidLilienthalmadefourtripstoVietnamduring1967-1969tomeetwithofficialsthere,surveythearea,andde-velopaplan.Finally,inApril1970,Lilienthal’scompany,D&RCorporation,seeinglittleprogress,endeditspresenceinSouthVietnam.Lilienthalpresenteda600-pagereport,“ThePostwarDevelopmentoftheRepublicofVietnam,”totheVietnamesegovernment,andthentoPresidentNixonin1970.

TheVietnamWardidmorethansacrificethelivesofmorethan58,000AmericansandmillionsofVietnamese.Itdestroyedmuchof themoralfiberof thisnation,pushed theeconomydowntheroad to thephysicalwreckage ithasbecome,andkilledthemosteffectivesciencedriverforthefuture,thepost-Apollospaceprogram.

FDR’sLegacyIntheFallof2005,afterthedevastationofHurricaneKatrina,

whichstruckthepoorestregionoftheUnitedStates,proposalswereputforwardonhowtorebuildtheGulfstates.ExecutiveIn-telligenceReviewexaminedtheeconomicprofileofthemostaf-fectedstates,mappingtheregioncounty-by-county.ThestudyfoundthatonlytheTVAregionhadalmostnocountiesof“per-sistentpoverty,”definedashavingpovertyratesof20percentforadecadeormore.2FDR’sboldinitiativeofthe1930shadful-filleditspromise.Reflectingthatachievement,LyndonLaRouchecalledatthetimefora“Super-TVA”torebuildtheGulf.

AftertheelectionofBarackObamain2008,hysteriabrokeoutamongthethird-generationWallStreetneo-imperialists,inthefootstepsofthosewhoopposedFranklinRoosevelt’sfightagainstfascism,atthepossibilitythattheincomingDemocraticPresidentmightbecome“anotherFDR.”3Abarrageofbooks,

2. “Super-TVA Needed, Not Halliburton Profiteering,” Paul Gallagher, EIR, Sept. 16, 2005.

3. See, “Fascists, Then and Now, Stalk the FDR Legacy,” by Jeffrey Steinberg and John Hoefle, EIR, Feb. 27, 2009; and, “Amity Shlaes’ Not-So-New Ameri-

articles,TVcommentaries,andeditorialsburstuponthescenetotrytoconvincepolicymakers,andtheAmericanpeople,thatRoosevelt’sNewDealwasafailure.TheTVA,which,alongwithSocialSecurity,isthemostenduringlegacyofFDR,wasaprimetarget.4

Infact,therewasnothingforthesefoolstoworryabout.Pres-identObamahadnointentionofbecoming“anotherFDR.”In-steadhecontinuedtheBritish/Bushpoliciesofhyperinflation-ary bank bailouts, endless wars, and the increasingimpoverishmentoftheAmericanpeople.

In the1930s, theTVA reshaped the seven-stateTennesseeValleyandtransformeditspopulation,usingelectricityasanengine.NAWAPAwilldirectlyreshapeacontinent,drivethemostdramaticchangeineconomicpolicysincetheNewDeal,andpushthefrontiersofscienceinthepolarregionsandourconnectiontospace.LikeFDR’sBrettonWoodsagreement,anewglobalfinancialarchitecturewillenableothernations—mostimmediately,Russia,China,andIndia—tojointhisglobalreconstructioneffort.NAWAPAwillbethetruelegacyofPresi-dentRoosevelt’sTVA.

can Fascism,” by Jeffrey Steinberg, EIR, March 20, 2009.

�. The year 2009 saw the revival of William Chandler’s 198� book, The Myth of the TVA, which tried to use statistical hocus pocus to “prove” the TVA had failed.

The author in the turbine room at the TVA’s ChickamaugaDam.