Leigha Messer

October 3, 2014

Multigenre Project Research Log

Source:
Workers Progress Administration. (1930). [Photos from TVA archeological digs during the
building of dams]. Frank H. McClung Museum WPA/TVA Archeological Photographs.
Retrieved from http://diglib.lib.utk.edu/wpa/about.php.

Date Accessed: September 26, 2014

Reliability and Length of Source: This photo collection is a project of the Frank McClung
Museum at the University of Tennessee Knoxville. The project was done in conjunction with the
Workers Progress Administration. These are educational and governmental agencies that have
provided reliable photo access to the public. Length of source is 3 pages of online photos.

Summary of Ideas from this Source That Address Essential Question:
This photo collection includes hundreds of photos taken from archeological digs during
the building of the TVA dams.
These photos shows one way in which TVA affected East Tennessee (including photos
from Douglas Dam in Jefferson County).
It is important to note that the building of dams caused the landscape of East Tennessee
to change in many ways.
These images show artifacts and primary information related to the introduction of TVA
in East Tennessee.


Source:
McDonald, Michael. (1984). Tennessee Valley Authority Records. Agricultural History, Vol.
58, No.2. 127-137. DOI: http://www.jstor.org/stable/3742990.

Date Accessed: September 26, 2014

Reliability and Length of Source: Michael J. McDonald is a scholar dealing with agricultural
and cultural affairs. He has written several peer-reviewed articles about the TVA and its effects
in Tennessee. This source is 10 pages long with mostly all text.

Summary of Ideas from this Source That Addresses Essential Question:
McDonalds article discusses the records of the Tennessee Valley Authority, especially
the land removal records kept.
The article talks about the process of families and farmers being approached by the TVA
for their land.
It explains land removal data and can be used to explain the effects the TVA has on East
Tennessee.
One of the main record centers for the TVA is located in Knoxville. Therefore
This article deals with the technical side of the TVA including data and a graphic
illustration of record organization.


Source:
Shapiro, Edward. (1970). The Southern Agrarians and the Tennessee Valley Authority.
American Quarterly, Vol. 22, No.4. 791-806. DOI: http://www.jstor.org/stable/2711870

Date Accessed: September 26, 2014

Reliability and Length and Source: Edward Shapiro is a scholar and writer who has composed
many peer-reviewed articles about economic issues. Here he combines research of TVA with the
knowledge of the economic and social stresses of the time period. This article is 17 pages of text.

Summary of Ideas from this Source That Addresses Essential Question:
The Southern agrarians were very skeptical of the TVA. Even though the program
brought great economic opportunity, agrarians did not want their land disturbed by a
government institution.
TVA was seen as a type of industrialism and the locals were worried that the government
was wanting to create a southern version of Northern industrialism.
Electricity was a large part of how the TVA tried to sell their ideas to those in the regions
affected. Some thought the addition of electricity was a good idea, but the majority of
residents did not want to change.
The problem with TVA was not economical but rather sociological.
The major opposition from farmers came from the thought that the TVA was planning to
take land and make the southern agrarian culture industrialist instead of the agricultural
hotbed it has been for centuries.
East Tennessee was an agrarian society at this time and this article is important to the
essential question of how the TVA affected life in many ways in this area.


Source:
Durisch, Lawrence L. (1941). Local Government and the TVA Program. Public
Administration Review, Vol. 1, No. 4. 326-334. DOI: http://www.jstor.org/stable/972906

Date Accessed: October 1, 2014


Reliability and Length and Source: Lawrence Durisch was an official with the TVA and a
public administrator. He is consulted in many works about the TVA. This article is 8 pages.

Summary of Ideas from this Source:
Article talks about the role of local government in the presence and implementation of the
TVA. It discusses the benefits and problems.
It provides good information about how local communities prepared to rearrange their
cities and towns for drastic changes.
Talks about the jobs that came available in areas where dams were being built (mentions
several areas in East Tennessee).
Durisch discusses the taxation methods and how the taxing was changed.
Article is also about how local governments had to make sure adequate resources were
available to workers who came in to work on new projects. For example, schools had to
be up to par and libraries were needed to train workers for TVA jobs.
Local governments were sometimes caught between their citizens and Federal
government officials on policies and plans for cities and communities.


Source:
New Deal Network. (2003). TVA: Electricity for All. Retrieved from http://newdeal.feri.org/tva/

Date Accessed: October 3, 2014

Reliability and Length of Source: This website is in conjunction with the New Deal Network,
which is an educational/educator aimed site focused on learning about and teaching the New
Deal in classrooms. The New Deal Network is sponsored by the Franklin and Eleanor Roosevelt
Foundation through Columbia University. There are several pages of information on different
topics. (counting as 5 pages)

Summary of Ideas from Source:
This site is set up in lesson format to divide the topics. Topics range from history,
electricity, social implications, and a special section on the Norris Basin.
Norris Dam was the first one built.
Each dam is unique in design, but they were built based on two general types.
Nearly 10,000 people worked for TVA when the dams were being built.
Sixteen dams were built in the 11 year span of 1933-1944.
One of the TVAs main goals was to provide electricity to rural communities. It used
programs to help families buy electrical appliances and resources.
TVAs electricity campaign upset power companies because the Authority had found a
way to provide more electricity to more people at less cost.


Source:
Black, Brian. (1995). Authority in the Valley: TVA in Wild River and the Popualr Media,
1930-1940. Journal of American Culture, Vol. 18. No. 2, 8 pages. DOI:
http://0search.proquest.com.library.acaweb.org/docview/200584397/fulltext/281D4A821
95B491BPQ/9?accountid=9900

Accessed: October 3, 2014

Reliability and Source Length: Brian Black writes this article about the TVA and media. His
writing focuses on the culture that surrounds significant events in the U.S. This article does not
give exact page numbers, but the length seems to be about 8 pages.

Summary:
Article is about how the TVA influenced media culture. He adds stories that show how a
big event like this caught the attention of early media in the Depression/New Deal era.
The movie Wild River depicts people of the area during the introduction of TVA and
when lands were taken from many families.
Also discusses the national impact of the new program. The TVA even appeared in
national advertisements.
Many saw the medias presence as government propaganda.
The attention the Tennessee valley got from the medias presence drew visitors to the
area. People wanted to see what the TVA had done.
Article states that the TVA captured the attention and curiosity of the national public. The
TVA caused a rural area to become a spot for national recognition.
The media and movie Wild River added another public element to the TVA.