ABSTRACT
This chapter deals with the first period - the historic background and origins of Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) and the initial twenty years of its operations - from the 1930s to the early 1950s. It looks at how TVA defined areas of regional concern, the regions used in its planning and development programs, and how the agency related to other federal agencies and the state and local governments within larger Tennessee Valley region. The chapter discusses the nature of the regional plan, as was characteristic of the planning legislation of the time, many of the conflicts and disagreements about the TVA's regional development program might have been avoided. It concentrates on the projects and activities undertaken as part of the regional development program and how they related to the needs of a changing region. The TVA forestry program is another example of institution building that improved conditions not only in the Tennessee Valley but throughout the Southeast and the nation.
