George W. Norris: U.S. Legislator from Nebraska
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Tennessee Valley Authority


President Franklin D. Roosevelt signing
the Tennessee Valley Authority Act in 1933.
Source — NSHS.
Senator Norris is credited with planning the Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA), which provided flood control and created electricity in the region drained by the Tennessee River.

The TVA provided a series of dams, which brought flood control, water to farmers during drought, and electricity to those who could not otherwise afford it, especially in rural areas.
Click on the image for a larger version.

Letter from Norris to Hugh Johnson of the National Recovery Administration about the "Proposed Code to Govern the Electric Light and Power Industry".
Source — NSHS.		 Sufragist parade
Video The TVA was a forerunner of the Rural Electrification Act (REA), which eventually brought electricity to farms and ranches across the nation.
Source: NETV.
Click here to see a video segment about the REA.
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Senator Norris and other men at a dam site in 1935.
Source — NSHS.


Norris believed that the federal government should control natural resources so the greatest number of U.S. citizens can benefit from those resources. Norris fought to preserve and complete the work of the TVA to put this belief into action.