For the Greater Good: Norris Dam at 80

July 28, 2016: This WBIR documentary special coincided with the 80th anniversary of Norris Dam, TVA's first dam and one of the first experiments of President Franklin D. Roosevelt's "New Deal." We examine the history and future of the dam that drastically changed the physical and social landscape of East Tennessee. Thousands of photographs, rare recordings, and interviews tell the story of a project that brought hope to an area at the expense of 14,000 people forced to abandon their ancestral homes, dig up their loved ones' graves, and drown their communities in a new lake for the greater good of society. http://bit.ly/2YZVtBM More stories, here: https://www.wbir.com/ Subscribe to WBIR for exclusive content:    / wbir10   WBIR Channel 10 in Knoxville, Tennessee produces award-winning, community-centered content "Straight From The Heart" of East Tennessee. We strive to be good citizens, to do what is right, and to be fair and honest. We care. Follow WBIR on Social: Facebook:   / wbirchannel10   Twitter:   / wbir   Instagram:   / wbirchannel10   Below is a list of the content of the special broken into four main blocks. Click the listed time to go directly to a segment. 00:00 James Agee montage, 1935 Fortune Magazine 01:21 Introduction: Norris Dam and rural electricity 03:03 George Norris vs. Henry Ford 04:50 Mountaineer life before the dam idea 08:37 TVA is born and first leaders appointed 11:58 Creating public support through media and meetings 14:46 Dam designs begin and workers hired 18:23 Tease: Rare look inside the dam 18:36 Vignette: prior dam proposals 18:55 Constructing a dam and new society 24:21 Meeting and relocating mountaineers 27:35 Moving mills 28:02 Digging up graves 31:29 Tease: newly discovered film and mountaineers 31:50 Finishing the dam, lights come on 34:48 Final holdouts and farewells 38:47 Vignette: Native American archaeology 39:03 Norris today, original vision versus reality 42:11 Vignette: Hooked on electric power 42:46 Mountaineer descendants' major generation gap 46:03 Conclusion: concrete and humanity 47:08 Final credits