Rural+Electrification+Act

Rural Electrification Act of 1936
 * **During the time of the Rural Electrification Act (REA), electricity was __scarce__.**
 * This lack of power prevented farmers from modernizing their facilities.
 * It also forced some people to live in unhealthful conditions.
 * Many rural Americans, for example, lived in homes without heat and poor sanitation.
 * Most farmers had no running water and little means to store their food.
 * The REA was part of a relief package designed to stimulate economy that was still being affected by the Great Depression

 __On May 20, 1936, Congress passed the Rural Electrification Act.__
 * The act permitted the president to appoint an administrator for the REA who was authorized and empowered to make loans in the several states and territories of the US to run rural electrification in areas that did not have electricity before.
 * This Act **provided jobs** for electricians as they traveled the nation to provide electricity for homes nationwide.
 * FDR hoped that access to electricity would stimulate economic growth in rural areas by creating businesses to enter these areas.
 * The REA is no longer in its original form, but is a part of the Rural Utilties Services, which added the concern of providing rural areas with telephone service as well.

-Stephanie Hulsizer, Danielle Fowler