Big concrete dam constructions for electric power generation began in the 1920s, expanded with the employment programs of the 1930s, and continued with bureaucratic momentum into the 1960s. The Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) was created for big concrete dam proliferation in the 1930s, and the Tennessee Valley Watershed was heavily dammed. But strong reactions against the necessary eminent domain actions required to build these big dams also developed, especially with the Cherokee Nation. When in the 1970s, the promised benefits of big dams significantly faltered with the Tellico Dam’s construction and debacle, then the political reaction became strong.