Mr. Roosevelt Comes to Champaign County:
An Examination of the New Deal

Marshall Schacht (St. Joseph-Ogden High School)
Fellowship Summer 2009
Champaign County Historical Archives

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Lesson 4.5: Rural Electrification Administration (REA)

“Lehmann Tells Plan for Farm Electrification” Urbana Daily Courier: Sept. 18, 1935 (pg. 3)

· In what ways do farmers benefit from “electricification”?

· What are the four problems Prof. Lehmann names that stand as obstacles in the process?

· How would “electricification” change life in rural Champaign County?

“Electric Lines Serve 12,000 Farm Families” Urbana Daily Courier: Aug. 19, 1938 (Part I, Part II)

· What does this article state is the reason for the establishment of the REA?

· Has the program been successful? What evidence does the article give?

· How does Champaign County rank in comparison with others regarding allotments?

“Rural Power Network Grows” (Cooperative Map): Urbana Daily Courier: Dec. 20, 1938

· To what Rural Power Cooperative did Champaign County belong according to the map?

· What three counties also made up part of the same cooperative?

· How many miles of rural power lines did out cooperative include as of Dec. 20, 1938?

· What five cooperatives had more power lines than ours?

· How does Central Illinois compare to Southern Illinois in terms of amount of lines erected?

· What does this fact imply about life in each region of the state?

· Why do you think that the northern part of the state does not have cooperatives?

· According to the caption, would you conclude that as of Dec. 20, 1938 that the “rural electricification process” was nearly finished? On what basis did you make your conclusion?