In 1917, congress for the first time appropriated money to build levees and other infrastructure for purposes of flood protection. Some $45 million was allocated for flood control work on the Ohio and Mississippi rivers. With the help of local government and private organizations, the Army Corp of Engineers built a system of levees along the Mississippi river that in 1926 were declared to be "now in condition to prevent the destructive effects of floods" (Klein 67)
Then in spring of 1927, a series of storms, more powerful than had been seen before, rolled through the lower Mississippi basin. It was believed that the levees would hold, but on April 16, 1927 the first of seventeen breaks in the levees occurred about 30 miles south of Cairo, Illinois. The Great Mississippi Flood of 1927 was the most destructive river flood ever in the United States. Over 27,000 square miles were inundated with 30 feet of water. An estimated 637,000 people were displaced, most of who lived in Arkansas, Mississippi, and Louisiana. About 69% of those displaced were African Americans. People were stranded for days without food or clean water.
The relief efforts required were massive. Local municipalities and the Red Cross could not do it alone. Calvin Coolidge, who opposed "big government" reluctantly got involved and put Herbert Hoover, his commerce secretary in place to head up the rescue and relief effort. Herbert Hoover, a workaholic threw himself into the task, but funds were insufficient. The public and press demanded that Coolidge get more involved, they demanded more public money, but still Coolidge resisted. He feared that these demands would lead to even greater federal roles when dealing with calamities. Eventually, Coolidge endorsed federal flood-control measures, but his plan called for spending hundreds of millions of dollars less than the Senate and House bills called for. Calvin Coolidge recognized the emergency, and felt it was proper for the government to provide both humanitarian relief and rebuild infrastructure. But the role of government should never be to reimburse citizens for loss and damages. In his 1927 annual message, warned congress that the federal government should never become the "insurer of its citizens against the hazard of the elements".
"It is necessary to look upon this emergency as a national disaster. It has been so treated from its inception. Our whole people have provided with great generosity for its relief. Most of the departments of the Federal Government have been engaged in the same effort. The governments of the afflicted areas, both State and municipal, can not be given too high praise for the courageous and helpful way in which they have come to the rescue of the people. If the sources directly chargeable can not meet the demand, the National Government should not fail to provide generous relief. This, however, does not mean restoration. The Government is not an insurer of its citizens against the hazard of the elements. We shall always have flood and drought, heat and cold, earthquake and wind, lightning and tidal wave, which are all too constant in their afflictions. The Government does not undertake to reimburse its citizens for loss and damage incurred under such circumstances. It is chargeable, however, with the rebuilding of public works and the humanitarian duty of relieving its citizens from distress."In the end, Coolidge lost the battle with congress. In 1928, he signed the Federal Control Act of 1928. Following the great flood, this act, charged the US Army Corps of Engineers with the taming of the Mississippi river. The Corp of Engineers built the worlds longest system of levees. Thus, it was Calvin Coolidge, who signed the bill which ushered in the next era of big government. And soon under the auspices of Franklin D. Roosevelt and the new Deal, the country would more and more come to rely on a more vigorous federal government to aid in times of disaster. In 1929, Herbert Hoover the great organizer of relief efforts would become the 31st president of the United States.
References
Presidency.ucsb.edu. (2018). Calvin Coolidge: Fifth Annual Message. [online] Available at: http://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/ws/index.php?pid=29568 [Accessed 14 Mar. 2018].En.wikipedia.org. (2018). Flood Control Act of 1928. [online] Available at: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flood_Control_Act_of_1928 [Accessed 14 Mar. 2018].
En.wikipedia.org. (2018). Great Mississippi Flood of 1927. [online] Available at: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Great_Mississippi_Flood_of_1927 [Accessed 14 Mar. 2018].
Klein, C. and Zellmer, S. (n.d.). Mississippi River tragedies.
Slate Magazine. (2018). Slate Magazine - Politics, Business, Technology, and the Arts. [online] Available at: http://www.slate.com/articles/news_and_politics/history_lesson/2006/09/help_call_the_white_house.2.html [Accessed 14 Mar. 2018].
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