VISUAL ACTIVITY Rural Electrification and Running Water New Deal programs brought electricity and running water for the first time to many rural families, like those shown here in east-central Tennessee. The Tennessee Valley Authority and Rural Electrification Administration helped families in this and many other villages replace kerosene lamps with electric lights and to have access to clean, safe water. Pump: FDR Library; poster: Lester Beall, Running Water-Rural Electriciation Administration, 1937. Gift of the Artist. Digital Image © The Museum of Modern Art/Licensed by SCALA/Art Resource, NY. © VAGA, NY. READING THE IMAGE: Where can you see evidence of New Deal benefits in this photo? What difference did electricity and running water make in the lives of people like the children depicted here at the pump? CONNECTIONS: Why did New Deal programs devote so much attention to improving the lives of rural Americans?