Missouri Valley Authority

The Missouri Valley Authority was a proposed public authority for the Missouri Valley, described in the narrative as a counterpart to the Tennessee Valley Authority. Its defeat became a point of political conflict in Montana: in 1944, Senator Burton K. Wheeler joined opponents of the proposal, including Montana Power Company and Anaconda Copper Company, against liberals seeking to advance it.

The Political Campaign

Wheeler argued that Communists were behind the Missouri Valley Authority. In taking that position, he sided with the two companies against liberals and helped defeat the proposal. The account presents the Authority chiefly through this contested campaign, rather than detailing its intended administration or specific projects.

Defeat and Aftermath

The defeat carried a political cost for Wheeler. He subsequently lost the last of his support among Montana Democrats and was defeated in the 1946 Senate primary by the young Montana liberal Leif Erickson. The episode links opposition to the Missouri Valley Authority with the erosion of Wheeler’s standing in the state.