Jonathan Aguirre
Mr. Shearer
Period 2- English 12
10 February 2018
The Hoover Dam
In 1931 the United States had built the Hoover Dam. The dam was built during the great depression and is located between the states Nevada and Arizona. Why was the Hoover Dam built? The Hoover Dam controls the Colorado River for power and flood control. The Hoover Dam was built with 3,250,000 yards of concrete to make sure it last as long as possible. Henry J. Kaiser and Gordon Kaufman were the architects of building the dam. They built the Hoover Dam with over 21,000 men at work. There was 100 casualties when the dam was being built and only 96 of them were identified. The Hoover Dam was named after the 31st president of the United States Herbert Hoover.…show more content… People had died while building the dam from the project doing dangerous duties needed to finish the dam. “Facing strict time deadlines, workers toiled in 140-degree tunnels choked with carbon monoxide and dust, conditions that prompted a six-day strike in August 1931” (History.com Staff) Keeping the concrete from drying to fast was another problem they had to solve. They had done each piece one by one to so having to stop the concrete from drying was important so the dam would be as strong as possible to keep the water back. “Offsetting the heat generated by cooling concrete, nearly 600 miles of pipe loops were embedded to circulate water through the poured blocks, with workers continually spraying the concrete to keep it moist.” (History.com Staff) Having to deal with these problems and find a way to build the dam with the budget they had Six Company got paid well for building what was known as the largest dam. “A consortium called Six Companies Inc., which included Bechtel, won the right to build the concrete arch dam, at a cost of nearly $49 million.” (Bechtel…show more content… The dam was named after the 31st president Herbert Hoover by Franklin Roosevelt. They had named the dam after the president to honor him. “Any law, regulation, document or record of the United States in which such dam is designated or referred to under the name of Boulder Dam shall be held to refer to such dam under and by the name of Hoover Dam.” (Bureau of Reclamation, Lower Colorado Region Web Team, Hoover Dam Web Designer) The Hoover Dam was also impressive because it had been built during one of the worst times in America. The Great Depression was occurring when the project had started and had provided many jobs for people in need. “As the Great Depression unfolded, hopeful laborers descended on Las Vegas and set up camp in the surrounding desert for the chance to work on the project. Those who were hired eventually moved to Boulder City, a community specifically built six miles from the work site to house its employees.” (History.com