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Flood of '27 Was Watershed By SAM HAND

For a discrete event particular to Vermont I suggest the Great Flood of 1927. Reconstruction initiatives so modified state operations that Vermont was never again the same. Rather than simply repair its devastated transportation system, the state constructed a network of hard surfaced roads that thrust Vermont into the motor age.

Equally important were the mechanisms that brought this about. With individual towns lacking sufficient financial and technical resources, state government assumed greater responsibility for construction and maintenance. For financing, the state turned to the federal government, receiving over $2 million along with plans for implementing reconstruction. Additional resources were obtained by a bond issue that set a precedent for Vermont abandoning its pay-as-you-go policy to fund infrastructure projects.

The resulting state debt was a stimulant for the introduction of an income and other taxes that are current revenue sources. Political fallout included Governor Weeks' election to a second term and becoming the first Vermont governor to serve more than two years since 1941.

George David Aiken, state legislator, governor, and U.S. senator, was a prominent voice in public affairs from 1930 through 1974. Exercising more influence than power, he contributed regularly to matters of state, national and international consequence. One need not concur with his position on issues to appreciate his importance in frequently determining outcomes.

A partisan Republican he nonetheless did not oppose Democratic "measure(s) calculated to relieve human distress." Reluctantly consenting to expanding executive power, he feared too powerful an executive and questioned whether the federal government could find solutions to every problem. As the "Wise Old Owl of the U.S. Senate," he urged legislation be enacted with an eye towards how it might be used by political opponents who would be in office at some future date. Finally, he served as the quintessential Vermonter against whom other Vermonters measured themselves.

Sam Hand is University of Vermont professor of history emeritus. He is a former president of the Vermont Historical Society.