DISPLACED TO SAVE THE WORLD: STRATEGIES FOR USING HISTORIC PRESERVATION AND EDUCATION TO INTERPRET PRE-1942 COMMUNITIES IN OAK RIDGE, TENNESSEE

Abstract

In U.S. history, the displacement of marginalized groups is unfortunately common. In many instances, displacement occurs when government authorities use eminent domain laws to seize land for large-scale projects such as parks, dams, roads, military installations, or urban development. East Tennessee is a microcosm for such federal displacement, which has led to modernization and progress but at the risk of disregarding the lives and livelihoods of displaced residents, in addition to their traditional cultures and cultural landscapes. The region’s residents encountered many examples of federal project displacement between the 1920s and 1970s, a misfortune that some families experienced more than once. This dissertation will take existing scholarship on the significant impact various federal constructions had on East Tennessee as a point of departure to explore the demographics, stories, and significance of displaced Oak Ridge communities with a particular attention given to how they have been remembered and interpreted by historians and the public.