Annual Statistical Report, Rural Electrification Administration

The Rural Electrification Administration (REA) Annual Statistical Report was produced as a central component of the New Deal's broader mandate to modernize rural America. Established by Executive Order in 1935, the REA was tasked with providing low-cost loans to cooperatives and public entities to bring electricity to farming communities that had been largely ignored by private utility companies. These reports served as a formal accounting of the agency's expansion, documenting the steady construction of power lines and the subsequent electrification of households across the United States.

The reports are characterized by a functional, bureaucratic aesthetic designed for transparency and legislative oversight. They were compiled by the technical and administrative staff of the REA, utilizing data gathered from local cooperatives to provide a granular view of infrastructure growth. Upon their release, these documents were primarily received as essential progress trackers for government auditors and members of Congress, standing today as vital primary sources for historians researching 20th-century economic development and the transformation of rural life.