yon mch 12th,928, 12 urs hter a safetynspectio by its engineer william mulholland, california's st. francis dam broke free from its foundation, sending a wall of l.a.'s water supply plowing downstream. mulholland was cleared of any wrongdoing, but felt personally responsible for dam's failure. "i envy the dead," said mulholland at a court hearing. "don't blame anyone else. if there was an error in human judgment, i was the human." during the great depression, reclamation began the two most ambitious engineering efforts in u.s. history. the hoover dam on the border of arizona and nevada, and the grand coulee dam in eastern washington. both projects created thousands of coveted jobs, and were proudly embraced by the public as national treasures. the te coul's gerators wt online e u.s. hropower' syst was feeng tannsatiabldemand for elecicitynline to bui airplan, ships and bomb. ifhe era odams d a gold age, it was t followi 20 year tharmy cor of engiers, e bureauf reclamion, d the teessee valley ahority re the govnment's dream am. d the teessee if iflowed, itas damme anriver le unharnee