When Congress authorized the construction of the Blue Ridge Parkway in the 1930s, it was decided that no part of the parkway would pass through Tennessee (the goal of the parkway was to connect the Great Smoky Mountains National Park with Shenandoah National Park). Disappointed, Frank Maloney, who was vice-president of the Great Smoky Mountains Conservation Association, began lobbying for a parkway to connect the recreational areas on the Tennessee side of the Great Smokies.