Following his inauguration, Taylor focused on what he termed the "Big Four" issues: tax reform, rural school reform, highways, and the economy. Although most of his agenda was blocked by the state legislature (which was controlled by Democrats), he created the position of tax commissioner, obtained funding for a state historical commission, and resolved several labor disputes. He also helped convince the federal government to convert a nitrate plant built for World War I at Wilson Dam in Muscle Shoals, Alabama, into an electrical power plant for the benefit of the inhabitants of the Tennessee Valley.