Roosevelt authorized the dam project with National Industrial Recovery act money. (It was later specifically authorized by the Rivers and Harbors act of 1935, and then reauthorized by the Columbia Basin Project act of 1943 which put it under the Reclamation Project act of 1939.)
When it comes to matters of policy, the public tends to look to the federal government to lead the way, but the local governments actually determine educational policy. Early in our nation's history, lawmakers passed the 10th Amendment to the Constitution which is the basis for making education a function of the states. Each school district is administered and financed by the community along with that district's state government. School districts with higher socioeconomic levels tend to give more resources to their schools. Standards and quality of education consequently vary widely from state to state, town to town, and even district to district. However, federal and state government can still play some role in education policy, as this article explains.
First: a successor for Muhammad had to be chosen, because none of his sons survived to adulthood, so a hereditary succession was not in question.
A successor to Muhammad (or generally a religious and political leader) is called caliph. The first caliph was chosen by recommendation from many of Muhammad comrades, most notably by Umar (who was a caliph later), and it was Abu Bakr.
The choice was disputed and some believed it should be Ali should be the rightful successor.
In general, the successor was chosen by recommendation from others and choice among the leading figures.