The CCC, or Civilian Conservation Corps, was an organization created during the great depression largely due to the efforts of Franklin D. Roosevelt's New Deal. The purpose of the CCC was twofold, it would protect the land and trees of America, but more importantly, it would give the vast waves of unemployed men a job. In April of 1933, the CCC was created by FDR through the Emergency Conservation work act, who promised that he would have 250,000 workers by September. However, the proposed plan ran into logistical challenges immediately. Most of the unemployed men were on the east coast, while the conservation projects were on the west coast. The army was used to transport these men to the west and had army officers oversee the operations.
The program enjoyed great success as a whole, with much of the nation supporting it. In California, 95% of the inhabitants approved of the program. Each month, every worker would be paid $30. 25 of these dollars would go to their family back at home. This money was able to revitalize the struggling economy, as well as keep many small businesses afloat. By 1935, the CCC was a developed nationwide force. There were over 2,650 camps, spread through 48 of the states. Additionally, over 600,000 people were employed by the CCC. This was a win-win for all of America, as the people and the land could thrive.
During this time, many of the workers were educated as well. A formal program was created in 1934, which taught more than 40,000 previously illiterate workers to read and write. These lessons were all optional and gave the men a wide variety of options to better themselves. A second change to the program allowed Native Americans to work in the CCC as well. Previously, the American Indians were struggling through the harsh economic downturn, and the CCC helped them gain economic freedom as well as claim previously owned land.
The CCC offered a great opportunity for veterans to regain their livelihood. After these veterans had marched on Washington in protest, President Roosevelt issued Executive order 6129. This order called for the employment of around 25,000 veterans to serve in the CCC. Over the course of the CCC, nearly 250,000 veterans were given a chance to start again.
However, the success of the CCC could not last forever. Due to political power struggles between Harry Hopkins, an adviser to the president, and Robert Fechner, the current director of the CCC, recruitment slowed down. Also, because 1936 was an election year, Roosevelt had to cut government spending on the camps. All told, the CCC was a great success in preserving and protecting America. Through the course of its existence, the CCC create 97,000 miles of fire roads, planted more than 3 billion trees, and stopped erosion on over 20 million acres.
http://www.ccclegacy.org/
http://www.history.com/topics/civilian-conservation-corps
Good blog post and I think the title is funny and it made me think that there was another really racist group in the 1920's but it turned out to be better. I think this program was really valuable and a life saver for some of these families and it was good to hear that at least some organization was helping out the veterans.
ReplyDeleteAlan, I really liked how you discussed the entire legacy of the CCC, and also its benefits towards American citizens at the time. In addition to the CCC, the Works Progress Administration (WPA) also played a similar and key role in helping out unemployed workers. The WPA created jobs such as building "highways, schools, hospitals, airports and playgrounds," and it also put "3 million jobless men" back into work. Through many of the organizations that were put forth by Roosevelt in the New Deal, America was able to gradually escape from the Great Depression.
ReplyDeletehttp://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/fdr-creates-the-wpa