The Civilian Conservation Corps
Franklin D. Roosevelt and The New Deal
Franklin D. Roosevelt and The New Deal
When Franklin Delano Roosevelt won the presidential election and took office in 1933, he promised to get the United States out of the greatest depression in the nation's history. He instituted a set of programs and policies to try and stabilize the economy and provide jobs and relief to Americans. These programs and policies were collectively known as The New Deal. The New Deal permanently changed the federal government's relationship with the U.S. populace.
The Civilian Conservation Corps
The Civilian Conservation Corps was a part of the New Deal and Franklin D. Roosevelt's plan to end the Great Depression by stabilizing the economy and bringing relief to the suffering Americans. The Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) was a public work relief program that provided jobs in natural resource conservation and operated from 1933 to 1942. FDR brought together unemployment and the environment in effort to save them both. By putting unemployed men to work to restore the environment, it created jobs and helped decrease the severity of the Dust Bowl, bringing relief to the suffering Americans during the Great Depression. Within two years, the CCC had already recruited 500,000 unemployed men and gave them jobs. The CCC focused on reforestation and soil conservation. The men dug canals and ditches, built over 30,000 wildlife shelters, put nearly a billion fish in rivers and lakes, restored historic battlefields, and cleared beaches and campgrounds. The men he men also planted over three million trees on land made barren from fires, natural erosion, or lumbering the nine years of operation. These actions took to restore the environment payed men $30 a month, enabling the men to survive and support their families during the Great Depression. It also decreased the severity of the Dust Bowl, which increased the agricultural industry, availability of food, and made the environment safer for society. The Civilian Conservation Corps dissolved in 1942 because the economy began rising and many of the men in the CCC began finding higher-pay jobs elsewhere. The number of CCC camps across the nation decreased. During World War II, the CCC's funding and assets were diverted towards the war after the bombing of Pearl Harbor and U.S. involvement in the war. President Franklin D. Roosevelt's attempt at turning the CCC into a permanent program failed, but the Civilian Conservation Corps (debatably) helped Americans get out of the Great Depression.
Other Programs That Exist Today
The West Virginia Civilian Conservation Corps is a non-profit organization that is open to youths between the ages of 16 and 24. The organization focuses on developing and maintaining recreation areas, conservation, and historic preservation.