Civilian Conservation Corps & the New Deal
The Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) was a popular New Deal program that employed around 3 million young unmarried men during the Great Depression who carried out forest management and natural conservation work. These books and articles explore the CCC and the New Deal.
Civilian Conservation Corps |
The New Deal
Civilian Conservation Corps
The African-American Experience in the Civilian Conservation Corps
By Olen Cole, Jr.
Between 1933 and 1942, nearly 200,000 young African-Americans participated in the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC), one of Franklin D. Roosevelt's most successful New Deal agencies. In an effort to correct the lack of historical attention paid to the African-American contribution to the CCC, Olen Cole, Jr., examines their participation in the Corps as well as its impact on them.
In the Shadow of the Mountain: The Spirit of the CCC
By Edwin G. Hill
Edwin G. Hill – a typical recruit who spent "the most enjoyable and rewarding years" of his life in the Civilian Conservation Corps – was enrolled for a year at Camp Hard Labor Creek in Georgia and for two years in Washington in the great shadow of Mt. Adams and Mt. St. Helens. This book provides a personal narrative of his experience.
The Civilian Conservation Corps, 1933-1942: A New Deal Case Study
By John A. Salmond
Published in 1967, this book tells the story of the Civilian Conservation Corps with a focus on the central organization. It includes how it was developed and functioned. Salmond also talks about where the Corps succeeded and failed.
“The Forest Service and the Civilian Conservation Corps: 1933-42”
By Alison T. Otis, William D. Honey, Thomas C. Hogg, and Kimberly K. Lakin
United States Forest Service FS-395, August 1986
This government document focuses on the activities of the CCC in national forests. The authors discuss the CCC’s contributions, land use improvements, reforestation work, and more while also covering the CCC camps and the impact on local communities.
“The Civilian Conservation Corps and the National Park Service, 1933-1942: An Administrative History”
By John C. Paige
National Park Service, 1985
This document details the role played by the National Park Service in the CCC and includes information about the camps, as well as providing an overview of the CCC.
“What CCC Taught Me”
By James W. Danner, The Rotarian, July 1941, p.48-50
In this essay published in 1941, Danner writes about his experience in the CCC and the impact it has had on his life so far.
“African-American Youth in the Program of the Civilian Conservation Corps in Califomia, 1933-42: An Ambivalent Legacy” (pdf)
By Olen Cole, Jr., Forest & Conservation History, July 1991, p.121-127
This article focuses on the contributions made by young African-American men in California’s CCC.
The New Deal
Franklin D. Roosevelt and the New Deal, 1932-1940
By William Edward Leuchtenburg
When the stability of American life was threatened by the Great Depression, the decisive and visionary policy contained in FDR's New Deal offered America a way forward. In this groundbreaking work originally published in 1963, William E. Leuchtenburg traces the evolution of what was both the most controversial and effective socioeconomic initiative ever undertaken in the United States – and explains how the social fabric of American life was forever altered.
The Depression and New Deal: A History in Documents
By Robert S. McElvaine
The Depression and New Deal is a collection of primary sources documenting American life during the longest and deepest economic collapse in American history. From the prosperity and rampant consumerism of the 1920s, the book moves forward to cover the double shock of the stock market crash and Dust Bowl and then on to the recovery efforts of Roosevelt's New Deal.
The Making of the New Deal: The Insiders Speak
Edited by Katie Louchheim
This collection contains reminiscences and interviews from those who were involved in the making of the New Deal, including Alger Hiss, Robert C. Weaver, Paul A. Freund, and others.
Kansas in the Great Depression: Work Relief, the Dole, and Rehabilitation
By Peter Fearon
No part of the United States escaped the ravages of the Great Depression, but some coped with it better than others. This book examines New Deal relief programs in Kansas throughout the Depression, focusing on the relationship between the state and the federal government to show how their successful operation depended on the effectiveness of that partnership.
The Defining Moment: FDR's Hundred Days and the Triumph of Hope
By Jonathan Alter
In this dramatic and authoritative account, the author shows how Franklin Delano Roosevelt used his famous "fear itself" speech and the first 100 days in office to lift the country from despair and paralysis and transform the American presidency.
The Forgotten Man: A New History of the Great Depression
By Amity Shlaes
This striking reinterpretation of the Great Depression looks at the neglected and moving stories of individual Americans, and shows how they had helped to establish the steadfast character that has developed a nation.
Some book descriptions provided by BookLetters.
