Observations on the CCC from three Authors:

Invest in Human Capital

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President Franklin D. Roosevelt

"I propose to create a civilian conservation corps
to be used in forestry, the prevention of soil erosion,
flood control and similar projects . . .

More important, however, than the material gains
from their labors will be the moral and spiritual value of such work."

FDR's written message to the Emergency Session of the 73rd Congress on March 21, 1933

RE-INVEST IN HUMAN CAPITAL

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President Obama

"Know that your people will judge you

on what you can build, not what you destroy."

President Barack Obama, Inaugual Address, January 20, 2009.

"I want generations that follow to see that

we used this moment to encourage a

21st century civilian conservation corps for our young people."

President Obama's address at the

160th Anniversary of the Department of the Interior
on March 3, 2009

Eleanor Roosevelt wrote:

“I have moments of real terror, when I think we may be losing this generation.
We have got to bring these young people into the active life of the community...
It has been said in this country we should deal with first things first, and in my estimation,
the question before us is action on the problems of youth.” - 1934

As I look back over the actual measures which were undertaken...I realize that the one in which my husband took the greatest pleasure was the establishment of the Civilian Conservation Corps. - 1945

Historian Howard Zinn wrote:

"The CCC was not only one of the greatest innovations of the New Deal, but it provides a model for us today. It is the answer to the double problem of unemployed youth (who turn to drugs, who end up in prison) and the persistence of war, with its enormous drain on the national wealth. The young, instead of being recruited to kill and be killed, or to come home maimed in body or in mind, could be put to work in government programs like the CCC, doing all sorts of constructive things to make our environment cleaner and safer. Such work would have the opposite effect of military action -- that is, it would foster healthy bodies and healthy minds as these young people make a great contribution to the nation. The situation today, with a trillion dollars wasted on war, with young men and women coming home damaged, with a crumbling infrastructure making us vulnerable to more Katrina's, and more human disasters, cries out for such a solution."

James Albert Michener wrote for re-establishment in his book - This Noble Land:

"I was favorably impressed by the Civilian Conservation Corps which had, so far as I could see, a faultless program in which young people could do constructive work for their communities while earning a modest salary. I would have hopes for such a program, were one to be reinstituted now."

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George C. Marshall

Noble Peace Prize winner - George C. Marshall

The 1930s saw the arrival of another enemy at America’s door: the Great Depression.

Marshall took a pay cut in order to remain in the Army and was posted in 1933 to South Carolina, many soliders were unable to feed their families on army pay. Marshall taught his men to grow their own food, and helped establish Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) projects throughout the South. The CCC was part of President Roosevelt’s New Deal, and its goal was simple: put young men to work. It was overseen by the Army, and Marshall continued the program in Washington State.

While many of his peers didn’t like the CCC, Marshall once again decided that personal glory was less important than the needs of the country. He saw the CCC as a means of creating strong, hardworking citizens.

Marshall loved the CCC and thought it was an essential part of his developing the Army for WWII.

As tensions rose in Europe George Marshall was nearing the end of his military career. He’d only recently become a general and at 58 his dream of heading the entire U.S. Army seemed out of reach especially with 30 other generals ahead of him in line for the job. However, his many talents made him stand out among his peers and President Roosevelt made Marshall Army Chief-of-Staff in September 1939, promoting him from a one-star to a four-star general overnight.

http://www.nobelpeacelaureates.org/pdf/ms_GeorgeCMarshall.pdf

Eisenhower with U.S. paratroopers of the 101st Airborne Division, June 5, 1944.

Dwight D. Eisenhower

34th President of the United States

Eisenhower's "Red Diary" of 1929-34:

"June 18 [1933] The CCC has been the big activity engaging the Army's time this summer.

I've written a preliminary report for inclusion in Annual Report of C. of S."

(C. of S. is Army Chief of Staff Gen. Douglas MacArthur; Ike's boss)

[Dec. 9, 1933] he wrote over half a page about the effectiveness of the CCC

and that it was the only New Deal program performing up to expectations at that time;

largely due to the Army's role in organization and administration.

Reference: Kevin Bailey - Archivist - Eisenhower Presidential Library - 2011.