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."
President Obama
RE-INVEST IN HUMAN CAPITAL
"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
In many of the CCC tents and
barracks one would see this poster...
Perhaps
you'll be sent to
a camp high in the mountains,
or down on the seashore,
out on the shady forest,
or on the sun-baked plains,
or
back in the shady forests.
You may be near a town or
you may be far away from even
a village.
Work hard now.
And never forget that
cooperation
is essential.
For many of them, this was their
first time away from home.
Those that enrolled learned fast that they had to be willing to go
to any camp and get along with people.
|
President Franklin D. Roosevelt |
A nation that destroys its soils destroys
itself.
Forests
are the lungs of our land,
purifying
the air and giving fresh strength to our people.
---
"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
------
In broad terms, I assert that modern society, acting through
its government,
owes the definite obligation to prevent
the starvation or dire want of any of
its fellow men
and women who try to maintain themselves, but cannot.
Democracy cannot succeed unless those who express their choice are prepared to choose wisely.
The real safeguard of
democracy, therefore, is education.
I do not look upon these United States as a finished product. We are still in the making.
----
If civilization is to survive,
we must cultivate the science of human relationships - the ability of all peoples,
of all kinds, to live together, in the same
world at peace.
----
If you
treat people right they will treat you right... ninety percent of the time.
----
Happiness lies in the joy of achievement and the
thrill of creative effort.
But while they prate of economic laws,
men and
women are starving.
We must lay hold of the fact that economic laws are not made by nature.
They are made by human beings. Franklin D. Roosevelt
--------------------------------------------
Those who contemplate
the beauty of the earth
will find reserves
of strength that will endure as long as life lasts.
Rachel Carson (1907-1964)
.
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."
“Whatever your life's work is, do it well.
A man should do his job so
well that the living,
the dead, and the unborn could do it no better.”
- Dr Martin Luther King Jr
The Civilian Conservation Corps: A Nation's
Rescue Mission
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. Planting trees and maintaining parks were among the jobs distributed
at workcamps throughout the nation where young men lived and worked, sending money home to their families. The CCC was part of President Roosevelt’s New
Deal, for economic recovery and its goal was simple: put young men to work that also benefited the nation.
Congress had directed the Army to oversee the CCC operation. Marshall set up 19 camps
in the south and supervised 35 in the Pacific Northwest. Many Army officers disliked working with this civilian program
because it failed to benefit their military careers. Marshall wanted promotions as well, however he thought beyond himself
to the needs of his country and believed the program helped young men become good workers and citizens. Yes, the men were
planting trees, but they were also rooting themselves in the values Americans held dear: hard work, teamwork, and service
to country. They would keep American democracy strong and healthy, which Marshall saw as much more important than his own
personal career.
Marshall loved the CCC... Marshall once again decided that personal glory was less important than
the need of the county.
http://www.marshallfoundation.org/about/timeline/between.html
-
|
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.
"The best time to plant a tree
was 20 years ago.
The
next best time is today!"
~ Loren Westenberger (1959-2011)