March 31, 1933: CCC

Congress established the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) on March 31, 1933. the CCC offered conservation-related jobs to unemployed Americans during the Great Depression. One of the dozens of New Deal programs created by President Franklin D. Roosevelt to fight the Depression, the CCC put thousands of unemployed young men to work on useful public projects, including my maternal grandfather. By the time the CCC ended in 1942, more than 2 million men had served, making it one of the most successful government training and employment projects in history.

To learn more about the CCC, visit the Civilian Conservation Corps Legacy website. Some of you may know that Hunting Island State Park was started with CCC labor.

For those of you who may have had family members in the CCC, the hints and research tips given on the History Center page may prove helpful.

Thanks to the History Club newsletter for alerting me to this information on the CCC.