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Best regards, Andrew Stewart Begin forwarded message: > From: H-Net Staff <[email protected]> > Date: August 16, 2018 at 11:20:37 AM EDT > To: [email protected] > Subject: H-Net Review [H-FedHist]: Jarvis on Alexander, 'The New Deal's > Forest Army: How the Civilian Conservation Corps Worked' > Reply-To: H-Net Staff <[email protected]> > > Benjamin F. Alexander. The New Deal's Forest Army: How the Civilian > Conservation Corps Worked. How Things Worked Series. Baltimore > Johns Hopkins University Press, 2018. Illustrations. 192 pp. $19.95 > (paper), ISBN 978-1-4214-2456-9; $55.00 (cloth), ISBN > 978-1-4214-2455-2. > > Reviewed by Kim Jarvis (Doane University) > Published on H-FedHist (August, 2018) > Commissioned by Caryn E. Neumann > > Benjamin F. Alexander's _The New Deal's Forest Army: How the Civilian > Conservation Corps Worked_ is one of three titles published in 2018 > as part of the Johns Hopkins University Press How Things Worked > series. Alexander's clear overview of the Civilian Conservation > Corps, or the CCC as it became known, is a welcome one in a crowded > field, as is evident from the valuable seven pages of resources in > his "Suggestions for Further Readings" section at the end of the > book. While Neil Maher's book _Nature's New Deal_ (2008) is a more > extensive examination of the environmental elements and legacy of the > CCC, Alexander's short work is useful in that it offers an > introduction to the program overall and insight into its > participants' experiences, with a clear narrative distilled from an > impressive array of sources. > > Alexander's focus is clear as well. In his introduction, he outlines > the questions he will answer: how the CCC worked; who joined and how > they joined; how the camps were organized; how the CCC, the Great > Depression, and the New Deal were connected; and what the CCC's > larger legacy is. He addresses these questions directly, guiding > readers through the details of the program throughout his study. > > Lasting from its creation as the Emergency Conservation Work program > in 1933 until Congress cut funding in 1942, the CCC reflected > President Franklin D. Roosevelt's commitment to conservation, with > its focus on forests and parks. The organization of the camps, > Alexander notes, was taken over by the US Army, with officers and > reservists serving as leaders. Although there was a concern that the > CCC was an attempt to "militarize" American youth through the > creation of a "forest army," General Douglas MacArthur assured > Congress during his testimony in 1933 that this was not the case (pp. > 17, 18). Alexander notes later in his discussion of the legacy of the > CCC that the camps and their programming led to improved health and > skills of the young men involved, which helped the war effort after > 1941. > > In chapter 2, Alexander details who the CCC "enrollees" (known as > juniors and veterans) were: young single men and some World War I > veterans. A portion of their pay was sent home to their families as > part of the New Deal relief effort. Overall, while white men > benefited most from the CCC, African Americans, Hispanics, and Native > Americans were included in the program, with African Americans often > serving in segregated camps; Hispanics, while not segregated, often > experienced discrimination. First known as the Indian Emergency > Conservation Work program, the Indian CCC, administered by the Bureau > of Indian Affairs rather than the US Army, focused much of its work > on reservations in the western United States, although it also had > projects in the eastern regions of the country. > > In addition to offering an overview of the wide range of projects > completed by the CCC, in chapter 3 Alexander includes a discussion of > educational programming in the camps. Although technically voluntary, > a range of classes were offered on citizenship and literacy, in > vocational training, and in academic subjects, in which many > enrollees, including African Americans and Native Americans, took > part. The CCC's efforts in this area, Alexander notes, were intended > to improve the lives of enrollees, whether in terms of providing job > training, more advanced academic studies, or even high school > diplomas, opportunities that enrollees might not have had at home. > > Discipline was an important element of the daily life in CCC camps. > Although discipline was not military in nature, between 1933 and 1937 > enrollees spent their first two weeks in the camps going through > daily physical conditioning that prepared them for the strenuous work > that lay ahead, with schedules for daily activities providing > structure to keep the camps running smoothly and to help enrollees > adapt to their new surroundings. Often there were racial tensions in > the camps, as well as tensions between CCC enrollees from different > parts of the country who lived in camps together, so structure and > discipline helped camp leaders manage these issues. But there was > also a sense of camaraderie. In chapter 4, Alexander discusses the > sense of community, using the CCC newsletter _Happy Days_. He also > discusses what the enrollees did during their time off, such as > playing practical jokes on each other. Enrollees participated in a > range of sports, including boxing and baseball, wrote for camp > newspapers, and performed in variety shows, concerts, and plays, some > of which were open to members of local communities, who, in turn, > sometimes sponsored dance halls for enrollees. > > The stories of the former CCC members Alexander met when he attended > a CCC legacy convention in 2015, which he notes helped to inspire > this study, are an interesting contribution to this book. These > stories enliven the study and offer insight into how this New Deal > program influenced both the individuals who joined the CCC and the > communities in which these enrollees worked. Including some > additional stories from these men would have added even more depth to > the personal focus of the work, although this might not have been > possible in a short study such as this. > > Alexander's discussion of the legacy of the CCC, focusing on its > economic and social benefits as well as its encouragement of > grassroots environmental efforts, demonstrates how this study fits > into the larger historiography of the Great Depression and the New > Deal. > > Citation: Kim Jarvis. Review of Alexander, Benjamin F., _The New > Deal's Forest Army: How the Civilian Conservation Corps Worked_. > H-FedHist, H-Net Reviews. August, 2018. > URL: https://www.h-net.org/reviews/showrev.php?id=51773 > > This work is licensed under a Creative Commons > Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 United States > License. > > -- _________________________________________________________ Full posting guidelines at: http://www.marxmail.org/sub.htm Set your options at: http://lists.csbs.utah.edu/options/marxism/archive%40mail-archive.com
