How FDR Created Jobs and Saved America’s Natural Treasures through the Civilian Conservation Corps

How FDR Created Jobs and Saved America’s Natural Treasures through the Civilian Conservation Corps

Larry Holzwarth - March 19, 2019

How FDR Created Jobs and Saved America’s Natural Treasures through the Civilian Conservation Corps
The CCC provided relief to needy families by requiring its workers to send most of their pay home via allotments. National Archives

3. The CCC provided immediate relief to families dependent on local charities

CCC enrollees were not guaranteed entry into the program when they applied, a number of conditions needed to be met for acceptance. One of them was physical conditioning. The work to be completed was almost universally outdoors, in all weather conditions, and a physical fitness test had to be passed before the prospective enrollee was accepted. In cases where the enrollee met all other requirements, a physical training program was instituted to help the otherwise qualified enrollee pass the physical examination. A major factor under consideration was the need to help families which were dependent on local relief for their survival. That was the reason for the bulk of a member’s stipend being sent home.

To earn the stipend, the CCC worked a 40 hour work week, Monday through Friday – though on some projects Saturday work was required. Workers with no certified skills received both on-the-job and classroom training in the use of equipment and the need for the project upon which they worked. Some men operated heavy construction equipment, others learned the use of hand tools, and still others acquired skills in the maintenance of machinery and buildings. There were also opportunities in the areas of administration, accounting and bookkeeping, general clerical work, and in the management of kitchens and cooking. Essentially the CCC was a new American Army, armed with tools instead of rifles, formed to create rather than destroy.

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