Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) Quiz

Answer: 1933

President Franklin Roosevelt had established a similar program while governor of New York. On April 5, 1933 it was passed by voice vote by Congress. Robert Fechner of the machinist union was appointed as the first director. It seemed that its complicated structure might be a deterrent to its success since it required cooperation among four cabinet divisions--War, Labor, Agriculture, and Interior--but the CCC Advisory Council had overall supervision.

The only opposition to the CCC came from unions that feared that the program would replace needed job training programs. They were assured that the CCC would only require basic manual labor skills.

Answer: Reserve military officers and veterans

The military structure was effective. There was low tolerance for loafers, for alcohol, and for disruptive behavior. Enlistees were set home without prejudice. However, most men benefited from the experience, perhaps feeling useful and confident for the first time in their lives. The pride fostered by the experience was evident as they entered the civilian job market.

Answer: Sixth grade reading skills

Typically, the adult male was unemployed and a member of a family in a relief program. By leaving his family to join the corps, there was one less mouth to feed. The enlistee was provided with housing (a tent, rustic cabin or barracks), food, clothing, and basic medical care and were required to work forty hours a week. The enlistment was for six months with an allowance to service up to three more enlistments.

Each CCC enlistee earned 30 dollars a month. They were required to send 25 of it home to their families. The stipend was equivalent to about 550 dollars in today's economy so the enlistee had about 90 dollars (in modern terms), but since many basic needs were met, enlistees were encouraged into saving programs. They also had pride in helping to support their families.

Answer: False

On the contrary, separate camps were set up for white, black, and a special program for native Americans. In the temper of the times, the camps reflected a segregated society as the southern states had ritualized segregation at that time, and the North had unofficial racist barriers. Military units, for instance, were not integrated until after World War Two. Separate camps at that time gave the CCC it was felt a better chance of success.

Answer: 11%

There were no college graduates among CCC enlistees. In fact nearly half were high school dropouts who left school up on reaching sixteen or had completed elementary school requirements. 38% did not complete elementary school and 3% were found to be functionally illiterate.

When the CCC recognized the educational disparity, the prescribed work week of forty hours was modified to thirty hours of labor and ten hours of education, much of it basic, refreshment and remedial. Many earned a high school diploma while in CCC service.

Answer: Hired to provide specialized support services

Veterans were able to be hired by the CCC to provide a spectrum of support services. Veterans who were certified had no age requirement, could be single or married. Prominent were the camp cooks in need of work. Other than camp cooks were other roles such as company clerk or teachers.

These men received additional pay ranging from $36 to $45 per month and were not required a mandated stipend to family.

Answer: Reduced monthly pay

Native Americans in the CCC were not segregated into camps. Instead they were assigned work in or near reservations. They lived in homes for which they received a housing allowance in addition to thirty dollars a month. On the Sioux reservations in South Dakota it was estimated that about half of the male heads of household were associated with the CCC. The CCC worked closely with the Works Project Administration (WPA).

Although the CCC was not allowed to provide skill training, programs for carpenters, truck drivers, radio operators, mechanics, surveyors, and technicians were developed on the reservations. Erosion and infrastructure were priorities as well as the construction of schools and public building.

Answer: It never became a permanent agency

As when Roosevelt first proposed it and it passed by voice vote, the CCC never became a formal federal program. Instead it continued on annual resolutions with modest modifications through the beginning of World War Two. At that point the CCC would have been drawing from the same pool as the military draft. In its last few years it began to take on a more military purpose.

Answer: Garrison Keillor

Garrison Keillor was not born until August 7, 1942, about the time that the CCC was being abolished. Mitchum, Burr, and Matthau were all enrollees in the CCC. Other familiar names are Chuck Yeager, test pilot; Archie Moore, boxer; Aldo Leopold, environmentalist.

Answer: Built sidewalks

There was a time when nearly every city and town had segments of sidewalk with WPA (Works Projects Administration)carved into it but not CCC. Time, traffic, and progress has taken its toll over eighty some years. Seeing a WPA sidewalk today is rare.

The nearly three billion trees planted staggers the imagination. The CCC benefitted not only the volunteers but their families. The public became more aware of the importance of preserving renewable resources. It was far and away the most popular program of Roosevelt's "New Deal". In a survey it was found that 82% favored the CCC including 87% of Democrats and 67% of Republicans.