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Nature's New Deal: The Civilian Conservation Corps and the Roots of the American Environmental Movement
The Great Depression coincided with a wave of natural disasters, including the Dust Bowl and devastating floods of the Ohio and Mississippi rivers. Recovering from these calamities--and preventing their reoccurrence--was a major goal of the New Deal.
In Nature's New Deal , Neil M. Maher examines the history of one of Franklin D. Roosevelt's boldest and most successful experiments, the Civilian Conservation Corps, describing it as a turning point both in national politics and in the emergence of modern environmentalism. Indeed, Roosevelt addressed both the economic and environmental crises by putting Americans to work at conserving natural resources, through the Soil Conservation Service, the Tennessee Valley Authority, and the Civilian Conservation Corps (or CCC). The CCC created public landscapes--natural terrain altered by federal work projects--that helped environmentalism blossom after World War II, Maher notes. Millions of Americans devoted themselves to a new vision of conservation, one that went beyond the old model of simply maximizing the efficient use of natural resources, to include the promotion of human health through outdoor recreation, wilderness preservation, and ecological balance. And yet, as Maher explores the
rise and development of the CCC, he also shows how the critique of its campgrounds, picnic areas, hiking trails, and motor roads frames the debate over environmentalism to this day.
From the colorful life at CCC camps, to political discussions in the White House and the philosophical debates dating back to John Muir and Frederick Law Olmsted, Nature's New Deal captures a key moment in the emergence of modern environmentalism.
In Nature's New Deal , Neil M. Maher examines the history of one of Franklin D. Roosevelt's boldest and most successful experiments, the Civilian Conservation Corps, describing it as a turning point both in national politics and in the emergence of modern environmentalism. Indeed, Roosevelt addressed both the economic and environmental crises by putting Americans to work at conserving natural resources, through the Soil Conservation Service, the Tennessee Valley Authority, and the Civilian Conservation Corps (or CCC). The CCC created public landscapes--natural terrain altered by federal work projects--that helped environmentalism blossom after World War II, Maher notes. Millions of Americans devoted themselves to a new vision of conservation, one that went beyond the old model of simply maximizing the efficient use of natural resources, to include the promotion of human health through outdoor recreation, wilderness preservation, and ecological balance. And yet, as Maher explores the
rise and development of the CCC, he also shows how the critique of its campgrounds, picnic areas, hiking trails, and motor roads frames the debate over environmentalism to this day.
From the colorful life at CCC camps, to political discussions in the White House and the philosophical debates dating back to John Muir and Frederick Law Olmsted, Nature's New Deal captures a key moment in the emergence of modern environmentalism.
328 pages, Hardcover
First published November 1, 2007
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Displaying 1 - 15 of 15 reviews
September 16, 2011
This is a history book that reads as gracefully as The Best American Essays about the genesis of the American environmental movement. A favorite chapter covers Franklin Roosevelt's background as a timber conservationist and his passion for public parks, built by the Depression-era Civilian Conservation Corps. A fascinating read.
August 28, 2019
That the CCC was successful is undeniable. What was a surprise was just how successful it was. Not just in preserving wilderness, but in reversing the soil depletion on many of America’s farms, in creating hundreds of city parks, and in building the confidence of the young men who participated in the endeavors. But most of all, by popularizing the New Deal, it brought to FDR’s side many who had not initially voted for him and guaranteed his reelection, not just once but three times.
Yes, there were mistakes. Even as the work was going on there were critics who railed, justifiably, against the planting of invasive species, and the killing off of many of the predators. The ecological movement was in its infancy; fighting against some of the most egregious mistakes of the CCC actually invigorated that movement and carried it into the Post-WWWII era. In fact, many of those same men who worked at CCC camps would eventually head some of the organizations of that selfsame movement.
But all one has to do is imagine what this country would look like if the forests had not been replanted, if farms had been allowed to go fallow because the soil was gone, and if all those young men, dejected and often not in the best of health, had not been allowed work they could be proud of , away from the degraded environment of the cities. Made healthy, they were ready for the real trial when the US entered the second World War.
Yes, there were mistakes. Even as the work was going on there were critics who railed, justifiably, against the planting of invasive species, and the killing off of many of the predators. The ecological movement was in its infancy; fighting against some of the most egregious mistakes of the CCC actually invigorated that movement and carried it into the Post-WWWII era. In fact, many of those same men who worked at CCC camps would eventually head some of the organizations of that selfsame movement.
But all one has to do is imagine what this country would look like if the forests had not been replanted, if farms had been allowed to go fallow because the soil was gone, and if all those young men, dejected and often not in the best of health, had not been allowed work they could be proud of , away from the degraded environment of the cities. Made healthy, they were ready for the real trial when the US entered the second World War.
September 10, 2014
This book is an excellent treatment of the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) and the origins of the modern environmental movement! Lest anyone who has not yet read it think that Maher's book is overly political, they need not worry. While the author ties the CCC into the present environmental movement with its continuing controversies, mainly in the final chapter of the book and the epilogue, he keeps the narrative focused on the CCC itself and how it changed perceptions and awareness of conservation during the 1930's and early 1940's. The CCC was one of the New Deal's most popular programs, and it helped to spread both President Franklin D. Roosevelt's popularity and national acceptance (to some degree or another and even across party lines) of the emerging welfare state.
The CCC was the brainchild of President Franklin D. Roosevelt, but Maher also details those individuals and groups who influenced and inspired FDR's interest in conservation in the 1910's and 1920's, including the Boy Scouts of America. FDR pioneered some of the conservation ideas later used by the CCC when he was governor of New York. Roosevelt also used some of these ideas on his Hyde Park estate, and found that they worked well and improved the economic potential of his property. Later, the CCC brought these ideas to Americans on a national level.
Originally, the CCC focused on forest work - planting trees in logged-out areas, and constructing hiking trails and firebreaks in national forests, but later, during the Dust Bowl years, the CCC expanded its efforts into soil conservation. This differed from its earlier work in obvious ways, but it also necessitated work on private lands by a federal entity. The Corps got around criticism of this by getting farmers to agree to use their property as an example and teaching tool to spread and teach new techniques to others in the area. The CCC advocated an end to the "straight crop" planting techniques in favor of contour crop lines and strip crops to help prevent erosion, especially on hilly terrain. The author highlights a particular example of this in Wisconsin's Coon Valley. The result was a drastic reduction in erosion by 75% and an increase in land productivity and economic profit by 25%!
Maher also highlights the role of the CCC in conserving human resources. The Corps enrolled only single, young men between the ages of 18 and 24 whose parents were um-employed, and put them to work. For hard, manual labor, the enrollees signed up for six-month terms, received housing at CCC camps located near the work projects, and they had to agree to send all but a few dollars of their monthly paychecks back to their families. The enrollees were usually from urban areas and had little experience with manual labor. The Corps took often malnourished and weak men and transformed them, through labor and service in nature, into healthy, strong, and more productive members of society. Disciplining the nation's men and putting them into shape also benefitted the U.S. after it entered World War II, as most of those who enrolled in the CCC later served in the military.
The author also highlights the lack of national widespread knowledge about conservation before the CCC began its work in 1933. The Progressive Era witnessed a conservation movement, but it was mostly confined to government bureaucrats, elites, and a scattering of ranchers and hunters. This small base of supporters grew exponentially during the 1930's because of the public conversations about nature and conservation the CCC caused just by its work and presence. For example, the National Parks (Maher mostly focuses on Great Smoky Mountains National Park) were there for the benefit and enjoyment of the people, but the people needed access to the parks in order to enjoy them. The CCC constructed roads, trails, campgrounds, and firebreaks, though it had to destroy and alter some nature to do it. The debate about how far to go, and what type of conservation was the best raised national awareness of these issues, and CCC enrollees who returned home brought their newly-gained knowledge with them.
Though efforts to create a cabinet-level Department of Conservation, concentrated under Interior Secretary Harold Ickes failed, the CCC inspired local and state copycat groups after the close of World War II as well as special interest groups which influenced the progression of America's environmental movement of the 1950's up to the present.
Maher's book is a new approach to the New Deal of the Great Depression years, and one of the best ways to learn about the roots of the modern environmental movement. Even those who believe in simple conservation with little governmental control will benefit by reading this book. It kept me hooked from the first page to the last!
The CCC was the brainchild of President Franklin D. Roosevelt, but Maher also details those individuals and groups who influenced and inspired FDR's interest in conservation in the 1910's and 1920's, including the Boy Scouts of America. FDR pioneered some of the conservation ideas later used by the CCC when he was governor of New York. Roosevelt also used some of these ideas on his Hyde Park estate, and found that they worked well and improved the economic potential of his property. Later, the CCC brought these ideas to Americans on a national level.
Originally, the CCC focused on forest work - planting trees in logged-out areas, and constructing hiking trails and firebreaks in national forests, but later, during the Dust Bowl years, the CCC expanded its efforts into soil conservation. This differed from its earlier work in obvious ways, but it also necessitated work on private lands by a federal entity. The Corps got around criticism of this by getting farmers to agree to use their property as an example and teaching tool to spread and teach new techniques to others in the area. The CCC advocated an end to the "straight crop" planting techniques in favor of contour crop lines and strip crops to help prevent erosion, especially on hilly terrain. The author highlights a particular example of this in Wisconsin's Coon Valley. The result was a drastic reduction in erosion by 75% and an increase in land productivity and economic profit by 25%!
Maher also highlights the role of the CCC in conserving human resources. The Corps enrolled only single, young men between the ages of 18 and 24 whose parents were um-employed, and put them to work. For hard, manual labor, the enrollees signed up for six-month terms, received housing at CCC camps located near the work projects, and they had to agree to send all but a few dollars of their monthly paychecks back to their families. The enrollees were usually from urban areas and had little experience with manual labor. The Corps took often malnourished and weak men and transformed them, through labor and service in nature, into healthy, strong, and more productive members of society. Disciplining the nation's men and putting them into shape also benefitted the U.S. after it entered World War II, as most of those who enrolled in the CCC later served in the military.
The author also highlights the lack of national widespread knowledge about conservation before the CCC began its work in 1933. The Progressive Era witnessed a conservation movement, but it was mostly confined to government bureaucrats, elites, and a scattering of ranchers and hunters. This small base of supporters grew exponentially during the 1930's because of the public conversations about nature and conservation the CCC caused just by its work and presence. For example, the National Parks (Maher mostly focuses on Great Smoky Mountains National Park) were there for the benefit and enjoyment of the people, but the people needed access to the parks in order to enjoy them. The CCC constructed roads, trails, campgrounds, and firebreaks, though it had to destroy and alter some nature to do it. The debate about how far to go, and what type of conservation was the best raised national awareness of these issues, and CCC enrollees who returned home brought their newly-gained knowledge with them.
Though efforts to create a cabinet-level Department of Conservation, concentrated under Interior Secretary Harold Ickes failed, the CCC inspired local and state copycat groups after the close of World War II as well as special interest groups which influenced the progression of America's environmental movement of the 1950's up to the present.
Maher's book is a new approach to the New Deal of the Great Depression years, and one of the best ways to learn about the roots of the modern environmental movement. Even those who believe in simple conservation with little governmental control will benefit by reading this book. It kept me hooked from the first page to the last!
December 14, 2017
As a lifelong camper and hiker, I've always had a fondness for the CCC and loved the mythology of it. What's not to love about a government funded program that creates physically draining employment for young people who would otherwise be starving; employment that helps them support their equally starving families back home, and in the process creates glorious outdoor recreation and preserves the wilderness? Given our current President's ostensive advocacy of an infrastructure bill, I bored my husband on our summer camping trip by going on about how a revived and modernized CCC would actually be a universally approved-of use of taxpayer funds. I sought this book out because I knew the history of the CCC had to be more complicated than the myth, and this book does a nice job of demonstrating that. Maher focuses most tightly on the divide between how to inhabit the environment: should we be focused on preserving it so we can make best use of it as a resource, presenting it for recreation, or simply preserving it unspoiled, as an irreplaceable beautiful natural asset? He very clearly shows the social origins of those attitudes and traces the ways in which they developed, and the effects of those battling attitudes on the hybrid and conflicted nature of the CCC. Maher clearly concludes that it was still a public and environmental good; indeed, it was the most highly-praised aspect of FDR's New Deal. I'm only giving this book 3 stars because it's clear this was a revised dissertation, and while it was obviously a very good dissertation to start with, it's still mostly written for people who are interested in environmental history. I also wish he would have paid more attention to injustices within the CCC--for instance, the segregation and discrimination within the organization itself (separate camps for blacks and Native Americans, no meaningful opportunities for promotion with the CCC for people of color even when they had demonstrable applicable skills and interest). But I more firmly believe that a revived CCC (not just focused on parks but on greening cities, permaculture, and without the 1930s racism or sexism) would be a universally beloved and appreciated aspect of an infrastructure bill. For whatever that's worth.
March 28, 2015
The Hetch Hetchy Dam was built in 1913 as the conservationists' utility argument won out over the preservationists' moral value argument. About a half a century later, the Echo Park Dam was not built as the tides had seemed to turn in favor of the preservationists. Neil A. Maher sets out to answer how this transformation of decision-making occurred. In general, he sees it as the result of the New Deal--the increased power and use of governmental regulation of nature. In particular, he sees the CCC as central to moving from a conservationist to a preservationist focus with regards to nature and its "resources."
The Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) transformed American politics by transforming American nature (4). The focus on landscape and landscape change came about during the New Deal era; the resultant landscapes are cultural and thus can be read like texts (6-7). John Muir and Bob Marshall criticized the CCC projects that built picnic areas, hiking trails and motor roads because they “destroyed the primitive quality of national forests” (9). In other words, there were many who thought that the CCC projects encouraged a dangerous increase in land use that would further exhaust rather than preserve the land.
This is a very nuanced book that reminds us that federal money was spent on soil conservation projects on private lands in Wisconsin. But the most interesting and compelling chapter is on bodies; Maher argues that the CCC was aimed at not only protecting natural resources but human resources as well. Hiring young urban men and putting them to work in the open air in national forests was viewed as helping to build up their physical strength and health. Roosevelt’s upstate New York upbringing as well as his early embrace of the Boy Scouts of America (BSA) helped to shape his belief that male behavior could be improved by exposure to nature (12).
The Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) transformed American politics by transforming American nature (4). The focus on landscape and landscape change came about during the New Deal era; the resultant landscapes are cultural and thus can be read like texts (6-7). John Muir and Bob Marshall criticized the CCC projects that built picnic areas, hiking trails and motor roads because they “destroyed the primitive quality of national forests” (9). In other words, there were many who thought that the CCC projects encouraged a dangerous increase in land use that would further exhaust rather than preserve the land.
This is a very nuanced book that reminds us that federal money was spent on soil conservation projects on private lands in Wisconsin. But the most interesting and compelling chapter is on bodies; Maher argues that the CCC was aimed at not only protecting natural resources but human resources as well. Hiring young urban men and putting them to work in the open air in national forests was viewed as helping to build up their physical strength and health. Roosevelt’s upstate New York upbringing as well as his early embrace of the Boy Scouts of America (BSA) helped to shape his belief that male behavior could be improved by exposure to nature (12).
August 23, 2020
Frankly, I was on the verge of giving up on this book but kept on going because I had reached the part about the CCC's part in developing Great Smokey Mountains National Park. But it was only grit that kept me going after that. At heart, this is an academic book more than it is a popular history book. I had expected much more in the way of stories of individual CCC recruits and descriptions of their lives. That information is there, but rather sparse. And the book desperately needed a better editor. Thoughts, themes, and phrases would be repeated over and over (often within mere pages of a prior appearance). It brought to mind something written by an 8th-grader told to write a thousand-word essay and in which the student focused on meeting the word count more than on conveying information well. While Rightful Heritage: Franklin D. Roosevelt and the Land of America is a much longer book than Nature's New Deal, I found it much more instructive in the history of the CCC and New Deal-era conservation.
October 21, 2015
Really solid discussion of the CCC as the root of the modern environmental movement.
June 19, 2020
Nature’s New Deal: The Civilian Conservation Corps and the Roots of the American Environmental Movement explores the role that the Civilian Conservation Corps in forming the roots of the ethos of environmentalism that took root after World War II. Neil Maher argues that the Civilian Conservation Corps, one of the various “alphabet” organization, was largely responsible for the shift from utilitarian (meaning it is right if it provides happiness for the majority) conservation to the environmentalist conservation that defined the progressive and post-war eras, respectively. This was done largely by the work, Maher argues, that the CCC did within National and State parks, by improving access to the parks themselves.
His historic intervention largely revolved around the shift of conservation movements before and after the war. Among the conservations that this book deal with include political history, especially regarding the creation of the CCC and the political life. Here, Maher references numerous books, but primarily, John Salmond’s The Civilian Conservation Corps, 1933-1942: A New Deal Case Study.
Within environmental movements, Maher creates an intellectual history focusing primarily on Samuel Hays’ Conservation and the Gospel of Efficiency: The Progressive Conservation Movement, 1890-1920, as well as engaging directly with Karl Jacoby’s Crimes against Nature, showcasing the grassroots efforts of the progressive movement that focused on efficiency and, as stated, utilitarianism.
Maher also uses a variety of other secondary sources, as well as primary sources that showcase the ways in which the public themselves had an effect on the CCC, as well as how the CCC affected those men who were a part of the organization. This book is a perfect addition to an undergraduate or graduate class focusing on environmental history, or on the history of the progressive and new deal eras. This book will also prove useful to students of politics during the progressive and new deal eras of American History, given its focus on President Franklin Roosevelt in the creation of the Civilian Conservation Corps.
His historic intervention largely revolved around the shift of conservation movements before and after the war. Among the conservations that this book deal with include political history, especially regarding the creation of the CCC and the political life. Here, Maher references numerous books, but primarily, John Salmond’s The Civilian Conservation Corps, 1933-1942: A New Deal Case Study.
Within environmental movements, Maher creates an intellectual history focusing primarily on Samuel Hays’ Conservation and the Gospel of Efficiency: The Progressive Conservation Movement, 1890-1920, as well as engaging directly with Karl Jacoby’s Crimes against Nature, showcasing the grassroots efforts of the progressive movement that focused on efficiency and, as stated, utilitarianism.
Maher also uses a variety of other secondary sources, as well as primary sources that showcase the ways in which the public themselves had an effect on the CCC, as well as how the CCC affected those men who were a part of the organization. This book is a perfect addition to an undergraduate or graduate class focusing on environmental history, or on the history of the progressive and new deal eras. This book will also prove useful to students of politics during the progressive and new deal eras of American History, given its focus on President Franklin Roosevelt in the creation of the Civilian Conservation Corps.
August 11, 2019
A very well written and readable study of both the social and the political impact of the Civilian Conservation Corps. The organization of the book into chapters titled Ideas, Landscape, Labor, Community, Nation, and Planning, allowed for the restatement of key information and arguments in a way that was reinforcing rather than repetitive. I read it for a proposed project and would recommend it to those who have an interest in the environment and the history of the ways in which protection thereof has evolved.
November 27, 2020
This book is one of those that reminds you why it's important to study history: all the debates and trends in conservation today that feel so new have already happened and maybe we should pay attention to what we learned the first time around.
Shelved as 'dnf'
January 2, 2023DNFing after 20 months of “currently reading.” Helpful political history to inform current opportunities when it comes to mass investments in public goods and calls to service given that President Biden likes to compare himself (if more subtly) to FDR.
August 19, 2021
Good but a little repetitive at times.
May 15, 2013
I used Maher's book as a source in a college history course on American Environmental History for a research paper on the CCC. This book has got to be the definitive text on CCC history so far. No aspect of the CCC's history is left alone. The New Deal program is analyzed from the lenses of social, political, economic, cultural, environmental, and labor history. For better or for worse, the CCC left a huge mark on the U.S.'s landscape, populace, and politics that we still see today. The background, buildup, lifespan, death, and legacy of the CCC are told in detailed yet easy to read prose by Maher. Whether one is interested in the environmental, labor, political, cultural, social, or economic history and aspects of the CCC, this book has much to teach readers. It is an enjoyable piece in New Deal and Great Depression historiography.
July 10, 2011
Although Meher's book assumes that its reader has enough background knowledge about the New Deal and Roosevelt's administration (I needed a bit of a refresher), his history of the CCC and its impact on the environmental movement is an engaging read. Maher's thorough bibliography and epilogue, which discusses environmental groups that proceeded the Corps' disbanding, are great resources. While not included in Meher's his scholarly project, I wanted examples and anecdotes for Corps members' experiences.
February 1, 2016
A very interesting work about the role of the CCC in transforming the New Deal and conservation work in the US generally.
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