Nature's New Deal: The Civilian Conservation Corps and the Roots of the American Environmental MovementOxford University Press, 2007 M12 12 - 328 pages 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. |
Contents
3 | |
Franklin Roosevelts Progressive Era Influences | 17 |
The Evolution of CCC Conservation | 43 |
Enrollee Work and the Body Politic | 77 |
Locals and NextDoor Natures | 115 |
The Great Conservation Debate | 151 |
Other editions - View all
Nature's New Deal: The Civilian Conservation Corps and the Roots of the ... Neil M. Maher Limited preview - 2008 |
Nature's New Deal: The Civilian Conservation Corps and the Roots of the ... Neil M. Maher Limited preview - 2007 |
Nature's New Deal: The Civilian Conservation Corps and the Roots of the ... Neil M. Maher Limited preview - 2007 |
Common terms and phrases
Agriculture Aldo Leopold American Forests April began Benefit Letters campgrounds CCC camps CCC conservation CCC enrollees CCC’s Civilian Conservation Corps conservation projects conservationists Coon Creek Coon Valley Corps camps Corps conservation Corps enrollees country’s Deal program Department Depression Dinosaur National Monument director Dust Bowl early Echo Park ecological Emergency Conservation Enrollment Period Entry 99 explained farmers farms FDR and Conservation FDRL File 268 CCC Final Report Folder forestry Franklin Roosevelt Gifford Pinchot Government Printing Office helped Hyde Park labor land Letters from CCC Mountains National Park NARA National Forest National Park Service natural resources Nature’s Official File 268 outdoor percent planning postwar president presidential Progressive Progressive Era promoted quoted recreation reforestation region reorganization reprinted in Nixon Robert Fechner Smoky Mountains Smoky Mountains National Soil Conservation Service soil erosion Tennessee Valley timber tion trails trees U.S. Forest Service U.S. Government Printing University Press urban Washington Wilderness wildlife York young