Roosevelt's Forest Army · Episode 12 of 14 · 31 min
Were There Women in the CCC? The Camps History Forgot
The CCC put three million men to work and enrolled no women. The episode tells how women were shut out, and of the far smaller, underfunded camps, mocked as the She-She-She camps, that Eleanor Roosevelt and Hilda Worthington Smith fought for and that Congress let die by 1937.
Who's who
- Eleanor Roosevelt+2 more episodesFirst Lady and chief champion of camps for unemployed women
- Hilda Worthington SmithLabor educator who developed and directed the women's camp program
- Ellen S. Woodward+1 more episodeFederal director of women's work relief
- Frances Perkins+3 more episodesLabor Secretary who announced the experimental camps with Roosevelt
- Harry Hopkins+10 more episodesHead of the relief agency that funded the camps
Where it happens
- Bear Mountain and Harriman State Parks, New YorkArea where flagship Camp TERA opened in 1933
Timeline
- June 10, 1933Camp TERA opens in New York with about 17 women
- November 20, 1933Smith presents residential-school idea at White House conference
- April 30, 1934Second White House conference plans national rollout
- 1936Program reaches about 90 camps and schools serving 5,000 women a year
- October 1, 1937Camps close after serving about 8,500 women
Still debated
Camp TERA's exact location is reported as both Bear Mountain and Harriman State Park. Camp counts differ between the 1934 and 1936 peaks, and the monthly allowance is reported inconsistently.
← PreviousWere People of Color in the CCC? The Enrollees History Didn't CountNext →Why Congress Killed Its Most Popular Program (1942)
Connected episodes in other series
Sewing Rooms and Human Computers: The Women and White-Collar WPAThe Infinite Dividend: The WPA · Episode 9Also features Ellen S. Woodward, Harry Hopkins
The Color Line: From Ida B. Wells to Marian AndersonA Woman's Place · Episode 5Also features Eleanor Roosevelt
The Deal: Wagner, Flint, and Taft-HartleyThe Long Argument: Capital vs. Labor · Episode 7Also features Frances Perkins
The Shadow of San QuentinTo Die or Not to Die · Episode 4Also features Eleanor Roosevelt