Roosevelt's Forest Army · Episode 14 of 14 · 47 min
Why America Keeps Trying to Rebuild the CCC
The CCC died in 1942, but the idea never did. The episode closes at the 90-year-old stone wall and traces eighty years of revival attempts, from AmeriCorps and state corps to the Civilian Climate Corps and Biden's American Climate Corps, through its termination in January 2025 and the deep AmeriCorps cuts that followed.
Who's who
- Jerry Brown+2 more episodesGovernor who founded the California Conservation Corps in 1976
- Joe Biden+4 more episodesPresident who launched the American Climate Corps
- Joe Manchin+1 more episodeSenator whose opposition sank Build Back Better and its climate corps
- Bill Clinton+5 more episodesPresident under whom AmeriCorps was created
- Donald Trump+11 more episodesPresident whose order terminated the American Climate Corps
Where it happens
- Yosemite National Park, California+1 more episodeTrails first cut in the 1930s, later rebuilt by state crews
Timeline
- 1976California Conservation Corps founded
- 1993AmeriCorps created under President Clinton
- December 2021Manchin's opposition collapses Build Back Better and its Civilian Climate Corps
- September 20, 2023Biden launches the American Climate Corps by executive action
- January 20, 2025Executive order terminates the American Climate Corps
- April 2025DOGE terminates about $396.5 million in AmeriCorps grants
Still debated
AmeriCorps staffing and grant-cut figures are approximations, and its status in 2026 is fluid and litigation-dependent. Whether a 1933 model can fit today is open, as are Manchin's motives.
Connected episodes in other series
The United States: Trust, Buy-Back, and Co-StewardshipThe Land Returns · Episode 3Also features Donald Trump, Joe Biden
Nitrogen and the Firing SquadTo Die or Not to Die · Episode 11Also features Donald Trump, Joe Biden
How Liberty University Became a Political MachineA Wall of Separation · Episode 13Also features Donald Trump
Was It Genocide? Putting the American Record on TrialAs Long as the Grass Grows · Episode 13Also features Joe Biden