Roosevelt's Forest Army · Episode 3 of 14 · 33 min
How the CCC Secretly Rehearsed World War II
The U.S. Army ran the CCC camps, and in feeding, housing, and moving hundreds of thousands of men it rehearsed the mobilization of World War II. The episode follows George C. Marshall and the corps-area commanders and takes up the charge of militarizing American youth. The payoff was real but largely accidental.
Who's who
- George C. Marshall+1 more episodeArmy officer who commanded CCC districts, later Chief of Staff
- Douglas MacArthur+1 more episodeArmy Chief of Staff in 1933 who ran the mobilization
- Robert Fechner+5 more episodesCivilian CCC director chosen to reassure organized labor
- William Green+1 more episodeAFL president who warned of militarizing American youth
- Franklin D. Roosevelt+28 more episodesPresident who created the CCC
Where it happens
- Camp Roosevelt, Luray, Virginia+1 more episodeFirst CCC camp, in the George Washington National Forest
- Vancouver Barracks, Washington+1 more episodeMarshall's base overseeing Oregon and Washington camps
- Fort Moultrie, South CarolinaBase for Marshall's South Carolina CCC district
Timeline
- March 31, 1933Congress passes and Roosevelt signs the CCC act
- April 17, 1933Camp Roosevelt opens as the first camp
- July 1, 1933More than 300,000 men in camps, about ninety days from signing
- 1936-1938Marshall commands camps in Oregon and southern Washington
- 1939Marshall becomes Army Chief of Staff
Still debated
How many Pacific Northwest camps Marshall oversaw is reported inconsistently, and MacArthur's attitude toward the CCC is inferred rather than quoted. Historians also find the CCC's exact contribution to wartime readiness hard to measure, and the 'rehearsal' was not planned.
← Previous$30 a Month, $25 Sent Home: Life Inside a CCC CampNext →How the CCC Planted 3 Billion Trees
Connected episodes in other series
The Good War's Fine Print: The WWII Draft's Forgotten LosersGreeting: America and the Draft · Episode 5Also features Franklin D. Roosevelt
FDR's Thousand-Mile Tree Wall: The Dust Bowl ShelterbeltGround Truth: Forest Service Research · Episode 5Also features Franklin D. Roosevelt
A Town the War Built: Marin City's Long Fight to IntegrateLiberty Ships, Closed Doors · Episode 1Also features Franklin D. Roosevelt
As West Point Serves the Army: The Making of Kings PointThe Fourth Arm · Episode 4Also features Franklin D. Roosevelt