[Congressional Record Volume 154, Number 149 (Thursday, September 18, 2008)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1838]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]


[[Page E1838]]
              A TRIBUTE TO THE CIVILIAN CONSERVATION CORPS

                                 ______
                                 

                          HON. JO ANN EMERSON

                              of missouri

                    in the house of representatives

                      Thursday, September 18, 2008

  Mrs. EMERSON. Madam Speaker, today I am honored to join with you and 
recognize the 75th anniversary of one of the most successful New Deal 
programs initiated by President Franklin Delano Roosevelt. In the 
spring of 1933, while the United States was in the throes of the Great 
Depression, Congress and President Roosevelt created the Civilian 
Conservation Corps. CCC provided assistance to unemployed Americans by 
enrolling them in public works projects to better our Nation's 
infrastructure.
  The diverse mission of the CCC directed its participants to conduct 
public works projects throughout the entire United States. This was not 
a hand-out, but a hand-up, earned by Americans looking for help in dire 
economic circumstances. The CCC had a positive result in our region by 
not only upgrading the infrastructure, but by providing a means where 
young men and women could help themselves by earning a good living and 
improving their communities. Nationally, the ranks of the CCC would 
eventually swell to over 500,000 enrollees at one time.
  In southern Missouri, the CCC completed many projects. From cabins 
and trails at Big Spring, to a football stadium in Jackson, to 
sidewalks all over southern Missouri, the proof of the hard work and 
determination of CCC enrollees is still evident today. These projects 
instilled a strong work ethic into the participants of the CCC, which 
undoubtedly prepared this generation for the impending struggle that 
our Nation would face in World War II. Along with the work ethic 
implicit in the CCC, the program put enrollees to work in the community 
on basic education tasks like teaching, reading and writing to 
illiterate peers.
  While the CCC ceased to exist after the start of World War II, the 
concepts and principles established by the program would be reflected 
in future programs like Job Corps. It is important for our Nation to 
reflect on the origins of the CCC and the how it has made our Nation a 
better place to live by bettering the lives of both the participants 
and our entire Nation.

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