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African-Americans and the New Deal’s Civilian Conservation CorpsIntroductionThe New Deal marked an important shift in the American electoral landscape as significant numbers of African Americans gave their votes to Franklin D. Roosevelt and the Democratic Party for the first time, establishing a political loyalty that has endured for roughly seventy years. New Deal recovery and relief programs rapidly became a central element in blacks' endeavors to survive the harsh economic realities of the Depression. One of these programs, the Civilian Conservation Corps, provided more than a quarter of a million young black men with jobs and was consequently another arena in which the black community waged the struggle for greater equality.This lesson explores that struggle and its implications for the New Deal's impact on American society; it examines a series of documents written by New Deal officials, including the President that concerned black CCC workers. It also considers documents that present the CCC from the perspective of black participants and observers. Drawing on other background readings and the diversity of views that these documents reflect, students will analyze the impact of this New Deal program on race relations in America and assess the role played by the New Deal in changing them. Guiding QuestionTo what extent did the treatment of African Americans in the CCC represent a growing commitment on the part of the federal government to combat racial discrimination and empower the black community?Learning ObjectivesUpon completion of this lesson, students will be able to:
Background Information for the TeacherThe Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) was one of the first New Deal initiatives to be enacted into law by Congress. The first enrollee was inducted only thirty-seven days after Franklin Roosevelt's inauguration. As a component of what came to be known as "The Hundred Days," which marked the beginning of President Roosevelt's first term, the CCC was unquestionably part of FDR's broad response to the mass unemployment that plagued the United States in 1932. However, the idea that the unemployed should form work brigades to clear and improve a nation's forests and thus preserve the natural environment had long been supported by a variety of conservationists, political theorists, and reformers. The agency represented a government response, supported by a range of groups, to the crisis facing young people as well as the environment in the 1930s.The Civilian Conservation Corps enrolled over three million young men between the ages of 17 and 23 in the years from 1933 to 1942. These enrollees planted trees, fought fires and performed other conservation-related tasks. They also worked at improving parks and building roads. One quarter of a million of these young men were African-Americans. African-American participation in the CCC was set at ten percent, a figure equal to the black population, and the law establishing the corps outlawed discrimination based on race. Despite these legal provisions, CCC Director Robert Fechner ordered segregation as the official policy in response to the complaints of local community leaders and corps administrators. African American members of the CCC faced harsh treatment as a result of racial attitudes held by the residents of local communities as well as those of CCC and other program leaders. The National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) and other civil rights groups protested the conditions to little avail. Jim Crow policies remained in place for the duration of the program. A good short account of the CCC's structure, work, and achievements can be found at the National Association of CCC Alumni's website in a brief history of the agency entitled Roosevelt's Tree Army, linked from the EDSITEment-reviewed Links To The Past: The National Parks Service. A more extended analysis of the CCC that contains a detailed description of its origins and a more thorough explanation of its operations and political trajectory can be found at the Brief History of the Civilian Conservation Corps also on Links to the Past: The National Parks Service. Finally, a concise but thoughtful sketch of African American participation in the CCC can be found on the EDSITEment-reviewed New Deal Network website African Americans and the Civilian Conservation Corps. EDSITEment-reviewed Harlem 1900-1940: An African-American Community has a short discussion of The Crisis, the NAACP official publication that began in 1910 with editor W.E.B. DuBois, which raised serious questions about the CCC and its administration. For a short biography of Harold Ickes, Roosevelt's Interior Secretary, see the National Parks Service's Eleanor Roosevelt National Historic Site. The EDSITEment-reviewed American Memory site from the Library of Congress has an excellent exhibit on The African American Odyssey: A Quest for Full Citizenship which discusses the Depression and start of World War II. In combination, these sources should provide teachers with a general knowledge of the New Deal, African Americans' twentieth-century experience, and the background needed to teach this lesson. Preparing To Teach This LessonTeachers preparing to teach this lesson should review the following documents, which can be found under the subheading African Americans in the Civilian Conservation Corps in the "Documents" section of the New Deal Network.Teachers can also have students make use of student LaunchPads, which are listed in the left sidebar under "Additional Student/Teacher Resources." Alternately, teachers and students can access all activities and accompanying websites through the EDSITEment Portfolio Tool. First-time teachers will need to register and set up personal accounts and then follow the directions to set up their class. First go to http://chnm.gmu.edu/edsitement/login.
Suggested ActivitiesActivity 1. FDR and African-Americans in the CCCActivity 2. The Debate on African-Americans in the CCCActivity 3. A First Hand Account of African-American Life in the CCCActivity 4. The CCC Agency's View of African-American ParticipationActivity 1. FDR and African-Americans in the CCC Give each student a short, two paragraph excerpt (first two paragraphs) from the New Deal Network's Introduction to African Americans in the Civilian Conservation Corps. Students can also use the LaunchPad for this activity, or the EDSITEment Portfolio Tool (see Preparing to Teach this Lesson above). Open a discussion of these paragraphs by posing the following question:
Give each student a copy of FDR's 1935 Memo to CCC Director Robert Fechner Open a discussion of this document by posing the following questions:
Activity 2. The Debate on African-Americans in the CCC Students can use the accompanying LaunchPad for this activity, or the EDSITEment Portfolio Tool (see Preparing to Teach this Lesson above). For homework, students should complete the following assignment:
In either case, the teacher should encourage students to evaluate not only the role of the federal government in general, but also the role of different government officials and thus the different approaches that existed within the Roosevelt Administration. The teacher should also encourage students to discuss other questions or issues that the documents may raise. Examples include:
Activity 3. A First Hand Account of African-American Life in the CCC Students can use the accompanying LaunchPad for this activity, or the EDSITEment Portfolio Tool (see Preparing to Teach this Lesson above).
Activity 4. The CCC Agency's View of African-American Participation Students can use the accompanying LaunchPad for this activity, or the EDSITEment Portfolio Tool (see Preparing to Teach this Lesson above). The teacher should distribute copies of What The CCC Is Doing For Colored Youth, by Edgar Brown, the agency's advisor on racial affairs. Students should be asked to identify evidence that persuades them or does not persuade them that:
AssessmentEssay Assignment: Write an essay that analyzes the role played by the federal government in providing opportunity for African-American workers in the CCC and in responding to the discrimination these workers faced. In other words, how strong was the federal government's commitment to fighting racial discrimination in the CCC? Use evidence from the documents and sound reasoning to defend your conclusion.Extending the LessonThe National Association for the Advancement of Colored People and the National Urban League played important roles in pressuring the Roosevelt Administration to recognize, defend, and advance the rights of African Americans.Students can examine and analyze the roles played by civil rights groups in shaping New Deal policy in more detail. To do this they should first review the CCC-related documents they have been given and locate references to these civil rights organizations that they can then explore on the web. They should also examine additional accounts of civil rights groups' responses to other New Deal initiatives and look for similar references that will provide information about these programs. They should then write down the specific actions taken by civil rights organizations that these references describe or suggest. Looking at these lists, they should then attempt to describe in writing what the actions have in common, what agenda, if any, they represent, and what they think these organizations' strategies were for pressuring the government to promote equal opportunity and combat racial discrimination. Before writing, they should construct a clear thesis that summarizes their conclusion. The essay should support this thesis. Related EDSITEment Lesson Plans
Selected EDSITEment Websites
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