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George C. Marshall: the Civilian Conservation Corps, 1932-1933

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George C. Marshall: the Civilian Conservation Corps, 1932-1933 GEORGE C. MARSHALL: THE CIVILIAN CONSERVATION CORPS, 1932-1933. George C. Marshall Foundation Lexington, VA May 1, 2006 Michael L. Strauss Shepherd University 2006 2 TABLE OF CONTENTS Introduction……………………………………………………………………………. 3 Chapter 1: History of the Civilian Conservation Corps………..………………………5 Chapter 2: Marshall at Fort Screven, Georgia…….……………………………..……13 Chapter 3: Marshall at Fort Moultrie, South Carolina…………………………......….27 Chapter 4: Marshall and the Anatomy of the CCC…………….……………..………36 Conclusion……………………………………………..………………………………44 Appendix……………………………………………………………………………….45 Selected Bibliography…………………………………………….………….…………47 3 INTRODUCTION George C. Marshall’s leadership played an important role in the day to day operation of the Civilian Conservation Corps. As a district commander of two separate areas during the height of the depression he was able to gain valuable experience commanding civilians that would serve him later when he became the Chief of Staff in the Army during World War II. The training he acquired during the early months of 1933 grounded him firmly grounded him with the ability to communicate with civilians and military troops. George C. Marshall’s time with the Civilian Conservation Corps was an inspiration for him and one that forged a lasting bond of caring that he exhibited throughout his professional career regardless of where he was stationed. Marshall had an uncanny ability to know what the men he commanded needed most, and was not above putting himself though the same hardships as those under his command. His ability to command civilians in the CCC stretched back nearly twenty years, with his first opportunity to work with civilians as a young Captain of Infantry while stationed at Fort Douglas in Utah during the summer of 1916. The fort which was close to Salt Lake City had a large number of civilian recruits recently inducted into the military. Most of the men he commanded were new to military life and had little formal training before meeting Marshall, who taught them some of the fundamentals of military life. Although his stay at Fort Douglas was short from August 21, 1916 through September 16, 1916, the training the men received was the very best and the compassion that Marshall showed his men was clearly illustrated.1 One of Marshall’s early superior officers Lt-Colonel Johnson Hagood praised him on his potential as an officer when he wrote: “He is a military genius and one of those rare cases of wonderful military development during peace…he is of the proper age, has had the training and 1 Larry L. Bland, ed. The Papers of George Catlett Marshall: The Soldierly Spirit, December 1880-Jun 1939 (Baltimore: John Hopkins University Press, 1981), 97-98. 4 experience, and possesses the ability to command large bodies of troops in the field…the Army and the nation sorely needs such men in the grade of General Officer at this time”.2 Hagood felt so strongly about Marshall’s ability to command civilians and military personnel that he wrote a glowing report of him to the War Department in 1916 after his service at Fort Douglas relating: “Marshall should be made a Brigadier General in the regular Army, and every day this is postponed is a loss to the Army and the nation”.3 This paper explores the life of George C. Marshall with the Civilian Conservation Corps from 1932 to 1933 and the continued success that he experienced in command of civilians and military men under his command during a troubling time in our nations history. 2 Mark A. Stoler, George C. Marshall: Soldier-Statesman of the American Century (New York: Twayne Publishers, 1989), 27-28. 3 Leonard Mosley, Marshall: Hero for our Times (New York: Hearst Books, 1982), 41. 5 CHAPTER 1 HISTORY OF THE CIVILIAN CONSERVATION CORPS The history of the organization of the Civilian Conservation Corps stretches back several decades when the United States was very prosperous after the turn of the twentieth century. America at that time was a debtor nation and sold many of her industrial and agricultural products abroad. All over Europe, money was spent on crops that farmers raised to good that industries produced. During the Woodrow Wilson administration America broke bonds with the older policy of isolation from the rest of the world, but did little to slow the ever-increasing consumption of goods that Europe still demanded. After the involvement of the United States in World War I from 1917 to 1918, this country moved from being a debtor to a creditor nation. It became necessary for the people in this country to change their ways of doing business if international trade was to be regained. Most citizens in this country were completely unaware of the situation facing the Government and expected business to continue as normal, but problems were arising, as Europe could no longer afford to purchase foreign products. For the United States the boom was over, and a crash would be inevitable4 This crash took the form of the falling stock prices and the eventual crash of the stock market on October 29, 1929. Tens of thousands of people lost their entire savings, while other lost all hope and committed suicide. Credit was seen as one of the evils of this corruption that caused widespread panic all across this country. Youths from rural areas left farms and moved to larger urban areas where they attempted to find suitable employment. The problems were that goods were being turned out quicker than the general public had the ability to consume them. With widespread depression came increased unemployment as many families were put on relief 4 Perry H. Merrill, Roosevelt’s Forest Army: A History of the Civilian Conservation Corps, 1933-1942 (Montpelier: Perry H. Merrill, 1981), 1. 6 rolls to support themselves. Wages tumbled and farmer’s burned the overstock of grains they could not sell, as more persons became desperate for any employment that was available.5 This was the daunting mission that confronted President Franklin D. Roosevelt when he took office after winning the November election of 1932. Roosevelt garnered 472 to 59 electoral votes over the incumbent President Herbert Hoover, who the public felt had abandoned them. Roosevelt moved quickly to bring relief to the public and worked hard with Congress for some drastic changes. By spring of 1933, Congress passed relief acts to ease some of the current financial burdens. Congress passed several laws including the Agricultural Act (which provided for farmers and subsidies), Farm Credit Act (which assisted farmers with their mortgage payments), The National Recovery Act (geared to national industrial recovery), and the Public Works Administration (providing funds for local employment) for people out of work. All of these projects acted as a catalyst towards the formation of the CCC one month later.6 Roosevelt recognized the importance of getting Americans back to work and pushed for quick action. He was a conservation minded President and pushed for Congress to restore and revitalize idle and vacant lands in each state. His plan was to use these lands and make the most out of the natural resources each offered and at the same time provide work for the unemployed. On March 24, 1933, Roosevelt sent a message to Congress asking for unemployment relief by putting young men from cities and rural communities to work on forestry and conservation projects all across the United States. One week later Congress responded by passing the Emergency Conservation Work Act bringing about the birth of the Civilian Conservation Corps.7 5 Robert A. Ermentrout, Forgotten Men: The Civilian Conservation Corps (Smithtown: Exposition Press, 1982), 1. 6 Merrill, Roosevelt’s Forest Army: A History of the Civilian Conservation Corps, 1933-1942, 2. 7 John A. Salmond, The Civilian Conservation Corps, 1933-1942: A New Deal Case Study (Durham: Duke University Press, 1967), 26-27. The Emergency Conservation Work (ECW) was the original name given to the Civilian Conservation Corps. In an earlier message to Congress on March 21, 1933, Roosevelt used the term Civilian Conservation Corps when describing the organization to gain public support. The new title eventually caught on and on June 28, 1937 the CCC was officially created by an act of Congress. 7 The message that Roosevelt read to the public that same month on March 21, 1933 was one of excitement and served to capture the hearts of the people. Timing was a significant factor in his bringing to the floor his proposed plan as he worked hard to gain public support. The mood in Congress at this time was one of crisis, but Roosevelt hoped his program would help opens the doors wider for a new deal program.8 In his message he wrote: I purpose to create a Civilian Conservation Corps to be used in simple work, not interfering with normal employment, and confining itself to forestry, the prevention of soil erosion, flood control and similar projects…I call your attention to the fact that this type of work is of definite practical value not only through the prevention of great present financial loss, but also as a means of creating future national wealth…this enterprise is an established part of our national policy…it will make improvements in national and state domains which have been largely forgotten in the past few years of industrial development…more important, however than material gains will be the moral and spiritual value of such work…the overwhelming majority of unemployed Americans who are now walking the streets and receiving private or public relief would infinitely prefer to work…it is not a panacea for all the unemployment, but it is an essential step in this emergency.9 For Roosevelt getting people back to work was something that needed his undivided attention.
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