Against the President: Dissent and Decision-Making in the White House: A Historical Perspective Book

That the CCC was successful is undeniable. What was a surprise was just how successful it was. Not just in preserving wilderness, but in reversing the soil depletion on many of America's farms, in creating hundreds of city parks, and in building the confidence of the young men who participated in the endeavors. But most of all, by popularizing the New Deal, it brought to FDR's side many who had not initially voted for him and guaranteed his reelection, not just once but three times.

Yes, there were mistakes. Even as the work was going on there were critics who railed, justifiably, against the planting of invasive species, and the killing off of many of the predators. The ecological movement was in its infancy; fighting against some of the most egregious mistakes of the CCC actually invigorated that movement and carried it into the Post-WWWII era. In fact, many of those same men who worked at CCC camps would eventually head some of the organizations of that selfsame movement.

But all one has to do is imagine what this country would look like if the forests had not been replanted, if farms had been allowed to go fallow because the soil was gone, and if all those young men, dejected and often not in the best of health, had not been allowed work they could be proud of , away from the degraded environment of the cities. Made healthy, they were ready for the real trial when the US entered the second World War.