In the writer for the most part addresses how the CCC (Civilian Conservation Corps) played the major role in President Roosevelt’s New Deal Era. What Neil Mayer attempts to argue is the connection between U.S politics and the subject of conservation is the United States. There was a successful attempt to argue that the CCC was not just a small group of men attempting to conserve most of America by conserving soil and keeping trees safe. The author presented different outlooks such at using natural resources wisely to but also demonstrated how the Corps employed millions of people during its existence from 1933 – 1942. The author makes it a point to indicate how the part of the new era grew in size and implemented itself into politics through the Republican Party. The book implies that the CCC was the major influence in the reshaping of American environmentalism. Through programs there was education such as Temporary Employment Relief Administration, which hired youth to do tree and plant work.
The end game was to have America’s natural forestry protected by making parks for families that was heavily supported by the American Public. The book shows how President (Former Governor) Roosevelt developed a passion for conservation. How he noticed the abandonment of rural and farm land in America. He lobbied with network of appointees such as Henry Morgenthau to oversee New York state conservation department as commissioner. The author shows how the President put his political neck on the line by supporting the new idea. It shows that it was not only Roosevelt that favored support of Rural area. There were groups such as Nashville Agrarians that supported the same concepts. With the attempt to commercialize the nation’s public lands, the development of the CCC proved to be beneficial in many areas along with the Great Depression by providing much needed employment.
In chapter 2, the author makes the attempt to show how the CCC evolved in a powerhouse in America. Also, the book makes the connection to how it was to work its way into politics. The book successfully shows how President Roosevelt strategically embedded the CCC in an effort to build support in different regions to promote his New Deal. One other area he hoped it would help was to get him elected. The author indicates that Roosevelt’s plan was for the CCC to provide support of his welfare state. With Roosevelt’s driving of the CCC and the New Deal, had many programs and conservation ideal that led to the creation of many different areas such as progressive conservation, the Boy Scouts, and while taking in many influences of the like of Gifford Pinchot and Frederick Law Olmsted. The Reader clearly learns how program grew from small projects to large erosion control ideas and managing them.
In addition to the projects, there was also education in classrooms that provided valuable learnings that would allow them to develop careers in the future. The emphasis of the classroom teachings was geared towards conservation and ecology. The book educates the Reader that with the CCC being involved in several popular demonstration projects, allowed the media and other forms of publicity to take place. This increased the support for the CCC as it grew. There were still critics of this movement. Once supporters of the CCC, environmental supporters such as Bob Marshall became critics with the thought that the CCC’s focus was only on a few things that did not provide much help to other areas of need for America. The Nature’s New Deal provides much insight on the rise of the CCC and how it may have pushed the environmental development in America. The author also shows that when the right resources are put together, the political help could be very beneficial to the how a movement is developed and maintained.
