| R 214 |
| 2023 -- S 0839 Enacted 03/30/2023 |
| S E N A T E R E S O L U T I O N |
| COMMEMORATING THE 90TH ANNIVERSARY OF THE GREAT DEPRESSION NEW DEAL CIVILIAN CONSERVATION CORPS |
Introduced By: Senator John P. Burke |
| Date Introduced: March 29, 2023 |
| WHEREAS, On October 29, 1929, the United States Stock Market crashed, thereby |
| ending what has been called “The Roaring Twenties” and ushering in more than a decade of |
| economic privation the likes of which had never been seen before in American history and |
| hopefully will never be seen again; and |
| WHEREAS, Before the United States Constitution was altered by the Twentieth |
| Amendment, newly elected Presidents used to take office on March 4th. As President Franklin |
| Delano Roosevelt (FDR) was set to take office, America was suffering in unimaginable ways. |
| The official American unemployment rate was at a record high of 24.9 percent and that number |
| didn’t count those who could only find part-time work and those who had given up on finding |
| work. According to a report from Irving Bernstein for the United States Department of Labor, |
| “There is no doubt that 1933 was the worst year, and March the worst month, for joblessness in |
| the history of United States”; and |
| WHEREAS, When FDR assumed office, there was a feeling that this nation’s democratic |
| underpinnings were in peril with far right and far left totalitarians on the American scene |
| threatening America’s very foundations. It was against this backdrop that FDR took office and he |
| knew that he had to take immediate action to lower the jobless rate in America; and |
| WHEREAS, On April 5th, 1933, FDR signed the “Emergency Conservation Act”, also |
| known as the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC), an act that quickly gave much-needed jobs to |
| approximately 275,000 enrollees and 10,000 supervisors, in camps across the United States. The |
| Civilian Conservation Corps, and similar Programs like the Works Progress Administration, |
| allowed hungry people to get fed, have shelter and gave people hope amidst the despair. The |
| Civilian Conservation Corps also had the additional advantage of its great benefit to the |
| Environment; and |
| WHEREAS, The State of Rhode Island had more than 15,900 enrollees in the CCC, with |
| others working in various New England States such as Vermont and Maine. Civilian |
| Conservation workers did timber stand improvement, forest insect control, developed recreation |
| facilities, and planted approximately 1 million trees. These CCC workers also helped towns deal |
| with natural disasters such as the 1938 Hurricane; now, therefore be it |
| RESOLVED, That this Senate of the State of Rhode Island hereby commemorates the |
| 90th Anniversary of the creation of the Civilian Conservation Corps and furthermore honors the |
| memory of the Civilian Conservation Corps workers who worked tirelessly to better Rhode |
| Island’s State parks and forests; and be it further |
| RESOLVED, That the Secretary of State be and hereby is authorized and directed to |
| transmit a duly certified copy of this resolution to Mr. Martin Podskoch, Board member of CCC |
| Legacy. |
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| LC002701 |
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