| abstract |
This dissertation explores the topic of the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) and how it operated in camps that existed in Bergen County and in Bear Mountain. To contribute deeper insights to the academic discourse on the New Deal's conservation agency, this study analyzes three camp locations to gain a better understanding of the individuals they employed, with a specific focus on race and gender. This dissertation asserts that the CCC represented a major change in how the government responded to its people during a crisis. The CCC employed millions of men, prepared the country for an army, conserved the natural landscape, and instilled in its young workers a sense of patriotism. However, like much of the New Deal regarding race and gender, there was no great social change. This is reflected in how the CCC operated from Bergen County to Bear Mountain. The CCC maintained its segregated units in Teterboro, and women were not allowed to participate in the CCC in Bear Mountain. They formed a camp only for women and without a conservation initiative.
Included in this dissertation are firsthand accounts of the CCC camps in Teterboro, the Palisades, and at the female camp (modeled after the idea of the CCC) at Lake Tiorati in Bear Mountain. Among the archives consulted for this evaluation were the National Archives at the University of Maryland and the FDR Presidential Library. Camp inspection reports and camp newspapers offered some of the most remarkable insights into camp life and enrollee experiences. The personal accounts of CCC enrollee Peter Jacullo, shared before his passing in 2023, helped to tell the story of life working for the CCC at the Palisades.
The story of racial and gender equality is ever-evolving in this country. The research done for this dissertation reveals that, while the CCC was not an overhaul of these norms, small moments, as seen from Teterboro to Bear Mountain, are not insignificant in the broader struggle for change in this country.
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