Lunch and Learn: The Civilian Conservation Corps in Connecticut, 1933–42
December 3 @ 12:00 pm - 1:00 pm EST
As a flagship program of the New Deal, the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) was one of several federal agencies that turned to the natural and built environment to promote sociocultural homogenization between the First and Second World Wars.
In this virtual presentation, James Fortuna will investigate the CCC’s role as an agent of national transformation and considers the links between the New Deal’s treatment of the American landscape and its promotion of a new, more pluralistic national identity. James will also highlight some of his findings within the special collections of the Connecticut Museum of Culture and History throughout his time in residence as a 2024 NERFC fellow.
In assessing a few specific case studies from around the Nutmeg State, it will become clear that the Corps acted as a key vehicle of the unifying message that drove the New Deal and its many so-called ‘alphabet agencies’ from the depths of economic depression to a state of preparedness as the country headed toward global war. Accordingly, this talk considers the Corps’ role in the New Deal’s construction of popular historical consciousness and draws attention to the frequent interactions between a diverse range of urban-born enrollees and rural populations before concluding with a timely discussion of the legacy and ultimate fate of these structures. How, if at all, should they be preserved? Whose responsibility is it to decide? What value might they hold in the twenty-first century United States?
In previous publications, James has argued that this agency played a more significant socio-cultural role than many historians have realized. His current book project, tentatively entitled The Civilian Conservation Corps in New England, 1933–42, will expand on this idea by tracing the Corps’ impact on everyday Americans from Mystic to Maine.
This virtual event is free and open to the public. Get free tickets to receive the Zoom link. Questions? Contact Public Programs Coordinator, Jen Busa via email at jbusa@connecticutmuseum.org.
About the Speaker: James Fortuna teaches American history at the University of St Andrews in Scotland. He is a historian of the American experience with an interest in transatlantic and transpacific people, places, and spaces. His research focuses primarily on the twentieth century and is situated at the intersection of cultural and diplomatic history.
