Hard Times

In 1933, the United States was in the midst of the Great Depression. During this time, 12 to 15 million Americans were jobless and hungry. Banks had failed. Drought and lack of money had caused thousands of families to abandon their farms and homes. Many people were forced to visit soup kitchens and stand in bread lines for food to survive.

Natural Burdens

Adding to the misery were severe droughts, high winds, and outdated farming practices which turned the Midwest into a giant Dust Bowl.

Solution to the Problems

President Franklin Delano Roosevelt’s “New Deal” pledge produced a number of government programs to help push the nation out of this Depression. The Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC), one of the more popular New Deal programs, created jobs for young men while improving the nation’s forests, parks, and range lands.

Franklin D. Roosevelt

Unemployed Men

1930s Dust Storm

Abandoned Farm

Civilian Conservation Corps

• A New Deal for the American People
• Changing the Nation
• Changing the Park
• The Work and Play of Camp Wind Cave
• Then and Now
• Changing Lives