Editing Civilian Conservation Corps (section)

===Decline and disbandment 1941–1942===
Although the CCC was probably the most popular New Deal program, it never was authorized as a permanent agency. The program was reduced in scale as the Depression waned and employment opportunities improved. After [[Selective Training and Service Act of 1940|conscription began in 1940]], fewer eligible young men were available. Following the [[attack on Pearl Harbor]] in December 1941, the Roosevelt administration directed all federal programs to emphasize the war effort. Most CCC work, except for wildland firefighting, was shifted onto U.S. military bases to help with construction.

The CCC disbanded one year earlier than planned, as the [[77th United States Congress]] ceased funding it. Operations were formally concluded at the end of the federal fiscal year on June 30, 1942. The end of the CCC program and closing of the camps involved arrangements to leave the incomplete work projects in the best possible state, the separation of about 1,800 appointed employees, the transfer of CCC property to the War and Navy Departments and other agencies, and the preparation of final accountability records. Liquidation of the CCC was ordered by Congress by the Labor-Federal Security Appropriation Act (56 Stat. 569) on July 2, 1942, and virtually completed on June 30, 1943.<ref>[[Conrad L. Wirth|Wirth, Conrad L.]], ''Civilian Conservation Corps Program of the US Dept. of the Interior, March 1933 to June 30, 1942'', a Report to [[Harold L. Ickes]], January 1944</ref> Liquidation appropriations for the CCC continued through April 20, 1948.

Some former CCC sites in good condition were reactivated from 1941 to 1947 as [[Civilian Public Service]] camps where [[conscientious objector]]s performed "work of national importance" as an alternative to military service. Other camps were used to hold [[Japanese American internment|Japanese]], [[Internment of German Americans|German]] and [[Internment of Italian Americans|Italian]] Americans interned under the [[Western Defense Command]]'s Enemy Alien Control Program, as well as Axis [[Prisoner of war|prisoners of war]].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://encyclopedia.densho.org/Civilian%20Conservation%20Corps/ |title=Civilian Conservation Corps |publisher=Densho Encyclopedia |access-date=August 19, 2016}}</ref> Most of the Japanese American internment camps were built by the people held there. After the CCC disbanded, the federal agencies responsible for [[public lands]] organized their own seasonal fire crews, modeled after the CCC. These have performed a firefighting function formerly done by the CCC and provided the same sort of outdoor work experience for young people. Approximately 47 young men have died while in this line of duty.{{Citation needed|date=April 2010}}

[[File:Ccc pillow.jpg|thumb|A CCC [[pillowcase]] on display at the CCC Museum in Michigan]]