GI BILL OF RIGHTS

In 1944, social and economic concerns, higher education, veterans' issues, and federal legislation merged in a way never before experienced in the history of the United States with the passage of the Servicemen's Readjustment Act, more commonly known as the GI Bill of Rights. This single piece of legislation simultaneously changed the lives of millions of veterans who served in World War II and affected social, economic, and educational devel opment in the United States for decades to follow. Both veterans and historians frequently argue that the GI Bill was one of the most influential and beneficial pieces of legislation passed by the federal government in the twentieth century.

In light of events following World War I, particularly the Bonus Army's Washington protests, President Franklin D. Roosevelt's administration strove to develop legislation that would provide compensation for veterans, help them adjust to postwar society, and keep them from overloading the workforce as soon as the war ended. The economic and employment issues raised following World War I contributed to the comprehensive nature of the GI Bill, which was the first legislation to include all veterans and provide them with more than just basic living allowances. These efforts to develop a program of benefits for the veterans of World War II began well before the war ended.

The National Resources Planning Board Conference on Postwar Readjustment of Civilian and Military Personnel, a group organized by Roosevelt, first met on July 17, 1942. In June 1943, the Conference presented a report that advocated providing veterans with twelve months of schooling at any level and three years of education for a select number of veterans who showed particular aptitude. They also suggested that there would be a need for limited vocational training. Another group, the Osborn Committee of the Armed Forces Committee on Postwar Educational Opportunities for Service Personnel, also focused on the issue of educational opportunities for veterans. By the fall of 1943, the American Legion joined in the movement and began to work on a comprehensive bill that would include medical care, unemployment compensation, education and vocational training, home and farm loans, and a system of furlough pay. Jack Cejnar, the American Legion's acting director of public relations, eventually labeled their proposed program the GI Bill of Rights.

On June 22, 1944, President Roosevelt signed the GI Bill of Rights into law. Title Two of the measure dealt with the education and training of veterans. All veterans who had served at least ninety days in the military and were not more than twenty-five years old when they enlisted had the chance to receive one year of schooling. They could also receive additional education equal to the amount of time they served, a monthly subsistence allowance while in school, and money for fees, tuition, books, and supplies.

In addition to financial assistance, the bill offered the veterans a fair amount of freedom in their educational decisions. The veterans attended their schools of choice. The government also refrained from imposing itself on the schools' administrators and their curriculum decisions. Evidence of the bill's influence on higher education is evident in the fact that at some colleges veterans made up over half of the student body in the late 1940s. During the bill's peak year, 1947, nearly 49 percent of all college students in the United States were veterans. From the GI Bill's enactment in June 1944 to its end on July 25, 1956, close to 7.8 million veterans, of an eligible 15 million, received education and training with the assistance of the bill. Of these, approximately 2.2 million attended colleges and universities and 3.5 million attended other schools. An additional 2.1 million received on-thejob training and farm training. Over the twelve years the bill was in place for World War II veterans, the education program cost $14.5 billion.

In addition to addressing issues of education for the veterans, the GI Bill provided veterans with home, farm, and business loans that helped them to establish themselves financially after the war. These loans contributed to their ability to buy homes, purchase farmland and farming equipment, or start their own businesses. Also, under the GI Bill's 52–20 clause, all veterans were eligible to receive $20 a week for 52 weeks while they looked for work, which in that era was a significant contribution to living expenses. Only about one-fifth of the money set aside for the 52–20 Club, as this program was known, was distributed because most returning veterans promptly found work or used the bill's education benefits.

The broad nature of the coverage provided by the GI Bill indicated the societal goals of the legislation's authors. Thus, the GI Bill received significant political and public support, as veterans returning from the "good war" were viewed as heroes and the public believed they deserved extra acknowledgment. Its wide scope had extensive impact on society and education. Higher education in America dramatically changed and grew as a result of the bill; some schools tripled in size in less than a decade. Instead of flooding the job market on their return, as had happened after World War I, these veterans opted to receive education and training that ultimately made them strong contributors to society. Additionally, home ownership became increasingly accessible as a result of the loans made available by the bill. In essence, the GI Bill democratized many of the dreams held by Americans.

bibliography

Gubin, E. K. Veteran's Handbook for Veterans of World War II and Their Dependents, Including an Explanation of the GI Bill of Rights. Washington, DC: Army Times, 1945.

Kandel, Isaac Leon. The Impact of the War upon Higher Education. Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina Press, 1948.

Mohr, Clarence L. "World War II and the Transformation of Southern Higher Education." In Remaking Dixie: The Impact of World War II on the American South, edited by Neil R. McMillen. Jackson: University Press of Mississippi, 1997.

Olson, Keith W. The G.I. Bill, the Veterans, and the Colleges. Lexington: University Press of Kentucky, 1974.

Ross, Davis R. B. Preparing for Ulysses: Politics and Veterans during World War II. New York: Columbia University Press, 1969.

Kathryn St. Clair Ellis

See also:American Legion; Demobilization; Veterans' Benefits; Veterans of Foreign Wars.