Officially entitled the Serviceman’s Readjustment Act, the GI Bill of Rights provided a wide array of benefits designed to help veterans back into the civilian mainstream after World War II. It turned out to be one of the landmark pieces of social legislation of the mid-20th century.
The GI Bill had multiple origins. In part, it came from proposals in 1943 of the National Resources Planning Board (NRPB) and of President Franklin D. Roosevelt. As Congress was working on several bills to assist veterans, the American Legion recommended an omnibus bill early in 1944 that after being modified and somewhat weakened by conservatives gained widespread support and was signed into law by Roosevelt in June 1944. Though a significant piece of reform legislation that underwrote upward mobility for veterans in the postwar era, and the only such reform measure passed by the conservative 78th Congress, it was supported not so much as a reform but as a reward for veterans and their service. Its passage also reflected the lobbying efforts of the American Legion and the political power of the millions of servicemen and their families and friends. The press immediately dubbed the law the GI Bill of Rights, with the “GI” standing for Government Issue, the label soldiers had given themselves.
An estimated 16 million people were eligible to participate in the GI Bill programs administered by the Veterans Administration (VA). More than 10 million veterans ultimately collected benefits. The law did not discriminate on the basis of race or sex. Although originally intended to expire in 1956, the popularity and success of the GI Bill moved Congress to extend the law to allow veterans from virtually every conflict since World War II to benefit from the program.
The GI Bill included direct benefits for unemployment and job assistance, as well as business and farm loans and aid to disabled veterans and their dependents. The most significant elements of the law, however, were the benefits that helped veterans further their education and acquire homes. Veterans were free to attend the educational institution of their choice. While attending class, the VA paid the veteran’s full tuition and up to $500 per year for related school costs. They also received a monthly stipend of $50 if they were single and $75 if married for living expenses and to ease other financial burdens. Congress later increased the stipend amounts.
By 1948, nearly half of all male college students participated in the education benefits program, and in the 10 years that the full education benefits were made available, nearly 7 million veterans received tuition and training through the GI Bill. This unprecedented increase in college enrollment strained the resources of many universities, often resulting in shortages of student housing, classrooms, and faculty. Despite such problems, the GI Bill had a major impact on higher education by reshaping the popular image of college and helping to democratize higher education in America.
The GI Bill also helped veterans get their piece of the American dream by offering low interest mortgages. The law empowered the VA to issue payment guarantees for home lenders who made mortgages to veterans, and it capped the interest rate on these loans. With such liberal financing terms, veterans could buy a home without a down payment and make monthly payments that were less than prevailing rentals. By 1947, more than $4 billion in mortgages had VA guarantees, and 15 years later the figure exceeded $50 billion. Furthermore, the increase in mortgage funds resulted in thousands of houses built specifically for veterans and their families.
The VA mortgage program helped increase the level of homeownership significantly after World War II. Within ten years of the creation of the GI Bill, 57 percent of all nonfarm homes were owner-occupied, a dramatic increase from the 1940 level of just 41 percent. Furthermore, because much of this new housing was in the suburbs, the GI Bill had a major effect on how Americans lived. Of the 13 million new homes built in the 1950s, 85 percent were in suburbs. Because many of these new homeowners were white, the GI Bill indirectly contributed to the so-called white flight from the cities.
Further reading: Suzanne Mettler, Soldiers to Ci-tizens: The G. I. Bill and the Making of the Greatest Generation (New York: Oxford University Press, 2005); Keith W. Olson, The G. I. Bill, the Veterans, and the Colleges (Lexington: University Press of Kentucky, 1974); Davis R. B. Ross, Preparing for Ulysses: Politics and Veterans during World War II (New York: Columbia University Press, 1969).
—Dave Mason
World History
