World War II Veterans

The Servicemen's Readjustment Act of 1944, known informally as the G.I. Bill, was a law that provided a range of benefits for returning World War II veterans (commonly referred to as G.I.s). Benefits included low-cost mortgages, low-interest loans to start a business, cash payments of tuition and living expenses to attend university, high school, or vocational education, and 1 year of unemployment compensation. It was available to every veteran who had been on active duty during the war years for at least 90 days and had not been dishonorably discharged. Combat was not required. By the end of the program in 1956, roughly 2.2 million veterans had used the G.I. Bill education benefits so they could enroll in colleges or universities. An additional 5.6 million used the benefits for vocational training programs.

On June 22, 1944, President Franklin Roosevelt signed the Servicemen's Readjustment Act of 1944 into law. Roosevelt wanted a postwar assistance program to help transition from wartime, but he also wanted it on a need-basis for poor people, not just veterans. The veterans' organizations mobilized support in Congress that rejected Roosevelt's approach and provided benefits only to veterans of military service; both men and women. The bill was introduced in the House on January 10, 1944, and in the Senate the following day; both chambers approved their own versions.

An important provision of the G.I. Bill was low-interest, zero-down-payment home loans for servicemen, with more favorable terms for new construction compared with those for existing housing. This encouraged millions of American families to move out of urban apartments and into suburban homes. Another provision was known as the 52–20 clause. This enabled all former servicemen to receive $20 a week for 52 weeks/year while they were looking for work. Less than 20% of the money set aside for the 52–20 Club was distributed; rather, most returning servicemen quickly found jobs or pursued higher education.

Discrimination

Although the G.I. Bill did not specifically advocate discrimination, it was interpreted differently for African Americans. Historian Ira Katznelson argued that "the law was deliberately designed to accommodate Jim Crow." Because the programs were directed by local, white officials, many veterans did not benefit. Of the first 67,000 mortgages insured by the G.I. Bill, fewer than 100 were taken out by Americans of color. By 1946, only one fifth of the 100,000 African Americans who had applied for educational benefits had registered in college. Furthermore, historically black colleges and universities (HBCUs) came under increased pressure as rising enrollments and strained resources forced them to turn away an estimated 20,000 veterans. HBCUs were already the poorest colleges, and their resources were stretched even thinner when veterans’ demands necessitated a shift in the curriculum away from the traditional "preach and teach" course of study HBCUs offered.

The United States Department of Veterans Affairs, because of its strong affiliation to the all-white American Legion and Veterans of Foreign Wars, also became a formidable foe to many African Americans in search of an education, because it had the power to deny or grant the claims of black G.I.s. Additionally, banks and mortgage agencies refused loans to African Americans, making the G.I. Bill even less effective for Americans of color.

G.I. Bill Education

Worksheets from various areas of study cover the desk of a Joint Task Force Trooper. The Servicemen's Readjustment Act, commonly referred to as the G.I. Bill, helped service members pay for higher education and training programs since it was signed into law by President Roosevelt on June 22, 1944.

Korean War Veterans

The success of the 1944 G.I. Bill prompted the government to offer similar measures to later generations of veterans. The Veterans' Adjustment Act of 1952, signed into law on July 16, 1952, offered benefits to veterans of the Korean War who served for more than 90 days and had received an "other than dishonorable discharge." Korean War veterans did not receive unemployment compensation but were entitled to unemployment compensation starting at the end of a waiting period determined by the amount and disbursement dates of their mustering-out pay. They were entitled to 26 weeks at $26/week to be paid for by the federal government, but administered by the states. One improvement in the unemployment compensation for Korean War veterans was they could receive both state and federal benefits; the federal benefits beginning once state benefits were exhausted.

One significant difference between the 1944 G.I. Bill and the 1952 Act was that tuition was no longer paid directly to the chosen institution of higher education. Instead, veterans received a fixed monthly sum of $110, from which they had to pay for their tuition, fees, books, and living expenses. The decision to end direct tuition payments to schools came after a 1950 House select committee uncovered incidents of overcharging of tuition rates by some institutions under the original G.I. Bill in an attempt to defraud the government.

Congress did not include merchant marine veterans in the original G.I. Bill, even though they are considered military personnel in times of war, in accordance with the Merchant Marine Act of 1936.

Impact

Despite the racial discrimination that the legislation embraced, the G.I. Bill proved highly effective for white veterans. Over half of the World War II veterans benefited from educational benefits of the bill, and by 1947, nearly half of college enrollments were veterans. Nearly a third of all veterans accessed low-interest loans. With the post-war economic boom and very low unemployment rates, relatively few depended on unemployment benefits. These opportunities allowed many veterans to transition into the middle class and secure economic prosperity.

Veterans also fought for higher education programs more focused on practical needs, which led to increased valuing of more pragmatic programs such as engineering. A college education, and the resultant higher salary, was no longer limited to the U.S. economic elite. Average federal income rose along with average U.S. taxpayer income. Colleges also benefited from the influx of veterans: increased enrollments meant more money for institutions to operate.

A large demand for housing followed from the G.I. Bill’s mortgage subsidies, leading to the expansion of suburbs and the new U.S. middle class. Historians have argued that the bill had a tremendous impact on the dramatic pace of the post-war growth of housing and suburbia.