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Each of these articles discuss the historical impacts that the Servicemen’s Readjustment Act of 1944 had on the United States and how those changes continue to impact students in today’s society.
Officially the Servicemen’s Readjustment Act of 1944, the G.I. Bill was created to help veterans of World War II. It established hospitals, made low-interest mortgages available and granted stipends covering tuition and expenses for veterans attending college or trade schools.
On June 22, 1944, President Franklin Delano Roosevelt signed Public Law 78-346, the Servicemen’s Readjustment Act of 1944, to provide sweeping new benefits to World War II veterans. The law has been commonly referred to as the “G.I. Bill” since then.
It’s been 75 years since the GI Bill was first passed by Congress. Here’s an explanation of just how important the bill has been to U.S. prosperity as a whole.
PL 346 was the Congressional designation of a landmark bill signed into law 64 years ago today - legislation designed to smooth the transition to civilian life for millions of World War II servicemen. In the process it changed America for ALL of us. Congress is very close to approving expanded benefits for service men and women of today's Iraq War era.
Almost 450,000 servicemembers have elected to transfer some portion of their GI Bill benefits, predominantly to their children. These numbers suggest the extent of the Bill's potential effects on social mobility and post-secondary educational attainment for the next generation.
While for most Americans higher education and home ownership were unattainable dreams before WWII, the G.I. Bill allowed millions of veterans to take part, and by 1947 they made up 49 percent of college admissions. By 1956, nearly 7.8 million of the 16 million WWII veterans had taken part in an education or training program and the VA had guaranteed 5.9 million home loans. It represented a huge contribution to the welfare of veterans and their families and to U.S. economic growth.
For nearly 75 years, the Serviceman’s Readjustment Act of 1944, more commonly known as the GI Bill, has provided grants for veterans to attend college or a vocational school and take out low-interest loans to start their own businesses. However, modernization has been made to the GI Bill, with the Post-9/11 Veterans Educational Assistance Act of 2008—known as the Post-9/11 GI Bill—and the Harry W. Colmery Veterans Educational Assistance Act of 2017, or the Forever GI Bill to allow the program to adapt to the 21st Century.
