THIS RESEARCH PAPER WILL EXAMINE THE WAY IN WHICH THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT’S ATTEMPT TO

TEMPORARILY THWART ECONOMIC INSTABILITY OVER HALF A CENTURY AGO CONTINUES TO HAVE

PROFOUND SOCIAL AND ECONOMIC RESULTS TODAY.

Unintended Consequences:The GI Bill Throughout the

21st Century

From the beginning:

WWI Veterans return from WWI to unemployment and poverty

1932- thousands of WWI veterans march on Washington in search of federal financial aid

1944 - Fearing a similar response to the Post WWI recession the Serviceman’s Readjustment Act of 1944 is passed

Serviceman’s Readjustment Act of 1944

Drafted by American Legion member and Illinois governor John Steele

Primary concern is to avoid economic hardship for country

Republican Hamilton Fish of the Hudson Valley in New York State tells House of Representatives that WWII veterans would not “come home and sell apples as they did after the last war, because if that is all they were offered, I believe we would have chaotic and revolutionary conditions in America.”

FDR signs bill into legislation June 22, 1944

Results

2.2 million WWII veterans used Serviceman’s Readjustment Act education benefits after WWII

In 1947 half of college students are veteransWWII veterans primarily in their late twenties to

early thirties return to the U.S. anxious to catch up with heir non military peers – marry, settle down, and raise a family

1/5 of all single family homes in the United States within 20 years after WWII are financed with the Serviceman’s Readjustment Act of 1944

A new white suburban middle class is bornEducation responds to needs of veterans with

degree programs in business and engineering

A Second Generation

U.S. involvement in Korea and Viet Nam and the end of the draft in 1973 results in very low volunteerism

Representative Montgomery (D-Miss), chairman of the House Veterans Affairs Committee sponsors the Montgomery GI Bill

President Ronald Reagan signs the bill into law in 1984

Montgomery GI Bill requires voluntary contribution from soldier but provides twentyfold tuition assistance

GI Bill and Race

One of the SRA’s co-sponsor’s is Senator John Rankin (D-Miss) who is a segregationist

Black veterans are entitled to same benefits as all GI’s but meet with profound discrimination

De facto discrimination

1947 1700 veterans are employed by the Veteran’s Administration in one Southern state; 7 are black

Veterans are eligible for benefits but most colleges are segregated

Black colleges are quickly overcrowdedA majority of black veterans entered the service

without a high school diploma and do not meet college entrance requirements

VA housing and hospitals are segregatedAmerican Legion allowed 5 state offices

permission to charter posts for African Americans; only if segregated

1/17/1956-Atlanta, GA: Airman Second Class Philip Wagner, of New York City, en route to the Warner Robbins Air Force Base Near Macon, GA

African American Soldier Reads Segregated Terminal Sign

VA & Industrial Philosophy

Veteran’s Administration encourages African Americans returning from war to learn a skill or trade

Congressman Charlie Rangel (D-NY) veteran of Korean War receives 4 battle stars, the Bronze Star, and Purple Heart in his all black battalion. Upon his return home he is urged by the VA to seek a trade as a “mortician or electrician” rather than apply to college. He later graduates from St. John’s University Law School

Economics

1986 Congressional Research Office study indicates for every $1 invested in the GI Bill the U.S. recoups between $5 - $12 as a result of increased taxes paid by veterans who have achieved higher incomes made possible by higher education

A New Generation

The Post 9-11 GI Bill is co-sponsored by Senator Barack Obama (D-Ill)

2009 – Post 9-11 GI Bill is passed into law by President Barack Obama

New bill extends benefits to Reserve and Guard as well as veteran’s dependents

“[W]e do this not just to meet our moral obligation to those who’ve sacrificed greatly on our behalf and on behalf of our country, we do it because these men and women must now be prepared to lead our Nation in the peaceful pursuit of economic leadership in the 21st century”

- President Barack Obama August 3, 2009