The G.I Bill



Introduction


The G.I Bill also known as the Servicemen's Readjustment Act of 1944 was a bill that provided finical aid for college to World War two veterans. It also supplied unemployment compensation and home and business loans. The bill now includes other veteran programs that benefit and assist veterans that have served in other wars.
The G.I Bill definitely worked. It created postwar success; helped million of veterans attend college, finish vocational training, obtain loans for homes and businesses, and receive unemployment payments.


Critique of the bill:

The bill was very similar to the new deal. While some, like Anti-New Deal conservative John Rankin, worried that these payments might create a freeloader mentality for veterans, many critics of the new deal did not find the same flaws in the GI bill. As it’s secondary aim being to equalize all races and social classes, it was one of the bills best received by the public.

Original:

The Federal Government would subsidize tuition, fees, books, and educational materials for veterans and contribute to living expenses incurred while attending college or other approved institutions. Veterans were free to attend the educational institution of their choice. Colleges were free to admit those veterans who met their admissions requirements.

Post 9/11:

The Post 9/11 GI Bill provides financial support for education and housing to individuals with at least 90 days of aggregate service on or after September 11, 2001, or individuals discharged with a service-connected disability after 30 days.

Affect on African Americans


The G.I bill affected African Americans in positive and negative ways. With the country segregation and racism issues its no surprise that the African American community was not thought of to reap benefits. The bill didn’t speak to the low income and uneducated standards of most veterans. Although the bill did positively affect the amount of African American college students that enrolled It also lead to the passing of another bill that expanded HBCU’s in the country.


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What's its legacy?

What do the members of your group think about the bill? Was it a good idea or bad idea? How would the US be different if the GI Bill was not enacted?

The legacy was the opportunity for African Americans to go to a college and raise the percentage of the usual perspective of Black college students. Though the twist of the situation was that this bill was passed by Uncle Sam, the most unexpected, anti-opportunity person to start such a movement. Though, my members do believe it was a good bill to be passed because it was a bill of opportunity, something everyone should have, even if it's Uncle Sam giving the opportunity, it something that can't be taken for granted. If the bill had not been passed African Americans would still have began to have a higher percentage of college participants, but it wouldn't have happened as fast as it did after the bill was passed.


Bibliography
Glenn C. Altschuler, Stuart Blumin, Stuart M. Blumin, . The GI Bill: The New Deal for Veterans. I. Oxford : Oxford University Press , 2009. Print.

Leddy, Chuck. "A critical look at the GI Bill’s impact." The Boston Globe. The Boston Globe, September 10, 2009. Web. 23 Mar 2010. <http://www.boston.com/ae/books/articles/2009/09/10/a_critical_look_at _the_gi_bills_impact/>.

Lee, Jenny J. . "1944 GI Bill of Rights." University of Toronto. N.p., n.d. Web. 23 Mar 2010. <http://www.oise.utoronto.ca/research/edu20/moments/1944gibill.html>.