G.I. Bill of Rights The G.I. Bill of Rights transformed socio-econo

The G.I. Bill of Rights is the popular name for the Servicemen's Readjustment Act, also known as Public Law 346. The bill has been called the most important piece of legislation of the twentieth century. In terms of overall impact, historians rank the G.I. Bill alongside the 1862 Homestead Act and the 1862 Land-Grant Act, also passed during wartime. Of these three acts, novelist James Michener contends, "Subtract the consequences of these wartime laws and the United States would today be a much poorer nation" (Pedigo, 1994, p. 60).

The G.I. Bill was signed into law by President Roosevelt, but not without opposition. Opponents feared that the educational component of the bill would be unworkable or that it amounted to a handout for lazy war veterans. College presidents feared that a sudden influx of war veterans would do irreparable damage to the academic status of the nation's institutions of higher

. . .
needed support while the veteran learned a new skill or finished college. All these factors were taken into consideration by the millions of veterans who eventually signed up in droves to take advantage of the G.I. Bill. Within two years after the G.I. Bill was made law, American colleges and universities were deluged by war veterans. Prior to World War II, only a small proportion (ten percent) of Americans were enrolled in college: "It was primarily a luxury of the upper middle classes unless one was fortunate enough to get a scholarship or could work one's way through college" (Wilson, 1995, p. 20). The G.I. Bill made it possible for 51 percent of American students to attend college (Wilson, 1995, p. 21). Of the 14 million veterans eligible for the program, 2.2 million took advantage of the college benefits (Kiester, Jr., 1994, p. 130). African-Americans were among the beneficiaries of the government's assistance to veterans. An estimated 70,000 black veterans entered college on the G.I. Bill (Kiester, Jr., 1994, p. 130). Prior to World War II, the majority of blacks (85 percent) who entered higher education often attended historically black colleges and universities (Wilson, 1995, p. 20). As a result of the G.I. Bil
. . .

Some common words found in the essay are:
GI Bill, Kiester Jr, Joe College, War II--the, War II, President Roosevelt, Korean Vietnam, gi bill, Bill Rights, American Legion, Public Law, war veterans, kiester jr 1994, kiester jr, jr 1994, wilson 1995, world war, 1994 130, jr 1994 130, hartmann 1995, world war ii, original gi, prior world war, education benefits, original gi bill,
Approximate Word count = 1733
Approximate Pages = 7 (250 words per page)