1944+Serviceman's+Readjustment+Act+also+known+as+the+GI+Bill+of+Rights

Tim Ennis October 24, 2007 Block 2 Group #5- __The Home Front__


 * Name**: George Nichols.
 * Age**:I am thirty-five years old.
 * Hometown**:My hometown is Boston, Massachusetts.
 * School**:I am currently enrolling in Boston University.
 * Relationships**:Both of my parents are not alive and I have no brothers or sisters. The rest of my family is very poor. As a result, I had very little money. However, the passing of the 1944 Readjustment Act turned my life around.
 * Ethnicity**:I am 50% Slovakian, 30% Irish, and 20% Italian.
 * Birthday**: I was born on May 8, 1916.
 * Occupation**: I am a retired U.S. soldier; I was in the marine corps. Now, I am going to college in order to get a job as an accountant.

The Servicemen's Readjustment Act, or the __GI Bill of Rights__, was a bill passed by Congress in 1944 that would make it

easier for returning soldiers to get back into the routine of civilian life. Before the 1944 Serivemen's Readjustment Act was put

into law, a lot of thought went into the creation of it ('United” 1). Many Americans believed that a healthy postwar economy, would

count on giving us a way to take care of ourselves when we returned back to America ("GI" 1). Department of Labor predicted,

while we were fighting in World War 2, that approximately 15 million men and women in the war would have no job. As a result, a

White House agency, called the National Resources Planning Board, reviewed post war needs in the beginning of 1942

("United” 1). William Randolph Hearst, who owned many newspapers, was a big supporter of

the GI Bill of Rights. He was one of the many people who helped the bill get passed into law.

[|www.nndb.com/people/446/000024374/wr-hearst.jpg] Although the GI Bill of Rights got passed through both the Senate and the House of

Representatives without getting one vote against, it still had critics ("United 1"). For example,

people who were against the GI Bill of Rights were worried that we would force chaos on educational standards and would hold

up campuses because of our insufficient preparation for higher learning. Therefore, they believed that the bill should get

abolished. One thing that critics of this excellent law can't deny, is the success the bill has created for many, including me (“GI” 1).

This bill, which the federal government paid for, gave us a maximum of $500 a year for college tuition and other educational

costs. This is the reason why I am able to attend Boston University ("GI" 1). The amount of degrees that colleges and universities

awarded doubled during the 1940s. In fact, seven years after the bill was passed, about 8 million of us got educational benefits,

and approximately 2,300,000 went to colleges and universities ("United" 1). Since many of us can now go to colleges and

universities, over-crowding became a major concern. http://arcweb.sos.state.or.us/exhibits/ww2/images/after/vet37-19.jpg For example, I noticed that the cafeterias and hallways at Boston University are being more crowded every day. This shows that

the GI Bill of Rights can have some flaws ("GI" 1). We, World War 2 veterans, also received federal loan guarantees if we were

either purchasing a new house or farm or if we were starting new businesses (Danzer et al. 592). The fact that we got federal loan

guarantees made it much easier for us to buy houses. As a result, the GI Bill of Rights led to a greater demand for housing and the creation of suburbs ("GI" 1). This would then cause

there to be more jobs in construction because of the increase in housing starts ("United" 1). The 1944 Servicemen's

Readjustment Act also gave us $50-a-month allowance for every month we have have served in the war. Since I was in the war

for twenty months, I would get a total of $2,000. This is great for me because now I can buy accessories and not have to spend all

my money on taxes ("GI" 1). The GI Bill of Rights had an enormous impact for us because it helped us return back to our ordinary

lives. In conclusion, the 1944 Servicemen's Readjustment Act, or the GI Bill of Rights, helped us in a number of ways. It improved

our lives by giving us allowances, college tuition, and federal loan guarantees. Although there were critics of this law, there is not

one person in America that can not admit that the bill hasn't accomplished anything. These three important aspects of the GI Bill

of Rights is the reason why I am even writing to you right now. If it was not for this bill, I, and many other World War 2 veterans,

would be selling apples out on the street. Hopefully, Congress will continue to create laws that benefit all of the social classes in

the United States.

__Glossary__

__GI Bill of Rights (also referred to as the 1944 Servicemen's Readjustment Act)__- a bill, passed by Congress in 1944, that gave financial and educational help to World War 2 veterans.

__Works Cited__

Danzer, Gerald, et al. __The Americans__. Evanston, Illinois: McDougal Littell Inc., 2003.

__GI Bill - Servicemen's Readjustment Act of 1944__. __Law Library - American Law and Legal Information__. 23 Oct. 2007

indent<[|http://law.jrank.org/pages/7137/GI-Bill-Servicemen-s-Readjustment-Act-1944.html>.]

United States. National Archives and Records Administration. __Servicemen's Readjustment Act (1944)__. Maryland: GPO