The GI Bill
Following the end of World War II, the U.S. government was determined not to repeat the error it had made with returning World War I soldiers: they did not receive any postwar loans for over 18 years, even during the height of the Great Depression. From 1944 to 1962, under the Servicemen’s Readjustment Act of 1944 (also known as the GI Bill), the government issued veterans low-interest mortgages and loans for college or trade school. About 9 million veterans applied for and received close to 4 billion dollars. As a result, in 1947, veterans made up almost half of all college admissions. Veterans were also moving to the fast-growing suburbs as new homeowners. The GI Bill granted many people access to the middle class.
President Franklin D. Roosevelt signing the GI Bill.
However, not every veteran had equal access to GI Bill funds. Benefits were often disseminated by all-white state veterans administrations. Black people and women were consistently steered to menial jobs. Racist college and university admission policies barred Black students, and banks often refused to lend to Black applicants.
Take Notes
