HNN, Best group blog: "Witty and insightful, the Edge of the American West puts the group in group blog, with frequent contributions from an irreverent band.... Always entertaining, often enlightening, the blog features snazzy visuals—graphs, photos, videos—and zippy writing...."
Yeah, I thought it had to do with the GI “Bill of Rights.” But perhaps FDR partisans (a tenacious lot) wanted to emphasize its introduction to Congress (at the behest of our second greatest president) rather than its final passage.
Of course the association with GI Bill of Rights must be correct, yet see, e.g.:
On rare occasions in American history, Congress enacts a measure so astute, so far-reaching, so revolutionary, it enters the language as a metaphor. The Marshall Plan comes to mind, as does the Civil Rights Act. But perhaps none resonates in the American imagination like the G.I. Bill.
In a brilliant addition to Oxford’s acclaimed Pivotal Moments in American History series, historians Glenn C. Altschuler and Stuart M. Blumin offer a compelling and often surprising account of the G.I. Bill and its sweeping and decisive impact on American life. Formally known as the Serviceman’s Readjustment Act of 1944, it was far from an obvious, straightforward piece of legislation, but resulted from tense political maneuvering and complex negotiations. As Altschuler and Blumin show, an unlikely coalition emerged to shape and pass the bill, bringing together both New Deal Democrats and conservatives who had vehemently opposed Roosevelt’s social-welfare agenda. For the first time in American history returning soldiers were not only supported, but enabled to pursue success–a revolution in America’s policy towards its veterans.
Once enacted, the G.I. Bill had far-reaching consequences. By providing job training, unemployment compensation, housing loans, and tuition assistance, it allowed millions of Americans to fulfill long-held dreams of social mobility, reshaping the national landscape. The huge influx of veterans and federal money transformed the modern university and the surge in single home ownership vastly expanded America’s suburbs. Perhaps most important, as Peter Drucker noted, the G.I. Bill “signaled the shift to the knowledge society.” The authors highlight unusual or unexpected features of the law–its color blindness, the frankly sexist thinking behind it, and its consequent influence on race and gender relations. Not least important, Altschuler and Blumin illuminate its role in individual lives whose stories they weave into this thoughtful account.
Written with insight and narrative verve by two leading historians, The G.I. Bill makes a major contribution to the scholarship of postwar America.
Not be to confused with the “Montgomery GI Bill” (or MGIB) which is what the cold warriors got; it was certainly helpful, but the sunset clause did me in when I went back for grad school…10 years after separation/retirement and it is history.
For the first time in American history returning soldiers were not only supported, but enabled to pursue success–a revolution in America’s policy towards its veterans.
Yeah, we got over THAT pretty quick.
I wonder if the difference is the lack of a draft in our 1991/2003 endeavors?
My father, a Korean War veteran who got his law degree thanks to this, always called it the GI Bill of Rights (not just “the GI bill”), and was very grateful it existed….
As am I, beneficiary as I was to the upward mobility his education gave him.
16 comments
December 5, 2011 at 12:56 pm
Ken Houghton
Because “G.I. Act” has REALLY BAD connotations?
December 5, 2011 at 1:20 pm
jazzbumpa
Conflation with the G.I Bill of Rights?
December 5, 2011 at 1:32 pm
Pudd'nhead Wilson
Yeah, I thought it had to do with the GI “Bill of Rights.” But perhaps FDR partisans (a tenacious lot) wanted to emphasize its introduction to Congress (at the behest of our second greatest president) rather than its final passage.
December 5, 2011 at 2:03 pm
rosmar
I never thought of this before! So weird, now that you mention it.
December 5, 2011 at 3:25 pm
elizardbreath
By analogy with the better known G.I. “Joe”.
December 5, 2011 at 5:20 pm
are we there yet?
As jazzbumpa said, I always heard of it as the GI Bill of Rights on first reference, GI Bill after that. Is there more than one thing by that name?
December 5, 2011 at 6:35 pm
JWL
Why is Candlestick Park commonly referred to as “The Stick” in today’s Bay Area?
[Hell-In-A-Hand-Basket Interlude] I never called it that when I was a kid.
Why is the word “liberal” deemed a pejorative in today’s U.S.A., especially among democratic party politicians?
Why am I typing this when Monday Night Football has just begun?
December 5, 2011 at 6:44 pm
JWL
Having just turned on the tube, I’ll answer my own question about Monday Night Football.
It’s because tonight’s match-up is the Chargers vs. the Jags (you dolt).
December 5, 2011 at 8:04 pm
eric
Of course the association with GI Bill of Rights must be correct, yet see, e.g.:
December 5, 2011 at 8:56 pm
TF Smith
Not be to confused with the “Montgomery GI Bill” (or MGIB) which is what the cold warriors got; it was certainly helpful, but the sunset clause did me in when I went back for grad school…10 years after separation/retirement and it is history.
Best,
December 6, 2011 at 2:53 am
joel hanes
I was drafted. Afterward, the 1972-era GI Bill was for me a Very Good Thing.
Todays troops have nothing like it. A damned shame, especially considering the horrors we’ve demanded of them.
December 6, 2011 at 5:29 am
Anderson
For the first time in American history returning soldiers were not only supported, but enabled to pursue success–a revolution in America’s policy towards its veterans.
Yeah, we got over THAT pretty quick.
I wonder if the difference is the lack of a draft in our 1991/2003 endeavors?
December 6, 2011 at 11:50 am
kevin
And hey, why do we call them fingers? I’ve never seen them “fing”.
And what’s the deal with airplane food? Amiright, people?
December 6, 2011 at 12:11 pm
eric
Hey, this blogging thing is harder than it looks, you know.
December 7, 2011 at 6:59 am
Kieran
I presume that somewhere in JSTOR—or if not, in a file drawer somewhere—there is a scholarly paper titled “How a GI Bill Becomes A Law”.
December 7, 2011 at 4:16 pm
Main Street Muse
My father, a Korean War veteran who got his law degree thanks to this, always called it the GI Bill of Rights (not just “the GI bill”), and was very grateful it existed….
As am I, beneficiary as I was to the upward mobility his education gave him.