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The Serviceman’s Readjustment Act of 1944 or G. I. Bill created benefits for World War II veterans. The Bill enabled low-cost mortgages; business loans; cash payments for tuition, college expenses, and training programs; unemployment compensation; and other entitlements. The G.I. Bill led to the expansion of the middle class in the United States. By 1956, 2.2 million veterans possessed a college education; 6.6 million had completed a job-training program.
The Readjustment Act’s more popular name, G. I. Bill, resulted from the World War II acronym G. I. stamped on materials. This was short for Government Issue.
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Historians consider the G. I. Bill and the 1964 Civil Right Act two of the most significant pieces of legislation the U.S. Congress passed in the Twentieth Century.
Rings of Trust Page 8
