This Day in History: <br />FDR Signs the G.I. Bill June 22, 1944 Known officially as the <br />Servicemen's Readjustment Act of 1944, <br />the G.I. Bill was the final reform <br />of Roosevelt's New Deal. In signing the legislation, <br />Roosevelt was considering the thousands of members <br />of the armed forces who would eventually return <br />home following their service during World War II. The G.I. Bill is well known as providing education <br />funding for those who have served, including tuition, <br />living expenses, books and supplies. But it also guarantees access <br />to unemployment compensation, <br />as well as low-interest business and home loans. The G.I. Bill transformed American higher education, <br />which at the time was considered accessible <br />mostly for the upper class. By 1947, at least half of all of <br />those enrolled in college were veterans. In 1950, almost 500,000 Americans <br />graduated from college, <br />up from 160,000 graduates in 1939.
