Nancy Beck Young
- Published in print:
- 2012
- Published Online:
- May 2013
- ISBN:
- 9780813042077
- eISBN:
- 9780813043456
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- University Press of Florida
- DOI:
- 10.5744/florida/9780813042077.003.0009
- Subject:
- History, American History: 20th Century
This chapter examines the fight in Congress over the creation of the G.I. Bill of Rights, placing the episode in the larger context of postwar reconversion. The chapter argues that the G.I. Bill, ...
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This chapter examines the fight in Congress over the creation of the G.I. Bill of Rights, placing the episode in the larger context of postwar reconversion. The chapter argues that the G.I. Bill, long celebrated as an important contribution to social welfare policy in the United States, represented a much more conservative approach than implementing a cradle-to-grave social security system that provided health care for all. Liberals in Congress fought for the latter at the same time the G.I. Bill was being considered. That they lost was no surprise but was in keeping with the important wartime shifts away from the New Deal welfare state and toward a less liberal warfare state.Less
This chapter examines the fight in Congress over the creation of the G.I. Bill of Rights, placing the episode in the larger context of postwar reconversion. The chapter argues that the G.I. Bill, long celebrated as an important contribution to social welfare policy in the United States, represented a much more conservative approach than implementing a cradle-to-grave social security system that provided health care for all. Liberals in Congress fought for the latter at the same time the G.I. Bill was being considered. That they lost was no surprise but was in keeping with the important wartime shifts away from the New Deal welfare state and toward a less liberal warfare state.
Daniel J. Clark
- Published in print:
- 2018
- Published Online:
- May 2019
- ISBN:
- 9780252042010
- eISBN:
- 9780252050756
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- University of Illinois Press
- DOI:
- 10.5622/illinois/9780252042010.003.0002
- Subject:
- Sociology, Social Movements and Social Change
After earning the nickname "The Arsenal of Democracy" during WWII, Detroit’s auto plants experienced production disruptions during postwar reconversion to civilian production. This meant significant ...
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After earning the nickname "The Arsenal of Democracy" during WWII, Detroit’s auto plants experienced production disruptions during postwar reconversion to civilian production. This meant significant layoffs, especially for women autoworkers. Shortages of crucial materials, often caused by steel strikes and coal strikes, made auto employment sporadic. Authorized strikes in the auto industry, including the 1946 GM strike called by Walter Reuther, and unauthorized "wildcat" strikes, all contributed to ongoing instability. Cold weather, hot weather, and federal credit regulations played roles as well. As a result, autoworkers experienced persistent layoffs even though auto companies managed to earn profits during the early postwar years. By late 1948, no one in the industry thought that the postwar boom had arrived.Less
After earning the nickname "The Arsenal of Democracy" during WWII, Detroit’s auto plants experienced production disruptions during postwar reconversion to civilian production. This meant significant layoffs, especially for women autoworkers. Shortages of crucial materials, often caused by steel strikes and coal strikes, made auto employment sporadic. Authorized strikes in the auto industry, including the 1946 GM strike called by Walter Reuther, and unauthorized "wildcat" strikes, all contributed to ongoing instability. Cold weather, hot weather, and federal credit regulations played roles as well. As a result, autoworkers experienced persistent layoffs even though auto companies managed to earn profits during the early postwar years. By late 1948, no one in the industry thought that the postwar boom had arrived.
