"The idea was to get things back to normal asquickly as possible," Foote says.
Opening the Doors
The GI Bill permanently changed the nature ofhigher education, at Harvard and throughout thenation. Over 7.8 million veterans took advantageof the GI Bill, 2.2 million in order to pursuehigher education.
The Class of 1949, with its mixture of veteransand high school students, and its diverse range ofsocio-economic and geographic backgrounds,represented clearly the shift that was takingplace in American higher education.
Although the classes of the 1950s containedfewer and fewer beneficiaries of the GI Bill, theeffects of the legislation on enrollment andadmissions were long-lasting.
"The colleges expanded to meet the demand andthey never looked back," Skocpol said.