Without the GI Bill or the interstate highway system, where would we be? A lot less educated, and it would take longer to get to Madison, that’s where.
This comes to mind because Wednesday is theme night on WTTW-Ch. 11. The topic is post-World War II American behavior and more specifically these two government projects that shaped the country. Two separate documentaries, one produced out of New York public television station WNET, the other out of Washington’s WETA, arrive bearing similarly assertive subtitles.
The jaunty film “The GI Bill: The Law that Changed America” (8 p.m.) is followed by the more ambitious “Divided Highways: The Interstates and the Transformation of American Life” (9 p.m.).
At first glance documentaries about a piece of legislation and a road network would not seem likely to deliver interesting viewing, but they do, the road piece with a greater depth of research, more poetry in the telling and fewer quotes from actors. More important, they each do their business without once uttering the now-shopworn phrase, “Baby Boom.”
Let’s look at the two films side by side to try to determine which project really has the better claim on nation-shifting.
Numbers. Interstate system: Took almost 40 years to complete 43,000 miles of stoplight-free roads, linking every major city, even Cleveland, from an initial appropriation of $25 billion in 1956. GI Bill: Sent 8 million of 15 million returning veterans, including Walter Matthau, Harry Belafonte and Art Buchwald (interviewed here), to college or trade school, one day of tuition per one day of military time, stunning the universities and politicians who had anticipated the unemployment benefits would be the most popular part of the package. Secured low-interest home loans for more than 2 million.
Behind the Altruism. GI Bill: Unemployed World War I veterans, shabbily treated by Washington, had launched a small war against the seat of government in 1932. Thinkers also knew that disaffected veterans in Italy and Germany had formed the backbone of fascist movements there. The GI Bill of Rights was partly self defense. Interstates: Count the interests pushing for more roads and more cars, from engineering firms to General Motors, with very little opposition. It was about efficient travel, yes, but it was good for business too.
Superlative. GI Bill: “Probably the most successful government program that has ever existed,” says historian Lewis Milford. Interstates: “It’s the biggest public works project of all time. It is the greatest achievement in the history of man. Of building,” says historian Stephen Ambrose.
Transformation. GI Bill: The nation changed from mostly renters to mostly owners. Society became middle class. Suburbia was born. College and many professions lost their standing as the bastion of privilege. And college hazing of freshmen was threatened; “If you had come back from the Battle of the Bulge,” says one veteran, “wearing a beanie was not your cup of tea.” Interstates: The fast-food burger became a national symbol. The trucking industry became dominant. Trains waned. Car culture thrived. Neighborhoods perished.
Gertrude Stein Quote. Interstates: “It is something strictly American to conceive a space that is filled with moving.” GI Bill: None.
Rod Steiger Quote. GI Bill: “It made me look at things I never would have looked at.” Interstates: None.
Interview with the Dave Barry of Its Day? GI Bill: Yes, Buchwald. Interstates: Yes, Dave Barry, who complains about bad Miami drivers and recounts how his dad’s aggressive use of the interstates whizzed them past all the sites. ” `The Grand Canyon,’ ” the columnist quotes his father, ” `it’s over there.’ ” Documentary also incorporates, with varying degrees of success, Julia Child, Mr. Rogers and Tom and Ray Magliozzi of NPR’s “Car Talk.”
Is There a Hero? Interstates: Dwight D. Eisenhower was the father of the interstate system, motivated by his experience in Europe, where the German autobahns struck awe into American military men, and decades earlier in the U.S., where he took part in a 1921 Army convoy attempting to navigate the first stab at a cross country road, the Lincoln Highway. It took 62 days. GI Bill: The American Legion, which wrote the blueprint for the legislation and lobbied hard, along with publisher William Randolph Hearst, to make sure it became law.
Villain? Interstates: All the people, engineers and politicians who didn’t take into account the lives and neighborhoods that would be altered by highways through cities and who didn’t think much about any impact beyond road linkage. The columnist Molly Ivins credits the highway builders with a knack for finding the line between black and white neighborhoods and sticking the road right there, further entrenching segregation. GI Bill: The heads of Harvard University and the University of Chicago, who opposed the bill because it meant rabble on their campuses– rabble, the Harvard president was forced to admit, that turned into the best crop of students he had had.
Overriding Theme. GI Bill: Believing in people and their ability to ride a gift horse to glory. Interstates: Believing in progress over urban planning.
PBS Pledge Drive Potential. Interstates: Not really, unless a pitch can be targeted to retired highway engineers. GI Bill: Oh, yes. Much sentimentalism about the bill is offered. Recipients of its benefits can expect this program to accompany the outstretched open hand of public broadcasting in upcoming months and years.
