Discussion Questions

History: In Cohen’s chapter on reconversion, she explains the GI Bill and the potential that it had to make the lives of the returning veterans better. She also explains the negative aspects, like the discrimination that was inherent in its implementation for many veterans and non-veterans. For me, this is a key difference, if not the key difference, between the postwar of WWII and WWI, despite the negatives that Cohen described. Was the passing of the GI Bill vital for the creation of the Consumer Republic? Would the post-war prosperity of second half of the 20th century have occurred without these government measures?

Historiography: My original historiography question intended to explore what Richard set out in his history question with the use of New Jersey as a place for specific examples. So, I have instead decided to go back to a topic that I posed with the Tomes book regarding gender. Gender roles are one solidly discussed aspect of this book, as is race. I do not say the role of women exclusively because it was noted by Cohen that male roles did change as well. How important are gender roles to the making and sustaining of the Consumer Republic? Is there enough, not enough, too much emphasis on this aspect of the story by Cohen? To put it a different way, could another historian write the history of the consumer republic without incorporating gendered ideas?