This book explores the contentious political debates over the Vietnam-era G.I. Bills and their impact on Vietnam War veterans' education benefits. It discusses the legislative history behind the Vietnam-era G.I. Bills, starting with the 1944 G.I. Bill of Rights, or Servicemen's Readjustment Act, as well as the main politicians involved in their passage in order to understand how legislation that failed to fulfill many of the needs of Vietnam veterans came into being. It argues that a combination of political challenges resulted in education benefits for Vietnam-era veterans that were inferior to those received by their World War II counterparts. The book focuses on the two dominant strains of postwar American political ideology, liberalism and conservatism, and their implications for veterans' benefits. It also examines the postwar debates on federal compensation for military service that led to a reevaluation of the meaning of citizenship in America during the Cold War era.