John Rankin

HUAC Made Permanent Standing Committee, Institutionalizes Political Persecution

1945-01-03 00:00:00 +0000 UTC | Importance: 8/10

On January 3, 1945, the House of Representatives votes to make the Dies Committee a permanent standing committee, renamed the House Un-American Activities Committee (HUAC). Mississippi Representative John Rankin, a virulent segregationist and antisemite, engineers the transformation through a …

House of Representatives John Rankin Martin Dies House Un-American Activities Committee red-scare political-persecution civil-liberties institutional-capture legislative-overreach

GI Bill Passed with Discriminatory State Implementation Enabling Racial Wealth Gap

1944-06-22 00:00:00 +0000 UTC | Importance: 9/10

President Roosevelt signs the Servicemen’s Readjustment Act (GI Bill) on June 22, 1944, creating transformative benefits for veterans including education, housing, and unemployment assistance. However, Southern Democrats, led by Mississippi Representative John Rankin, ensure the bill’s …

Franklin D. Roosevelt Congress John Rankin Veterans Administration American Legion racial-discrimination wealth-inequality housing-policy education-policy federalism-exploitation