The Higher Education Generation: World War I and the Truman Commission’s Path to Universal College Access

ABSTRACT The work of the 1946–1948 President’s Commission on Higher Education was unquestionably influenced by the immediate aftermath of World War II. In this article, we examine the backgrounds and ideas of 10 commissioners to argue that their efforts were also deeply influenced by their experience of a different world war. The 1914–1918 “Great War” was a formative experience for each of the members, shaping their views of sociopolitics, opportunity, and the public purposes of education. Ultimately, these commissioners arrived at the belief that universal college access was the key to ensuring peace and democracy throughout the world. Their product, Higher Education for American Democracy, was anything but a dry federal report. Instead, it was a passionate argument for what higher education ought to be. As such, it closely reflected the lived experiences of its authors, who had been shaped by one shattering conflict, were responding to a second, and were determined to prevent a third.