Good citizens vote and serve on jury duty. They are responsible for their actions and are involved in their communities. Good citizens are honest in their dealings with others, showing tolerance for those different from themselves. Good citizens do not bully their friends and neighbors. They live life honestly and seek the best for all. They are proud to be citizens of the United States of America and Arizona. Sometimes citizens do not follow the laws. When that occurs the citizen can be forced to pay a fine or lose their freedoms. Sometimes they are sent to jail. Why did Arizona’s economy boom after World War II With the end of World War II Arizona began to change. The population of Arizona began to grow and grow. Many soldiers who had trained in Arizona came back to Arizona with their families to live. Many other Americans wanted to live in the warm, desert climate of Arizona. These thousands of new citizens needed new jobs, new schools, and new homes. One Arizonan who led the state through this first period of great growth was Ernest McFarland. “Mac,” as he was called by Arizonans of his day, was a United States Senator during World War II. In 1944 he sponsored one of the greatest bills in American history—the G.I. Bill. In fact, Mac was known as the “Father of the G.I. Bill.” The G.I. Bill was officially called the “Servicemen’s Readjustment Act.” The G.I. Bill made government loans for education and housing available to the returning World War II soldiers. This meant that soldiers from the middle and lower economic classes of America could receive a low interest government loan to go to college or a trade school and buy a home for their families. For the first time in American history, a college education was affordable for all the people of the United States. It allowed sons and daughters of farmers, steel workers, coalminers, and people from the poor, inner cities to become college educated and to own their own homes. The G.I. Bill forever changed America. Ernest McFarland was a key McFarland Historical State Park, located in Florence, Arizona, honors the great Ernest McFarland. 152  Chapter 15 • People at Work Today