Veterans of War and What They Are Promised From Politicians Essay

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Politics and Veterans

Veterans of war have always been a selling point for politicians in election years. Throughout history one can see how whether on the campaign trail or sitting in office already, politicians have skillfully used veterans in order to promote a "fair deal" or "benefits" to the troops coming home. They do this as a way to curry favor with the public, to show that they can for the soldiers, to show that it pays to go to work for Uncle Sam, and that when an individual does right by his country, his country does right by him. Thus, there was Truman's "Fair Deal," FDR's "New Deal," Harrison's pensions for the Civil War veterans, Nixon and Vietnam Veterans Day, and today's VA hospitals and VA loans, designed to assist veterans in their transition from military to civilian life. Politicians have used the plight of the veterans yesterday and today (whether it is Donald Trump or Bernie Sanders makes no difference -- there is always the cry of protest that we need to take better care of our soldiers). This paper will examine ways in which policies toward veterans benefits have been used by politicians at particular points in American political history.

The Gilded Age that followed the Civil War saw a veritably Republican dominated White House -- beginning with Lincoln and ending with the election of FDR. Republicans at this time were skillful in their use of the Civil War: they blamed it on the Democrats and so Union veterans flocked to the Republican Party. President Benjamin Harrison, who had served in the Civil War under Sherman, promoted the idea of pensions for Civil War veterans and "signed a bill providing additional support for disabled Civil War veterans" (The Age of Political Machines, 2013). Harrison's efforts were linked to his philanthropy and humanitarianism -- for he also supported a number of measures designed to assist in educating the South and helping African-Americans.

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However, his support of veterans was an example of how the Republican Party attempted to appeal to the soldiers who had fought to hold the Union together. The fact that the Party cast blame for the war on the Democrats was disingenuous, for one could easily argue that had Lincoln (a Republican) not been elected, there may have been no war at all but rather a more decided attempt at a peaceful, lawful resolution (as Jefferson Davis had hoped) (Foote, 1958). Nonetheless, Republican leaders in the Gilded Age attempted to appease the Union that had virtually been ripped apart with half a million men dead as a result of the war: they did this by "sticking up" for the veterans and by painting themselves as the do-gooders who had nothing to do with that awful war. For this reason, they were called the "bloody shirts," because they were always waving around the "bloody shirt" of the soldier and accusing their political opponent (the Democrat) of being the root cause of the blood. It was not true in the least -- as the Republican Party was full of violent abolitionists. All the same, the veteran was used as a political ploy to curry favor with a sentimental public.

Of course, war never really ended for America and before the 19th century came to a close, American soldiers were fighting Spain for control of the Philippines in an effort to expand American hegemony around the world. World Wars I and II followed, as did the glowing patronage of Uncle Sam for the veterans whom He pledged to love so much that he did not mind entangling them in one foreign war after another. Woodrow Wilson, one of only two Democrats to enter the White House (between Lincoln and FDR), ran on the platform of keeping America out of the war (World War I) -- but he failed to keep that promise when the British began.....

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