A Study On The G.I. Bills

The issue of veterans has long been important in history. Ever since the beginning of civilization, all the states (or regions) have acknowledged their special status and offered them some special benefits. But for a long period of time, these policies did not work, which frequently result in disturbance, riots or overthrow of government. In modern times, it has become a common challenge for most countries to properly arrange veterans, particularly the able-bodied veterans. According to historical experience, America passed the G.I. Bill shifting its policy from special treatment to cultivation of their self-reliance and independence, successfully resolving the problem.There are three historic periods for American veteran policies. The first one is the Pension Era starting from colonial period to the eve of World War I. During this period of time, the main body of veterans’benefits was pensions for disabled veterans. In practice, the restrictions gradually became more flexible, ranging from service-related disability to presumptively service-related disability and finally abandoning the principle of service-related disability. This made the disability pension equal to those for able-bodied old veterans, resulting in an incredibly expensive system. The second one had witnessed the Reform Age in World War I. To construct the benefits of veterans of World War I, America introduced the idea of social security and implemented some new benefits, attempting to get rid of the previous pension system heavily criticized. But all these efforts neither break the old system nor establish a new one.The third period refers to the Rights Era after World War II characterized by the GI Bills. America had taken the veteran issue into consideration after officially taking part in World War II. However, the government finally lost its dominant power for the reason that Roosevelt insisted on including it in the national demobilization plan and that all administrative departments failed to join together due to their private interests. Such veteran organizations as America Legion took prompt actions, putting forward The G.I. Bill of Rights covering job counseling, employment placement, unemployment compensation, education, guaranteed loans for home, farm and business. The G.I. Bill of Rights got passed in Congress and signed into effect by Roosevelt.The G.I. Bill of Rights marks the fundamental change in American veteran policies, entitling the able-bodied veterans to enjoy the benefits brought about by the Federal government to help them to readjust to civilian life. Compared with the previous policies assuring veterans’ living, the GI Bill aimed to promote veterans’self-independence. After the implementation of the Bill, it helped the veterans to readjust to civilian life, either prompting their social positions or changing their fate. Meanwhile, it played a positive role in promoting the post-war economy in America, particularly in popularity of higher education, private residence and the suburbanization.The successful implementation of The G.I. Bill of Rights entitled the able-bodied veterans to equal benefits as disabled veterans in law and in morality. After WWII, the benefits of veterans progressed to the Era of Right. "Right" here merely refers to the rights of able-bodied veterans since the disabled veterans issue had already been resolved. After the start of The Korea War, America promulgated the Korean GI Bill by summarizing the lessons from The G.I. Bill of Rights. Despite the lower financial aid, it still accomplished the task of helping veterans readjust to civilian life. In 1966, America promulgated the Vietnam Era GI Bill, promoting the smooth readjustment of Vietnam veterans. It extended the readjustment benefits to the veterans serviced in peace time, which seemed to become their basic rights.Since the implementation of all-volunteer force in 1973, America enacted The Montgomery GI Bill Act of 1984 to resolve the problem of recruiting and holding soldiers. But this Bill was merely limited to the financial aid of education of veterans. In 2008, America enacted Post-9/11 GI Bill, offering more generous aid to education, taking the part of The Montgomery GI Bill Act of 1984. However, the two GI Bills were just a single legislation for education rather than a real GI Bill. Other readjustment benefits offered by previous GI Bills were regulated by other laws. The form of GI Bills had changed.The GI Bills result from the progress of American veterans’ benefits, closed related to the functional change of the federal government and the development of social security system. For a long time, the policies have only attached importance on veterans’ basic rights of survival. But after the GI Bills, America substituted veterans’ right to development for previous the right to survival. Meanwhile the able-bodied veterans replaced the disabled veterans and became the main body of veterans assisting by federal government. The main reason for the success of the GI Bills lies in the fact that it treats veterans as human resources rather than a burden. It could shield light on the placement of modern Chinese veterans.