|
The concept of the VA home loan originated prior to the Revolutionary War.
Long before there was a United States of America, there were soldiers fighting to protect their way of life in what is now America. As far back as 1636 in the Plymouth colonies, laws were enacted to provide for the care of those who fought the Indians. These early "benefits" were limited to pensions for soldiers who were disabled as a result of their actions in defense of the colonials, and most of the colonies adopted similar legislation.
This trend continued up to and including the Revolutionary war. Among the early acts of the Continental Congress in 1776 was a law that provided half pay for life for any veteran who lost a limb or suffered some similar disability. While it is true that the legislation was a recruiting tool to boost enlistments and curtail desertions, it still set the stage for what we know now as the G. I. Bill of Rights. This action was also a precursor for another tradition in federal legislation. While the Continental Congress enacted the law, they passed the responsibility for funding and enforcement down to the newly formed states. The more things change, the more they stay the same.
While the pension act was less than a resounding success when it came to the soldiers collecting their money, it did bring national focus on the responsibility of our government for those who serve in harms way. Some time after the end of the Revolutionary War, Congress began to make grants of public lands to those who had served to the end of the war.
We have come a long way since we first began asking citizens to take on the role of soldiers in defense of our Republic. With each war we have recognized that the needs of our armies must keep up with the realities of the world we live in. The road to the system we now have under the auspices of the Department of Veterans Affairs has been a long and winding one. We have gone from disability pensions to a myriad of benefits – including the availability of VA Loans for houses and land.
|
