Welfare for veterans: an army on short rations
20 The Welfare Inspector General of New York State made headlines recently with charges of widespread ineligibility among veterans receiving relief in New York City.1 Little notice, however, was taken of the plight of 15,000 veterans then receiving relief in the city, or of their dependents, together totaling almost 37,000 persons. Over 1,000 veterans, mostly of the Vietnam War, are currently applying for public as sistance in the city each month. Ex-service men are probably making their way to wel fare offices in proportionate numbers throughout the country, but precise data are not readily available because few states or localities keep statistics on veterans as such.
The Returning Black Vietnam-Era Veteran
This study explores the readjustment to civilian life of 199 black Vietnam- era veterans. Additional national data are used to demonstrate that black veterans are faced with unique problems.
Continents of Liberty: Emerson and Gerald Vizenor’s Chair of Tears
Ralph Waldo Emerson protested what came to be known as the Trail of Tears in a public letter to President Martin Van Buren in 1838. Th e Cherokee Nation, he argued, had been cheated by a “sham treaty” (Emerson, “Letter” 50), the will of the people ignored, and a false acquiescence to removal written into law. In making a passionate appeal to the highest “chair” of the land, Emerson underscored the great political and moral stakes involved: