Veterans' organizations

Veterans' organizations, groups formed to foster the spirit of comradeship developed during war and to demonstrate support for the government. The groups are politically influential due to the size of their memberships, and they lobby for legislation beneficial to veterans such as pensions, education, and services for disabled veterans. In the United States, the first veterans' organization was the Society of the Cincinnati. Formed in 1783, with George Washington as its first president, it consisted of veterans who had fought in the Revolutionary War. The Grand Army of the Republic, formed in 1866, was an organization of veterans of the Union Army that wielded great political power for over 40 years. The American Veterans of World War II, Korea and Vietnam (AMVETS) was founded in 1944.