Name: edHelper The Bonus Army - March on Washington

November 11, 1918 - Armistice Day. The War to End all Wars was over. Weary veterans came home. They left many slain companions behind and brought home a lifetime of bloody memories. The Great War had been one long horror of death and destruction. In the months that followed, soldiers and their families began the process of redefining their lives after the trauma of war.

Many servicemen returned to find that their jobs had been taken by others. Besides that, the economic climate in America had shifted. While the soldiers were away sacrificing years of their lives, wages had gone up. Those who had not gone to war were enjoying much bigger paychecks than the veterans had earned in the same jobs before the war. Soldiers' pay and unemployment seemed a bitter reward for all the veterans had given.

Disillusioned veterans began to press the government for compensation. In 1924, Congress approved the Soldiers' Bonus Act. The veterans received certificates that would be redeemable in 1945 for a cash value of about $1,000 each. It seemed a distant consolation, but perhaps it was better than nothing.

Then came 1929 and the beginning of the Great Depression. The sudden economic crisis jolted everyone, especially the disabled and the widows and children of soldiers killed in Europe. Unemployment was rampant. Many who had given everything for America on the battlefields of the Great War were now trying desperately to keep their families from starving.

Naturally, veterans in these dire straits thought of the bonuses promised by the government. What good would a 1945 cash settlement be to a man who had died of starvation ten years earlier? Ex-soldiers needed the bonuses now. But Congress and President Hoover, wrestling with a nation in financial crisis, refused the servicemen's requests.

In May of 1932, disgruntled veterans organized a protest. They formed the Bonus Expeditionary Force, later known as the Bonus Army. The core of the army set out from Portland, Oregon, bound for Washington, D.C. Ex-servicemen from all over the nation joined in, arriving by boxcar, automobile, or on foot.

By the end of May, 20,000 veterans and their families were massed at the nation's capital. They camped in a swampy area called Anacostia Flats, across the river from the seat of American government. Their homes were ramshackle shanties made of cast-off materials. The dismal shacks were visible from the Capitol Building.

The veterans demonstrated in rallies and protest marches, demanding immediate payment of their bonuses. Victory seemed near when the House voted to award the bonuses. But the Senate defeated the measure. Name: edHelper Discouraged, many of the servicemen left Washington. Some four thousand remained, vowing to stay until they received their money. On July 29, protestors and police clashed.

President Hoover, determined not to allow the veterans to dictate policy, was weary of the Bonus Army headache. He called out federal troops, instructing them to force the demonstrators out of the area near the Capitol. General Douglas MacArthur and his men used tanks, cavalry, and tear gas to clear the veterans' camps. Troops burned the camps to the ground. Bonus Army members and their families were pursued to the surrounding state lines.

In the ensuing melee, two veterans were killed, and one man's pregnant wife miscarried. Fifty protestors and police were injured. In the end, Congress appropriated $100,000 to send the protestors home. Most accepted the accommodations and left, even poorer and more discouraged than when they had come.

News of the rout and its aftermath filled the nation's newspapers for days. Americans were aghast that armed force had been used against unarmed citizens. Many felt the incident had seriously compromised the cherished American right of peaceful protest. The episode further damaged Hoover's already tarnished image with the public.

In 1933, Franklin Roosevelt became president. A group of a thousand veterans marched again in Washington, attempting to loosen federal purse strings and collect their bonuses. Due to an already strained federal budget, Roosevelt also opposed immediate payment of bonuses. His approach to the problem, however, was markedly different from Hoover's.

Roosevelt sent his wife, Eleanor, to meet with the marchers. Mrs. Roosevelt's calm compassion defused the crisis. President Roosevelt also wrote an executive order creating 25,000 jobs for WWI veterans in his Civilian Conservation Corps, a federal program that paid men to work on government projects. The protestors took Roosevelt's alternative measures as a sign of good faith. They left the capital and went home to pick up their lives. Three years later, Congress voted to pay the veterans their long-awaited cash bonuses.

The Bonus Army - March on Washington Questions

1. Explain why servicemen returning from World War I might have felt bitter. Name: edHelper 2. The disillusioned veterans felt: A. so angry they couldn't see straight B. betrayed, that they had believed a lie and been taken advantage of C. protected D. resigned 3. Why did the coming of the Great Depression motivate veterans to demand payment of their bonuses?

4. Why did the American government refuse immediate payment of the bonuses? A. Congress and the President thought veterans would misspend the money. B. Officials were being stubborn. C. The nation was dealing with economic disaster and money was tight. D. Congress and the President were just too busy with other things. 5. Describe the activities of the Bonus Army.

6. The veterans had to wait until 1945 to receive their bonuses. A. true B. false 7. How did President Hoover deal with the Bonus Army? Explain why you think this response was right or wrong.

8. Compare Roosevelt's response to the Bonus Army with Hoover's approach. edHelper Name: How many of these can you write about? Think! Write! Check all the ones you answered. Describe a time when you felt you were treated unjustly. By what methods did you try to remedy the situation? Describe an injustice you see in the world, either globally, nationally, or locally. What could you do to highlight and resolve it?

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