Bonus March (1932)
Depression-era protest.
In 1924, Congress approved a deferred $1,000 bonus for
veterans of the American Expeditionary Force as a reward for
their service during World War I. The government scheduled
payment of the money to begin in 1945, but financial hardships brought on by the Great Depression led many veterans
to demand their payments early. In 1932, President Herbert
Hoover, concerned with balancing the federal budget and
overwhelmed by the nation’s economic woes, refused to support the early disbursal of the bonus funds and effectively
killed off the required legislation. In response, a group of
unemployed veterans, led by ex-sergeant Walter Williams and
calling itself the Bonus Expeditionary Force, marched on
Washington in protest in May 1932. They built crude camps
around the city and vowed to remain in the nation’s capital
until the government paid the bonuses. By June 1932, the
“Bonus Army” numbered about 20,000 men, many of whom
had their wives and children with them. After Congress
refused to comply with their request, many of the veterans
left the city, but several thousand remained to continue the
lobbying effort.
By mid-July the veterans’ camps had become a political
embarrassment to Hoover, and he issued orders to have the
protestors evicted from the capital. He first called in the
Washington police, but their efforts only led to a riot during
which two veterans died. Hoover then called in the U.S.
Army. Hurling tear gas and brandishing bayonets, federal
troops led by General Douglas MacArthur chased the overmatched protestors out of town, burning their camps and
injuring more than 100 veterans. The idea of U.S. soldiers
attacking U.S. war veterans appalled the general public, and
the political consequences for Hoover were disastrous.
Though MacArthur had exceeded the president’s orders with
regard to excessive use of force, many Americans blamed
Hoover personally for the entire episode, further damaging
his already tarnished political image.