Bonus Army

• How many WW1 veterans marched to Washington DC in summer of 1932

  45,000
• What did congress refuse to do?

  refused to authorise immediate payment of bonds to bonus army
• June 1917 American troops arrived in France. Nearly 100,000 people died, 200,000 were wounded and 100,000+ were taken prisoner
• 1924 Congress grantedWorld war one veterans adjusted universal compensation - however would only receive compensation in 1945 (unless they die which was known as the tombstone bonus)
• 1932- how many workers were unemployed?

  25%
• What does BEF stand for?

  Bowness expeditionary force
• The bonus army developed a plan to defend the United States Capitol in the case of civil insurrection (including tanks, machine guns, gas)
• End of May 1932, nearly 10,000 bonus marchers occupied the nation‘s capital + more were in the way
• Within bonus army camps the colour line vanished - no segregation
• Senate defeated bonus bill on 17th June 1932
• July 16th - last day of congress was in session. Washington on edge thousands of angry veterans surrounded Capitol - congressmen attempted to avoid confrontation with crowd
• July 1932 - 11,698 marchers and their families in Washington
• July 28th 1932 - attempt to evict bonus army - 4:30 pm General McArthur, his major aide Dwight D Eisenhower and his troops moved to affected area.
• How many troops were deployed?

  -200 Calvary men

  -400 infantrymen

  -tanks and armoured vehicles followed
• Gas grenades and tear gas were hurled at veterans forcing them out of their shacks
• Troops were called out by the president of the United States. Marchers sent back to their main camp, president told McArthur to avoid crossing bridge but he did anyways- troops set fire to wooden shacks
• Morning after bonus route, public took a dramatic turn against Herbert Hoover
• how did you Hoover attempt to justify troops setting fire to the bonus armies camps?

  Claimed it was a communist revolution and there was no evidence to prove it
• What song was inspired by bonus marchers and why was this significant?


  “Brother, Can You Spare a Dime?" was inspired by the Bonus Marchers. It was significant because it highlighted the struggles of the Great Depression and the plight of the veterans who were demanding their bonuses. Moreover, the struggle of the marchers became culturally significant
• November 8th 1932 -Americans voted for Franklin Delano Roosevelt
• What does Roosevelt do

  • produces the economy act
• Veterans kept returning to Washington each year to protest the lack of support for the veterans. FDR knows that he cannot use the military to solve the veterans problems
• Where were veterans sent?

  Rehabilitation camps in Florida Keys
• How did the opposition to paying the bonus began to vanish?

  2nd September 1935- most powerful hurricane hits Upper Keys where Veterans are located. Several 100 of them are killed but gov attempted to suppress the news. Renowned writer Ernest Hemingway wrote veterans were practically murdered. Attention from public.
• 1936- senate overrides the veto of the bonus bill becoming law and WW1 veterans in US were paid in full
• How many veterans were paid ?

  4 million
• As a result, when WW2 came about the veterans of the new generation needed to be paid their compensation for the opportunities missed. Therefore, Roosevelt signs the GI Bill of Rights in June 1944
• Why were the bonus marchers significant?

  Their legacies can be seen in all marches on Washington that have followed

  American soldiers returning from war today expect government to keep its promises

  Bonus march was a visible lesson to political leaders that they need to respond to the individual needs of Americans

  Determination of people