Popular history, but wellwritten and wellresearched by two maryland professionals, this book examines the development and playing out of the bonus army for readers unfamiliar with 20th century american history, this was the depressionera march on washington by tens of thousands of wwi veterans demanding payment of the bonus promised them for their war service but delayed. Click here for bonus army i linkso f the million men hoped by the marchs organizers would attend, barely 20,000 managed to scrape together depressionera bus and train. In 1932, with the northwest lumber industry hit especially hard by the depression and with hoovervilles springing up in the citys sullivan gulch and elsewhere, portland became a center of activity for a directaction political movement known as the bonus army. The bonus army march on washington, 1932 records of rights. The bonus army would also affect the presidential election of 1932, when the patrician governor of new york, franklin delano roosevelt, squared off against incumbent president herbert hoover. Radio diaries march of the bonus army radio diaries. The saga of the bonus army was born out of the inequality of the selective service act 1917, the failure of the government to provide any meaningful benefits to the veterans of the first world war, and the fear and anxiety produced by the great depression. The legislation called for the immediate payment of war bonuses for world war i veterans. Then the characters came together for the push to dc.
The bonus army occupation of the nations capital in 1932 represents something more than the sitdown strikes pioneered by the cio, the great mass assemblies like martin luther kings. In the summer of 1932, at the height of the depression, some fortyfive thousand veterans of world war i descended on washington, d. Hardly more than fifty of the veterans started for the white house, but the moment their approach was reported president hoover issued orders to the police to close the gates of the grounds and to clear. The first book length treatment of the bonus army was roger daniels the bonus march. Patton and the bonus march of 1932 americaslibrary. Many of the men were sent to rehabilitation camps in the. The bonus army was big news in those waning days of the hoover administration and, in the summer of 1932, e.
The violence that ensued helped franklin roosevelt become president. In 1932 world war i veterans seeking a bonus promised by congress were attacked and driven out of washington, d. Nothing new really comes to light in this book, considering the bonus army. In january 1932, a march of 25,000 unemployed pennsylvanians, dubbed coxs army, had marched on. C the great depression of the 1930s spread economic misery, despair, and heartbreak across america. The unmet demands and needs of wwi heroes by michael j.
Laurels forgotten role in the bonus army history matters. Forming into two assault waves, they continued their push. The history of the controversial protests by american world war i veterans in 1932 by charles river editors 3. In 1932, world war i veterans gathered in washington, d. United states government printing office, washington, 1977. During the sweltering summer of 1932, sixtysix years ago, a group of courageous young veterans and their financially strapped families organized and led the first million man march on washington. He is the coauthor of a new book entitled the bonus army. This book had a lot of letters from hoover about the bonus army. In may of that year, some 15,000 veterans, many unemployed and destitute, descended on washington, d. The bonus army was a group of 43,000 demonstrators made up of 17,000 u. They formed the bonus army in 1932 to march on washington and lobby for their bonuses. Unemployment was up to 25%, in some towns it was up to 50%. They marched to washington and set up public camps and erected shacks on vacant lots.
On june 15, 1932, the us house of representatives passed the wright patman bonus bill to move forward the date for world war i veterans to receive their cash bonus. This screen capture is from a 1932 universal newsreel and shows the. March of the bonus army in the summer of 1932, a group of world war i veterans in portland, oregon hopped a freight train and started riding the rails to washington dc. The world war i bonus army during the great depression. Led by general douglas mcarthur, the bonus army was brutally crushed. They called themselves the bonus expeditionary force bef but were commonly called the bonus army. By late 1931, thousands of unemployed world war i veterans across the country had begun to call on congress to pay their long. At the time, the sight of the federal government turning on its own. People worked for low wages, or worked jobs below their skill level. Towards the late afternoon, cavalry, infantry, tanks and machine guns pushed the bonusers out of washington. However, by 1932 the nation had slipped into the dark days of the depression and the unemployed veterans wanted their money immediately. Bibliography bonus army washington dc history resources. Many had not worked since the beginning of the great depression.
The bonus march mayjuly, 1932 american experience official. Eleanor roosevelt posing with veterans at bonus army camp. Poor and desperate, they marched on washington in 1932, to ask for early payment of bonus certificates not owed them until 1945. In 1932 world war i veterans seeking a bonus promised by congress were attacked and driven.
When the bonus army held a second rally in may of 1933, president roosevelt provided them with a campsite and three meals. Beginning in 1927, veterans were allowed to use the service certificates as collateral for loans. With the deepening of the great depression by 19311932, however, veterans began. In this excerpt from his autobiography, former army sergeant w. War i and then culminating in the shameful treatment of bonus army in 1932. This documentary history collects a range of primary sources to illuminate this critical period in u. It contains complete coverage stretching from the origin of the bonus in the 1920s to the final legislation passed in 1936, and as such was the first study to examine the roots of the movement. Learn vocabulary, terms, and more with flashcards, games, and other study tools.
Army under the command of douglas macarthur, dwight d. Waters explains the conditions that led him to organize the bonus expeditionary force b. The bonus army 1 the bonus army malcolm cowley 1 overview the socalled bonus army was made up of about 15,000 world war i army veterans and their families. Following wwi, a pension was promised all returning service men to be administered in 1945. Nearly 20,000 world war i veterans came to washington to demand bonus payments. Conspicuously led by macarthur, army troops including major george s. President herbert hoover, army chief of staff douglas macarthur, and others feared the protesters would turn violent after the senate defeated the bonus. After victory in world war i, the us government promised in 1924 that servicemen would receive a bonus for their service, in 1945. The violence that ensued helped franklin roosevelt. Patton and the bonus march of 1932 did you know that george s. The problem for the bonus army is that he also opposed the veterans demands. The march of the bonus army, a 30minute documentary scheduled to premier nationally on pbs stations on memorial day, may 29, at 10. The books most haunting aspect is its verbal and pictorial record of the. Bonus army, gathering of probably 10,000 to 25,000 world war i veterans estimates vary widely who, with their wives and children, converged on washington, d.
By 1932, veterans long out of work and with nothing better found. In this lesson well look at the bonus army, world war i veterans who. Under legislation passed with the approval of veterans groups in 1924, payments had been deferred, with interest, until 1945. World war i veterans, their families, and affiliated groupswho gathered in washington, d. Patton once battled fellow world war i veterans in the streets of washington, d. As the great depression took shape, many wwi veterans found themselves out of work, and an estimated 17,000 traveled to washington, d. In the summer of 1932, in the midst of the great depression, world war i veterans seeking early payment of a bonus scheduled for 1945 assembled in washington to pressure congress and the white house. In their book the bonus army, writers paul dickson and thomas b. Roberts fifty years ago today the ragtag bonus army of jobless world war i veterans was driven out of washington, an act that symbolized the depth of the great depression and the paralysis of the federal government in dealing with americas worst economic disaster. But no veterans story has been as dramatic or eventful as that of the bonus army. The story of the bonus army in 1932, world war i veterans gathered in washington, d. The members of the bonus expeditionary army, as they called themselves, claimed they were exercising their first. This photograph is part of the collection at getty images, a worldwide provider of visual content materials to such communications groups as advertisers, broadcasters, designers, magazines, new media organizations, newspapers.
World war i veterans, together with their families and affiliated groups who gathered in washington, d. In the summer of 1932, at the height of the depression, some fortyfive. By 1932, nearly onethird of working americans were unemployed and desperate for relief. Hoover sounded angry that the marchers were asking for help and said. Hiphughes chops up the bonus army incident of 1932 and served up a heaping helping of learnin perfect for students needing a refresher, lifelong learners and internet weirdos. White devoted three comment columns to the protest and the economic woes it. The great depression hit most veterans particularly hard. Documents decoded the political ideas that resulted from confronting the crisis of the great depression and the new deal of the early 20th century reshaped america. Organizers called the demonstrators the bonus expeditionary force, to echo the name of world war is american expeditionary forces. During the summer of 1932, in the depths of the depression, some 45,000 veterans of world war i descended on washington, d. However, readers who are anxious to read about what organizers called the bonus expeditionary force will have to read through the first half of this book.
Army chief of staff and major general douglas macarthur watched a brigade of. This is a carefully crafted historical novel that describes the dirty underbelly of american social conditions in the early twentieth century leading up to world war i and then culminating in the shameful treatment of bonus army in 1932. The bonus march mayjuly, 1932 few images from the great depression are more indelible than the rout of the bonus marchers. News july 1932 july 2,9,16,23,30 august 1932 august 6,27 washingtoniana division dc public library bonus. The bonus army was the name applied a group over 17,000 u. They were demanding immediate payment of a cash bonus the government had promised them after the war but delayed until 1945. Most of the time, the gatherings have been peaceful. On january 27, president roosevelt vetoed the bill, but congress immediately voted to override the veto. In the summer of 1932 approximately 20,000 world war i veterans gathered in washington d. Despite the peaceful nature of the protest, hoover ordered the army to remove the protestors from washington. The 1932 march of the veterans bonus army thoughtco. Bonus army aka bonus expeditionary force washington dc, 1932 bibliography primary sources fbi files on bonus marchers books paper collections archival materials films library of congress images articles images from washingtoniana scrapbook primary sources b. The eccentric evalyn walsh mclean was the owner of.
After the senate rejected the bonus, most of the protesters went home, but a core of ten thousand members of the bonus army remained behind. In spring and summer 1932, approximately 45,000 world war i veterans marched on washington and camped in unoccupied lands. In may 1932 thousands of world war i veterans began gathering in washington, d. Library of congress from the start, 1932 promised to be a difficult year for the country, as the depression deepened and. Bonus army aka bonus expeditionary force washington dc, 1932.
Stevenss opposition to a push for payment of t curred a rash of. Desperate for financial help, they sought early payment of a bonus due in 1945. An episode of the great depression, published in 1971. Hoover described himself as being patiently indulgent with the marchers who he said were abusing constitutional rights. Bad decisions, and their consequences, are the most obvious element of the story of the bonus army, a terribly sad and very preventable event in 1932 that pretty effectively summed up the sorrow. Waters explains the conditions that led him to organize the bonus. One of the exceptions was the bonus army in march of 1932.
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