allowed federal troops to remove the Bonus Army with great force
The Bonus Army was not actually and army. It was a group of picketers (protestors). The picketers consisted mostly of World War I veterans and their families. Congress had voted them a bonus for their war service in 1924 (thus the name Bonus Army). Since this was during the Great Depression, the WWI veterans needed their bonuses quickly. However, thousands of these people (said to have been 20,000) were going to get their bonus years from then. It was like being promised something but not being given what they were promised. The Bonus Army set up a Hooverville (shantytown) in the U.S. Capitol lawn in 1932. They were protesting for their bonuses, when President Hoover sent the U.S. Army to clear them out. At first, the Bonus Army believed that the army was there for them. They cheered and waved their American Flags. Despite their expectations, the army came with tear gas, guns, and bayonets. They were not there to help the Bonus Army. As a result, many people were injured and hurt, and an infant died. The Bonus Army was no more, their Hooverville was torn down, and billy clubs were used on the resistant people. President Hoover claimed he had rescued the country from mob action; while Americans were disappointed and hung their heads in shame.
The Bonus Army was not actually and army. It was a group of picketers (protestors). The picketers consisted mostly of World War I veterans and their families. Congress had voted them a bonus for their war service in 1924 (thus the name Bonus Army). Since this was during the Great Depression, the WWI veterans needed their bonuses quickly. However, thousands of these people (said to have been 20,000) were going to get their bonus years from then. It was like being promised something but not being given what they were promised. The Bonus Army set up a Hooverville (shantytown) in the U.S. Capitol lawn in 1932. They were protesting for their bonuses, when President Hoover sent the U.S. Army to clear them out. At first, the Bonus Army believed that the army was there for them. They cheered and waved their American Flags. Despite their expectations, the army came with tear gas, guns, and bayonets. They were not there to help the Bonus Army. As a result, many people were injured and hurt, and an infant died. The Bonus Army was no more, their Hooverville was torn down, and billy clubs were used on the resistant people. President Hoover claimed he had rescued the country from mob action; while Americans were disappointed and hung their heads in shame.
The Bonus Army was not actually and army. It was a group of picketers (protestors). The picketers consisted mostly of World War I veterans and their families. Congress had voted them a bonus for their war service in 1924 (thus the name Bonus Army). Since this was during the Great Depression, the WWI veterans needed their bonuses quickly. However, thousands of these people (said to have been 20,000) were going to get their bonus years from then. It was like being promised something but not being given what they were promised. The Bonus Army set up a Hooverville (shantytown) in the U.S. Capitol lawn in 1932. They were protesting for their bonuses, when President Hoover sent the U.S. Army to clear them out. At first, the Bonus Army believed that the army was there for them. They cheered and waved their American Flags. Despite their expectations, the army came with tear gas, guns, and bayonets. They were not there to help the Bonus Army. As a result, many people were injured and hurt, and an infant died. The Bonus Army was no more, their Hooverville was torn down, and billy clubs were used on the resistant people. President Hoover claimed he had rescued the country from mob action; while Americans were disappointed and hung their heads in shame.
The "Bonus Army" who demanded that they be paid a bonus for their service to compensate for the wages they would have been able to earn if they had been allowed to remain stateside and work instead of going off to fight in the war. In 1924, after several years of lobbying, congress finally awarded the WWI veterans "adjusted universal compensation"-a bonus-in the form of government bonds that would collect interest over two decades and be paid out no earlier than 1945. Unfortunately the Great Depression hit in in 1929 and the veterans needed the money NOW. Something around 17,000 veterans (plus many of them families which swelled the total to around 43,000) traveled to Washington, DC. and set up camps (named "Hoovervilles" in derision of the President). Eventually Hoover ordered the Army to evict them from DC. His handling of the Bonus Army had major political impact on Hoover and contributed to him loosing in a landslide to F.D.R. in the next election.
He sent the U.S. army to chase them out of Washington D.C.
President Hoover sent Douglas MacArthur to remove the Bonus Army using peaceful means. However, MacArthur used army tanks to forcefully destroy the Bonus Army's campsite.
President Herbert Hoover battled the Bonus Army. In 1932, a group of World War I veterans known as the Bonus Army marched to Washington, D.C. to demand early payment of their military bonuses. Hoover ordered the eviction of the protesters from their makeshift camps, leading to a violent clash with the federal troops.
President Herbert Hoover
Public opinion turned against President Hoover
Public opinion turned against President Hoover
allowed federal troops to remove the Bonus Army with great force
it changed public opinion against President Hoover
Early delivery of promised payments for military services.
The bonus army
Early delivery of promised payments for military services.
President Hoover sent in General Douglas MacArthur to clean up the aftermath of the Bonus Army protests in Washington D.C. in 1932. MacArthur used military force to disperse the protestors and their encampments, resulting in violence and the destruction of the protesters' makeshift campsites.