The Bonus Army's March on Washington: A History Lesson

What was the bonus army's march on Washington?

The bonus army's march on Washington was a protest by U.S. World War I veterans who demanded their cash bonuses for their wartime service to be paid immediately, rather than being delayed until 1945.

Answer

The bonus army's march on Washington was a significant event in the early 1930s, reflecting the financial hardship faced by veterans during the Great Depression.

The Bonus Army, also known as the Bonus Expeditionary Force, consisted of approximately 43,000 marchers, including 17,000 U.S. World War I veterans, their families, and affiliated groups. They gathered in Washington, D.C. in 1932 to demand immediate payment of a cash bonus that had been promised to them for their military service during the war.

These veterans were facing economic hardship due to the Great Depression and high unemployment rates. The government had previously passed legislation promising the bonuses to be paid in 1945, but many veterans could not wait that long and were in desperate need of financial assistance.

The marchers set up makeshift camps near the Capitol and lobbied Congress to pass immediate payment legislation. Despite some initial sympathy from President Herbert Hoover, he ultimately ordered the removal of the encampments by the U.S. Army under the command of General Douglas MacArthur.

The final outcome of the bonus army's march on Washington was that Hoover's political standing and popularity plummeted, and he lost in a landslide to Franklin D. Roosevelt in the next presidential election. The event also brought attention to the plight of veterans and contributed to the passage of the G.I. Bill in 1944.