Bonus Marchers evicted by U S Army
During the Great Depression President Herbert Hoover orders the U.S.Army under General Douglas MacArthur to evict by force the Bonus Marchers from the nations capital.Two months before the so-called Bonus Expeditionary Force a group of some 1000 World War I veterans seeking cash payments for their veterans bonus certificates had arrived in Washington D.C.Most of the marchers were unemployed veterans in desperate financial straits.
In June other veteran groups spontaneously made their way to the nations capital swelling the Bonus Marchers to nearly 20000 strong.Camping in vacant government buildings and in open fields made available by District of Columbia Police Chief Pelham D.Glassford they demanded passage of the veterans payment bill introduced by Representative Wright Patman.While awaiting a vote on the issue the veterans conducted themselves in an orderly and peaceful fashion and on June 15 the Patman bill passed in the House of Representatives.
However two days later its defeat in the Senate infuriated the marchers who refused to return home.In an increasingly tense situation the federal government provided money for the protesters trip home but 2000 refused the offer and continued to protest.On July 28 President Herbert Hoover ordered the army to evict them forcibly.
General MacArthurs men set their camps on fire and the veterans were driven from the city.Hoover increasingly regarded as insensitive to the needs of the nations many poor was much criticized by the public and press for the severity of his response.
