What was the bonus army army?

Answer 1

In 1924 Congress voted to give WW I veterans a bonus, but not to be paid until 1945. In 1932 the US experienced a period of depression. As a result about 15,000-20000 vets decided they needed their bonuses now and marched on Washington in hopes of pressuring Congress to meet their demand. When Congress, also short of money, refused to appropriate funds for the bonus, they camped out with their families in the U.S. Capitol lawn and the national mall. They became a serious disruption after a few weeks and despite pleas and warnings they refused to leave. Eventually, Hoover sent the U.S. Army to clear them out. The results were chaotic. People were hurt. One man with a weak heart supposedly died and a pregnant woman lost her baby.

!932 was an election year and the Democrats made the most of the situation. After being driven off the capitol mall, the protestors set up camp across the river. Roosevelt sent his wife to talk with them. Times were hard and many people had sympathy for the ex-soldiers. The Democratic papers drew a sharp comparison between the heartless Hoover who called out the army to drive the soldiers away and the kindly Roosevelt who sent his wife to listen to their troubles.