What was the federal government final response to the bonus army in 1932?

Answer 1

The Bonus Boys (1932) were about 20,000 veterans of the First World War. They and their families had come to Washington to ask Congress to vote them their bonus that had been promised to be voted by Congress in 1945. They wanted the money now because of the Depression. They were turned down by Congress and most left Washington. Those that stayed formed "Hoovervilles" in DC and peacefully continued to demonstrate for the bonus. The were not violent and followed the demands of Washington police. Hoover believed that they were being led by Communists (actually the major group in charge was the anticommunist American Legion) so he called out the Army and ordered General Douglas MacArthur to disperse the Bonus Boys. MacArthur used armored vehicles and tear gas against this unarmed group of protesters and quickly broke up their camps and Hoover's reputation plunged further in the public mind.

Answer 2

The federal government's final response to the Bonus Army in 1932 was to forcibly evict and disperse the protesters. President Herbert Hoover ordered the U.S. Army to clear the encampment in Washington, D.C., resulting in the use of tear gas and tanks. This marked the end of the march and the government's failure to provide the promised early payment of World War I veterans' bonuses.