1932 in Washington DC
by It was the height of the depression in the U.S. No jobs were to be had and people were hungry.
At the White House during the depression President and Mrs Hoover had seven course dinners served by an entourage of servants. They were eating high on the hog while most Americans were eating scraps if they could get them. But one group decided to give President Hoover a close up look at how the other half lived. They didn’t expect he would enjoy the experience or be happy about it but they didn’t intend to allow him to keep his head buried in the sand.
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In the summer of 1932 at the height of the depression 25,000 former “doughboys” Word War 1 Infantry, many of them combat veterans walked, hitchhiked, or rode the rails to Washington D.C. Penniless and indigent, they squatted with their families in abandoned buildings along Pennsylvania Avenue and pitched a shack and tent city along the Anacostia River. They came to ask the government to pay them bonuses promised to veterans in 1924 and scheduled to be paid in 1945. With starving families, no jobs, and no prospects of finding one they needed that bonus now to survive. Calling themselves the Bonus Expeditionary Force. They became known as the “Bonus Army.”
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The fact was their mission was dead in the water. Hoover called out the troops. Commanded by General Douglas MacArthur with his aid Dwight D. Eisenhower. The assault was led by the Third Calvary, sabers ready, under the command of Major George Patton. The U.S. Army rolled out to defeat the rag tag bunch of men, women, and children with tear gas, tanks, and bayonets. The calvary charged then came the gas attack. The tanks leveled the camps and it was all burned. There were more than one hundred casualties and two babies died from the gas.
The Bonus Army joined the other two million people on the road. Some states posted guards at the state lines to turn back the poor. The violence in Washington D. C.was not the only protests by unemployed hungry people, some led by children. They were all put down by harsh police action.
At that time the presidential campaign was just beginning. A grim Herbert Hoover had been renominated again by the Republicans on a platform that promised to balance the budget, keep tariffs high, and repeal prohibition. The Democrats had no doubt they would recapture the White House after it being held by Republicans for 12 years. Their three top candidates were, Al Smith,John Nance Garner, and governor of New York, Franklin D. Roosevelt. Roosevelt won the nomination and many had doubts about the candidate. Newspapermen, H.L Mencken and Walter Lippmann called him the weakest candidate and an amiable boy scout who lacked any qualifications for the office.
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It made no matter, everybody was so sick and tired of Hoover and the Republican party the Democrats could have run a Boy Scout and won. Anything to get rid of Hoover. Roosevelt won the election with 57% of the popular vote, carrying 42 of 48 states.
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Post Commentken bultman
On July 1, 2009 at 3:45 am
Thanks for the reminder, Ruby. We tend to forget.
Francois Hagnere
On July 1, 2009 at 4:00 am
A good reminder indeed!
Unofre Pili
On July 1, 2009 at 4:50 am
Thanks for the good lesson on U.S. history maam. General Douglas MacArthur is so familiar to us, being the liberator of the Philippines during World War II.
Lucas Dié
On July 1, 2009 at 6:58 am
Ruby, this is a powerful piece!
Darla Cooke
On July 1, 2009 at 7:26 am
Very interesting article.
Westbrook
On July 1, 2009 at 8:54 am
Any political party can hurt the country if they are too far to the left or right. For example, for all the good many think of the democrat Roosevelt causing, many were, and still are just as impressed with the good caused by Republican Reagan. Democrat Obama has a real personal popularity game going on, but I am sure he is no Roosevelt or Reagan. He has no experience in running a country or anything else. He is on OJT (on job training) at America’s expense. I fear that mesmorized Obama worshipers will wake up too late to find our country irreparably damaged.
Daisy Peasblossom
On July 1, 2009 at 11:01 am
That was a sad, and terrible time, Ruby. Point of fact, I believe Oregon still has indigence laws in force. In order to move there, you have to have some proof of employment or income. Wes, I’m not sure we can point fingers at any one person and say that person is to blame for the mess we have here at this time. Yes, a new president is always OJT. How else?
George W Whitehead
On July 1, 2009 at 2:12 pm
Thank you for this article, Ruby. This is new to me. It’s something that wasn’t taught in history lessons here in the UK. I was at school fifteen years after the event, so perhaps it was still a poltically sensitive subject.
Tanya Wallace
On July 1, 2009 at 3:53 pm
A very well detailed and researched article.As always excellent work Ruby.
RS Wing
On July 1, 2009 at 5:11 pm
I never knew that, wow, shocking. So our governments history is somewhat the same as in the Bush administration, obscure example but relevant, hurricane katrina. History repeats itself, only the repeats get worse and more intense. Awesome piece on our history and very well written. I live in poughkeepsie, NY, 10 minutes from Hyde Park, my last house of residency. I have done work on his estate through various contractors in the past. When former prez clinton would visit the roosevelt estate, secret service were everywhere. Theres also an airport he used to fly in and out of right up the road from me. Its quite a beautiful place and Vallkill is right up the road too-Eleanors retreat.
Joe Dorish
On July 1, 2009 at 6:28 pm
The Great Depression was just an awful time for people and it lasted for seven more years under Roosevelt with the unemployment rate averaging over 18% from 1933-1940.
Ruby Hawk
On July 1, 2009 at 8:25 pm
It’s a shameful blot on our nation. It’s unconcionable for any president to fire on his own people. These people were a threat to nobody.They were only poor starving families asking for help from their government.It was horrible.
If you noticed the same thing was said about Roosevelt as is said about Obama. He is inexperienced. He is getting “On The Job Training.”
That’s exactly what we need. Somebody with new ideas on how to lead our country out of a depression. It worked in the 30’s, Lets hope it works in 2009.
richard, you are so close to our history. I have always been a great fan of the Roosevelts. I have visited The Little White House at Warm Springs.I was surprised at how unpretentious it is.Roosevelt was a great neighbor to the people who lived in that small town.
Ruby Hawk
On July 1, 2009 at 8:28 pm
Opps, I forgot to say thank you for your comments. I do thank you all very much.And I appreciate your interest.
Inna Tysoe
On July 1, 2009 at 10:10 pm
Have you read Crisis of the Old Order by Arthur Schlesinger? I think you’d enjoy it if you hadn’t.
Inna
Jamie Myles
On July 2, 2009 at 1:12 am
Hi Ruby, very good article on a terrible injustice done to American citizens. Thanks do much for a well done piece of historical truth.
PR Mace
On July 2, 2009 at 6:23 pm
Well done look into our history. It was a sad time indeed. I am afraid we are reliving it.
CA Johnson
On July 2, 2009 at 6:31 pm
This is very good, Ruby. I am not sure if I learned this in school. This is a great read and I feel as if I learned something. You did a wonderful job putting this all together.
Poetic Enigma
On July 2, 2009 at 11:55 pm
Very well researched piece,
Thanks for sharing!
CutestPrincess
On July 20, 2009 at 2:28 pm
an eye opener piece… good job!