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Caught without a spare: World War I veterans seated on the ground around a car with slogans painted on it such as "We Want Our Bonus" and "Bonus Seekers V.F.W. 796." They are protesting unpaid pensions.
Credit: Copyright 1997 State Historical Society of Wisconsin
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Bonus veterans. Camp B.E.F
Credit: Library of Congress, Prints and Photographs Division, Theodor Horydczak Collection
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 Take it from me, this is the greatest demonstration of Americanism we've ever had. Pure Americanism.
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— Bonus Army General Smedley Butler, 1932
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Bonus Army — 1932
Twenty thousand unemployed World War I vets hitchhiked to Washington
to demand their bonuses, scheduled to be dispersed in 1945, to be paid
immediately. The "Bonus Expeditionary Force" camped out in shantytowns
in the capitol, staged sit-ins and speeches on the Capitol steps, and
lobbied unsuccessfully. Eventually, President Hoover called out riot police
to disperse them.
Bonus Army General Smedley Butler spoke to the marchers from the steps
of the Capitol saying:
"Take it from me, this is the greatest demonstration of Americanism we've
ever had. Pure Americanism. Willing to take this beating as you've taken,
stand right steady, you keep every law. And why the hell shouldn't you?
Who in the hell has done all the bleeding for this country and for this
law and for this constitution than you fellows. So don't step back..."
Next: Marian Anderson Concert at Lincoln Memorial — 1939 »
« Previous: Coxey's Army, 1893
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