How far was the Bonus Army a threat
to the American government?
Learning objective – to be able to assess the
threat of the Bonus Army and whether the
US government’s reaction was justified.
I can describe what
the Bonus Army and
the US government
did.
Grade D
I can explain the
causes and impact of
the Bonus Army
episode.
Grade B
I can explain and assess
using sources the impact
of the Bonus Army.
Grade A
Starter
This word cloud summarises
the content of the story
Bonus Army.
In pairs, find the 14 terms in
the word cloud and using the
PowerPoint and the sheet
given to you, list the 15
terms and, for each term,
write their relevance to the
Bonus Army story in two
sentences.
Terms
Bonus Army
Hoover
Bonus
Veterans
Anacostia Flats
Marches
Protest
Pension
Great Depression
Bonus City
MacArthur
Out of touch
Revolution
Fighting
Was there growing public disorder?
By 1931, there were no signs that the Great
Depression was abating. Unemployment was
still rising and wages were continuing to fall.
Many felt that the President was not doing
enough to help the people. Some decided to
protest.
Farmers in Iowa fought government officials
who tried to evict farmers who fell behind
with mortgage repayments.
In Arkansas, starving farmers stormed a
shopping centre and seized food.
What was the Bonus Army?
The Bonus Army was made up of veteran US
soldiers who had served during the First
World War. There were 22,000 men in the
Bonus Army, which swelled to 40,000 when
including their families.
These veterans had fallen on hard times
during the Depression. They were due their
war pension in 1945 – a bonus of $500 - but
wanted it in 1932 to help them survive the
Depression.
The government refused this request.
How did the Bonus Army protest?
The Bonus Army decided to march on the
American capital – Washington DC – which
was relatively untouched by the Great
Depression.
The Bonus Army then built a Hooverville just
outside Washington at Anacostia Flats, called
it Bonus City, and said they would stay until
the bonus was paid.
What was the reaction to the Bonus Army
protest?
Hoover was furious and publicly called the
Bonus Army ‘criminals’ with other
government officials labelled them as a
‘rabble’. This was deeply unfair, these people
has served in the US Army and had organised
the protest with military precision.
To pay the bonus early would have cost the
government $2.3 billion – money the
government did not have to spare. Instead,
Congress provided money to transport the
protesters home but 5,000 refused to leave.
This was despite attempts by the police to
forcibly remove them.
What was the Battle of Anacostia Flats?
Hoover called in the troops to disperse the
Bonus Army. General Douglas MacArthur led
the troops. He was a notoriously heavyhanded officer and did not shirk from this
task.
Using cavalry, tanks, machine guns and
infantry, the Bonus City was marched upon,
cleared and razed to the ground in what was
called the Battle of Anacostia Flats. More
than 100 people were injured, two people
and a baby were killed.
What was the impact of the Battle of
Anacostia Flats?
The handling of the Bonus Army protest showed Hoover as out of touch with the
electorate.
However, others thought that the Bonus Army protest showed the country on a brink of
a revolution which needed putting down.
Main task
Choose ONE task from the following list to complete –
Design a promotional leaflet for Roosevelt’s Presidential
campaign of 1932 emphasising Hoover’s handling of the
Bonus Army.
Write a campaign speech for Hoover justifying his actions.
Write three diary entries from a member of the Bonus Army
which includes their experience of the campaign and the
Battle of Anacostia Flats.
Plenary
Stick a copy of this visual
representation of the
Bonus Army into your
exercise book.
Beside each image write
how it can contribute to
answering the central
question – ‘What was
the impact of the protest
of the Bonus Army?’