The Bonus March and the 1932 presidential election
Bonus Marchers
The US government had promised to pay a bonus to war veteranA person who has served in the armed forces. who had fought in World War One. This bonus was due to be paid in 1945, but some people thought that it should be paid early. In March 1932, a group of around 10,000 unemployed war veterans and their families marched to Washington, DC, on the Bonus March. They demanded that their bonuses be paid early. Roughly 2,000 veterans chose to stay in a HoovervillesA name for shanty towns, which are large settlements consisting of very poor-quality housing, built during the Great Depression. They took their name from President Herbert Hoover. built outside the Capitol Building, the meeting place of the US Congress.
Congress refused to pay the bonus but offered to pay for the marchers to get back home. Police were sent in to break up the marchers’ camp. However, the marchers fought back to try to prevent this. As a result, President Hoover sent in troops with tear gas and tanks to remove the marchers and their Hooverville.
This made Hoover even more unpopular. It looked as if he did not care about people’s suffering due to the problems caused by the Great Depression.
The 1932 presidential election
The result of Hoover’s apparent lack of empathy with the population was seen in the 1932 presidential election. The American people did not share his opinion that the country had passed through the worst period of the Depression, and that with continued effort the country would recover rapidly. As the election approached, Hoover became more and more unpopular. He had tried to solve the problems caused by the Great Depression, but people had not seen any improvements in their lives.
The Democratic PartyPolitical party in the United States. Democrats tend to hold a more liberal viewpoint on politics and society. candidate in the election was Franklin D Roosevelt. He offered a different vision of how to solve America’s problems in a speech pledging “a new deal for the American people”.
By the time the election campaign began, Hoover was so unpopular that there were reports that he was booed at in public. In contrast, Roosevelt was becoming increasingly popular as he offered people hope with his plan to deal with the Great Depression. He blamed Republican politicians like Hoover, as well as the bankers and the rich, for the Great Depression. He promised to set up public works projects to give people jobs. He also pledged to introduce reforms of the banks and provide welfarePayments and other benefits, such as education, health care, and unemployment payments, given to a population free at the point of use, although paid for by general taxation. for those who could not look after themselves.
Roosevelt won the election, receiving around 23 million votes and winning 42 states. Hoover got around 16 million votes and won only six states.
