Not strictly New Deal, but an interesting DC story from that era…
The Bonus Expeditionary Force, or the Bonus Army, descended upon DC in 1932. The group, at least 25,000 homeless World War I veterans, vowed to camp in DC until the government paid them the bonus owed them for their service during World War I (the 1924 Bonus Bill, passed over Coolidge’s veto, sought to compensate veterans for the civilian wages they had lost during the war. Payment was scheduled, however, for 1945). The men, and on some case their families, set up camp in abandoned federal buildings and tents along the banks of the Anacostia. The House passed legislation to make the payments, but the Senate defeated the bill. Regardless, the Bonus Army remained. In July 1932, President Herbert Hoover ordered the eviction of the Bonus Army from federal buildings and land. The police tried to enforce the order, killing William Hushka and Eric Carlson in the attempt. Hoover then sent in troops under Douglas MacArthur (yes, that MacArthur) to “restore order.” MacArthur went beyond the orders he had received (spoiler alert: not the last time), using tanks, tear gas, bayonets, and the threat of machine guns to drive the veterans out of DC. He then had the camp burned. Many of the residents of the camp suffered injuries. After removing the peaceful encampment, Hoover bragged that his administration knew “how to handle a mob.”
A new Bonus Army returned to DC in May 1933, not long after FDR’s inauguration. Newspaper coverage at the time indicates that DC was preparing for violence. FDR allowed the veterans to be housed in an unused camp (Fort Hunt, Virginia) and provided them with food through the Relief Administration. He also, however, refused to allow payment of the bonuses. His Administration began plans for a work relief program, planning to put the men to work on a reforestation project. Louis Howe, one of FDR’s main political advisors and close friend of the Roosevelts (also the person who taught Eleanor Roosevelt her public-speaking skills) asked ER to take him for a drive one afternoon, as he often did. He had her drive him out to the BA camp, then sat in the car, telling her to go walk around among the men and see how things were for them. She joined the group, who had just lined up for a meal, said a few words to them about her own experience of the war, and they serenaded her with old Army songs. She then toured a few of the buildings, including a hospital run by the RA. FDR also met with leaders of the Bonus Army, and worked to ensure that their march through DC remained peaceful. “Hoover sent the Army,” people said, “but Roosevelt sent his wife.”
If you bike the ART through Anacostia Park, you’ve probably passed through the site of the first encampment. [ATTACH=CONFIG]22530[/ATTACH]
(a note about sources: I used ER’s autobiography (which mis-dates the events), contemporary news articles, and Oxford’s Reader’s Companion to US History)
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