The Bonus Army Riot

 While a number of folks in the news media have attempted to say that this riot yesterday (6 Jan 2021) was the first and only riot in DC over an issue....it's simply a four-star lie.

So, let's go back to the Bonus Army riot of 28 July 1932.

To stage this story correctly....around 1776, Congress adapted a national pension law, for all disabled vets (basically half of their monthly pay to continue for the rest of their life).

Yes, all you had to do was document your wound and service time.  The pay per month for a normal soldier in 1776?  $6, per month (in today's money? Roughly 160 dollars).  So in simple terms, these guys were paid $3 a month ($80 a month in today's money).

By 1788....they'd gone past the wounded or disabled crowd to cover the rest.  In their case, it was adjusted to involve 100 acres of property and $80.  

As the years progressed....by the mid-1800s....this was now a land-grant of 160 acres.  As you can imagine....by 1860, the limited amount of land still left....required this program to be 'dumped'....so you got cash instead.  

If you exited the service after the Spanish-American war....this amounted to only $60.  In today's money, it was just over $1,700.

So after WW I.....we now had the bonus problem emerge once again.  A fight started up in 1919, and finally in 1924....an act was passed by Congress (World War Adjusted Compensation Act). 

This deal settled on the idea of one dollar for each day of service in the US (maxed at $500 in 1924 or $7,500 in today's dollars), and $1.25 for each day overseas (maxed at 625 dollars in 1924 or around $9,300 for 2020).  

So here's the thing.....if this were $50 or less....you got it immedately.  The rest of these people?  They were given a 'promisary note' which meant that they wouldn't get the $500 or $625 amount until 1944 (twenty years later).

Now you sit and pause over this.  Promised money by Congress (Republican-led).  You got potentially $500 to $625 coming to you....depending on the number of days of service.  But you got to wait 20 years?

So comes 1929 and stock market crash.  At some point in 1930....folks (including the news media) start talking about the lack of cash, and this bonus deal comes up.

For 1930, 1931, and into the summer of 1932....this bonus deal continues to get discussed.  Army vets want it early....Republicans refuse to act.

So this demonstration group appears in DC....camping out on the SE end of the district.  No one says who sponsored them or fed them, and it really begs questions. 

Riot potential?  By the spring period....the camping crowd is growing and it's growing to an aggravated point.  Around the third week of July....between the heat and frustration of threats made....it's finally decided by President Hoover...action is required.

The lack of enough police in DC to fix the problem?  Hoover hands this over to an Army general (McArthur) and Army troops go into riot-cop games on the 28th. 

It's a royal mess at the end.  Pictures are taken, and for weeks, it's openly discussed around the country, with veterans pissed-off.  The 1932 November election?  Landslide for FDR.

Blame?  Well....the stupid Republican could have easily worked up a deal to pay each guy half of his money in 1932 and the rest in 1935.  But for some stupid reason....they didn't want to visit that idea.  McArthur's role in heavy-handed force?  You can probably make the case that he read the script given to him and did his best to crack heads around DC.

Who remembers the 'Bonus-Army' riot?  Virtually no one.  It'd be a four-star movie and probably beg a hundred questions about who pushed this agenda in the news media (both radio and newsprint). 

This act yesterday (6 Jan 2021)?  It looks suspiciously a lot like the 28 July 1932 episode.