THE BRINK OF ANARCHY

Although by 1932 many Americans were without hope, some veterans of World War I looked optimistically to an early payment of the Veterans' Compensation Certificate. In 1924 Congress had voted all veterans of the war a bonus averaging $1,000 after interest, payable in 1945. In 1932 a bill was introduced in Congress making the bonus payable at once. To help pressure Congress to vote in favor of it, a group of veterans planned to march on Washington. By May about 20,000 members of the "Bonus Expeditionary Force" were in camps in Anacostia, 12th & 'C' Streets, and 3rd & Pennsylvania Avenue.

The BEF organizers wanted a peaceful show of support for the bill. They had their own "military police" search the camps to remove Communists and other radicals. The White House was nervous about this army of veterans, but preferred to not take federal action, leaving it to local authorities. For support, the Army was put on alert to assist local police, if requested.

In July the bill was defeated, the BEF leaders calmly had the marchers return to camp, and tension grew inside Congress and the White House as to what might happen next. Local authorities then moved to evict the BEF from abandoned buildings and camps, and were met with brick-throwing and other resistance. Some police did open fire, casualties resulted, and police asked for federal assistance. Against Presidential order, General Douglas MacArthur assumed "martial law" and took over the eviction.

About 1400 troops, including horse cavalry and light tanks, were used to move the BEF out. With tear gas and bayonet point the eviction was successful. No casualties occurred, but the damage to the government was apparent. President Hoover, furious at Gen. MacArthur's defiance of his authority, was concerned that this might be a sign of a future coup d'etats. Headlines told of the heroes of WWI being gassed again, but this time by the U.S. Army. A genuine fear of political collapse was in the air for a few months in 1932.