Bonus March Again

The Bonus Marchers and the 99%

During World War I, it became evident that the country could not pay its soldiers enough.  The war was fed by the largest peace time draft in the nation's history, larger than the Civil War.   And, unlike the Civil War, patriotic young men could not buy their way out of service.  During the Civil War the draft was very unpopular, resulting in some rioting.  To quell this anger, a draftee could pay someone else to take his place. 

Of course this meant that the rich did not have to fight, and many did not, as the casualty rates climbed into the hundreds of thousands. 

World War I was different.  A patriotic fervor shot through the country, as the United States entered the war to prove it was now a great power on the world stage. 

As usual, this inferiority complex was based on nothing, since America had been a world power for nearly one hundred years; after the Civil War the United States was without a doubt the most powerful military force on the planet, it just didn't know it.

So, the draft filled the ranks, and the war was fairly short by world war standards.  It was so short,  the income tax had just been started in 1916, that the pay was ridiculously low.

So, Congress came up with the idea of a Bonus, that would be paid in 1940, to WWI veterans, who would be retiring about then.  Moreover, widows and orphans of veterans would also get the bonus.

This was the first "entitlement" benefit ever attempted by the United States government.  By today's standards it was ridiculous low, but it was a promise nonetheless.

Everything was fine until 1929.  The Great Depression made it clear that the government would have great difficulty making good on the bonus, since tax revenues had already been cut by Republicans during the 1920s, with the same assumption that the free enterprise system would fix everything.  This approach worked as well then as it has now, resulting in economic ruin, injustice and inequality. 

Of course, in 1929, 30 and 31, it was obvious the private enterprise system was failing, and the small bonus the veterans had been promised, became a "pipe dream".

At first this was not a big thing, after all it was a small amount of money for each veteran.  But as the depression deepened, and it became obvious Wall Street Bankers and investors had schemed, cheated, and lied in rampant speculation that destroyed middle class lives.   Veterans, who had no unemployment insurance, now looked upon the bonus promise as yet another lie that had cost them their economic futures. 

In 1930 there was no safety net.  Private charity was it, no welfare, no unemployment.  People were starving.

So the veterans marched.  They marched all over the country, calling attention to the unfairness of the American capitalist system.  To be sure, there were socialists and communists involved, seeing an opportunity for their cause (remember the Bolshevik Revolution was barely a decade old).  Regardless, there is no evidence that the radical left in fact led the Bonus March, even though conservatives have been claiming so eversince. 

Like today's 99 percent demonstrations, the Bonus Marches started peacefully.  After all these were veterans, of the Great War, and deserved respect.

Soon however, conservatives like Hoover lost patience with the marchers, and finally called in troops to contain the protests.  Famously, in Washington D.C. a riot broke out, mostly led by the bungling of  Douglas MacCarther (who even then was fancying himself a national leader).  The Army charged the marchers, shots were fired, and there were casualties.  The marchers were driven from their encampment, and Hoover was made out to be the villain;  attacking brave veterans.    In fact, history shows this debacle to be the Army's fault. 

Hoover's apparent lack of compassion, added to Roosevelt's campaign, and led to Hoover's defeat in the 1932 Presidential race. 

Today, the 99% are in a sense just like the Bonus Marches of the 1930s.  They are marching because of economic injustice and are angry with the financial elites in the country.  And, conservatives are calling for violent put downs of their supposed unlawful assemblies. 

It is interesting,  to watch conservatives  when the obvious economic injustice of the United States is divulged.  Af first they are amused, then they discount the protests, then quickly they call for violent suppression. 

Of course, in the 30s this suppression only added fuel to the fire, leading to the New Deal under Roosevelt.

Should we be so lucky again this time!!!!