15. Herbert Hoover and the crushing of the veterans camp
In the 1920s veterans of the First World War were issued bonus certificates for their services, which were not redeemable until 1945. During the Great Depression, many of those same veterans were out of work. About 17,000 of them descended upon Washington DC to demand that their certificates be cashed early, as relief for the loss of wages. They encamped in Washington, many with their wives and children with them. On July 28 the federal government ordered the DC police to disperse the camp, which then held about 43,000 men, women, and children. When the police failed in an attempt which led to the death of two veterans, Hoover ordered the army to clear the campsites.
The job fell to Douglas MacArthur, who exhibited the same character he displayed throughout his military career by ignoring the President’s explicit orders and advancing on the camps the night of July 28, 1932. MacArthur entertained the opinion that the veterans and their families were socialists. His advance was supported by tanks under the command of George S. Patton. Dwight Eisenhower was present as well. The advance of the American army against American war veterans and their families in the nation’s capital led to the death of one child, the injuring of 55 veterans, and the arrest of 135, in the shadow of the Capitol building. The episode was a political disaster for Hoover. MacArthur never expressed any remorse for his action, nor was he subjected to disciplinary action for disobeying orders.
