People & Events The Bonus March (May-July, 1932) Few images from the Great Depression are more indelible than the rout of the Bonus Marchers. At the time, the sight of the federal government turning on its own citizens -- veterans, no less -- raised doubts about the fate of the republic. It still has the power to shock decades later. From the start, 1932 promised to be a difficult year for the ...

A Doughboy Heritage Feature THE SAD TALE OF THE BONUS MARCHERS Bonus Marchers on the Capitol Steps Following World War I, the U.S. federal government anticipated that its war-risk insurance plan would adequately protect American soldiers and sailors who had served during the war, and that there would be no demand for compensation to those who had suffered no injury during their service in the ...