What did World War I veterans do to try to obtain their service bonuses early?

World War I veterans, who had been promised a bonus for their service during the war with the World War Adjusted Compensation Act of 1924, attempted to obtain their bonuses early during the Great Depression, when economic hardship was widespread. In the summer of 1932, thousands of veterans, who were struggling to make ends meet, marched to Washington, D.C., and established a "Bonus Army" to lobby Congress to pass early payment of their bonuses. However, their effort was met with significant resistance.

Initially, the veterans lobbied Congress peacefully, setting up camps and maintaining a presence in the capital. After the Senate rejected a bill for early payment of the bonuses, many of the veterans refused to leave. In response, President Herbert Hoover ordered the U.S. Army to evict the Bonus Army from Washington.

Under the command of General Douglas MacArthur, army troops used tear gas and tanks to forcibly disperse the veterans and their families and destroyed their makeshift camps. This violent incident, known as the Bonus Army incident or the Bonus March, greatly discredited Hoover and reflected the government's mishandling of the veterans' legitimate grievances. It was not until 1936, with a different political climate under President Franklin D. Roosevelt, that Congress overrode a presidential veto to pay out the bonuses early.