Chiodo, John J. "The Bonus Army: A Lesson on the Great Depression." (2011)

After the end of World War I, Congress enacted a bill that would reward military veterans for their service. The bill provided the veterans cash bonuses that would be paid starting in 1945. But as the nation settled into the Great Depression these veterans began to clamor for payment of their bonuses. In May of 1932, an estimated 15,000 veterans and their families made their way to Washington DC. The events of the 'Bonus Army' provide the basis of a lesson for students to examine the plight of these veterans and the eventual response of the federal government to later pass the GI Bill of Rights.