When the Bonus Army of 17,000 US Veterans Marched on Washington, D.C.

On May 29, 1932, the Bonus Army of World War I veterans began to assemble in Washington, D.C. to request cash bonuses promised to them to be paid in 1945. From the article:

"The Bonus March actually began in May 1932 as some 15,000 veterans assembled in makeshift camps scattered around Washington, D.C. where they planned to demand and wait for the immediate payment of their bonuses.

The first and largest of the veterans’ camps, dubbed “Hooverville,” in as a backhanded tribute to President Herbert Hoover, was located on Anacostia Flats, a swampy bog directly across the Anacostia River from the Capitol Building and the White House. Hooverville housed about 10,000 veterans and their families in ramshackle shelters built from old lumber, packing boxes, and scrapped tin from a nearby junk pile. Including the veterans, their families, and other supporters, the crowd of protesters eventually grew to nearly 45,000 people."