More veterans joined them until the Bonus Army swelled to
15,000. President Hoover acknowledged the veterans’ right to
petition but refused to meet with them. When the Senate voted
down the bonus bill, veterans outside the Capitol began to grum-
ble. Many returned home, but some marchers stayed on. Some
squatted in vacant buildings downtown.
In late July, Hoover ordered the buildings cleared. The police
tried, but when an officer panicked and fired into a crowd, killing
two veterans, the city government called in the army. General
Douglas MacArthur ignored Hoover’s orders to clear the build-
ings but to leave the camps alone. McArthur sent in cavalry,
infantry, and tanks to clear the camps.
Soon unarmed veterans were running away, pursued by 700
soldiers. The soldiers tear-gassed stragglers and burned the
shacks. National press coverage of troops assaulting veterans fur-
ther harmed Hoover’s reputation and hounded the president
throughout the 1932 campaign.
Although Hoover failed to resolve the economic crisis, he did
more than any prior president to expand the federal government’s
economic role. The Reconstruction Finance Corporation was the
first federal agency created to stimulate the economy during
peacetime. The rout of the Bonus Marchers and the lingering
Depression, however, tarnished Hoover’s public image.
Evaluating
How did Americans react as the
Depression continued?
Vocabulary
1. Explain
the significance of: public works,
Reconstruction Finance Corporation, relief,
foreclose, Bonus Army.
Main Ideas
2. Identifying
What two major strategies
did President Hoover use to promote eco-
nomic recovery?
3. Explaining
What did World War I veter-
ans do to try to get their service bonuses
early?
Critical Thinking
4.
Big Ideas
How did President Hoover’s
philosophy of government guide his
response to the Depression?
5. Organizing
Use a graphic organizer sim-
ilar to the one below to list American
reactions to the Great Depression.
American
Reactions
6. Analyzing Visuals
Comparing
Look
at the photo of the Hunger Marchers on
page 642. How would you compare their
approach and style to protestors today?
Writing About History
7. Persuasive Writing
Imagine that you
are a World War I veteran in 1931. Write a
persuasive letter to your congressperson
explaining why you need your bonus now,
not in 1945.
Section
3
Chapter
644
Chapter 18
The Great Depression Begins
V
ISUAL
S
UMMARY
You can study anywhere, anytime by
downloading quizzes and flashcards
to your PDA from
glencoe.com
.
Causes of the Depression
Long-Range Causes
• Uneven distribution of wealth ensures that many consumers
do not have enough income to purchase the goods being
produced.
• Interest rates are kept too low by the Federal Reserve, which
encourages businesses to borrow money and to expand pro-
duction beyond market demand.
• Overproduction by business eventually floods the market
with goods that cannot be sold. Businesses begin laying off
workers and shutting down production.
