Charcoal sketch, "Bonus Army March on Washington - Marching Band"
date: label: Date made
content: 1030's
name: label: maker
content: Beach, Sara Berman
notes: label: Description
content: In this very romanticized depiction of a Bonus marchers 1934 demonstration, the artist and longtime labor and political activist, Sara Berman-Beach, attempted to capture the embedding clash between protestors and government forces.
label: Description
content: In 1924 the federal government had award veterans a bonus for their service during the First World War to be paid in 1945. Now, in the depth of the Great Depression, to relive their financial crises, veterans organized across the country and came to Washington requesting that these funds be paid now.
label: Description
content: In May 1932, accompanied by families and supporter, thousands of veterans began to settle in makeshift camp sites around Washington, held demonstrations, and lobbied Congress. When the Bonus bill failed to pass the Senate in June, the government began steps to remove the encampments. The veteran groups resisted, and under orders from President Herbert Hoover the Army, in violent clashes drove the protesters out. While the Army accomplished its goal, Hoover’s reputation was further damaged, leading to his defeat to Franklin D. Roosevelt in the 1932 presidential election.
setName: label: See more items in
content: Political History: Political History, Labor History Collection
dataSource: label: Data Source
content: National Museum of American History
identifier: label: ID Number
content: 1987.0132.0009
label: accession number
content: 1987.0132
label: catalog number
content: 1987.0132.09
objectType: label: Object Name
content: Drawing
physicalDescription: label: Physical Description
content: charcoal; paper; cardstock (overall material)
label: Physical Description
content: black; white (overall color)
label: Measurements
content: overall: 24 in x 27 1/2 in; 60.96 cm x 69.85 cm