During the death throes of Herbert Hoover’s presidency in June 1932, desperate bands of men traveled to Washington and set up camp within view of the Capitol. The first contingent journeyed all the way from Portland, Oregon, but others soon converged from all over-alone, in groups, with families-until their main Hooverville on the Anacostia River’s fetid mudflats swelled to a population as high as 20,000. The men, World War I veterans who could not find jobs, became known as the Bonus Army-for the modest government bonus they were owed for their service. Under a law passed in 1924, they had been awarded roughly $1,000 each, to be collected in 1945 or at death, whichever came first. But they didn’t want to wait any longer for their pre-New Deal entitlement-especially given that Congress had bailed out big business with the creation of a Reconstruction Finance Corporation earlier in its session. Father Charles Coughlin, the populist ‘Radio Priest
Saturday, October 29th, 2011
The Class War Has Begun
Stephan: Here is the best take on the 99er Movement I have read, both thoughtful and insightful. It also places the movement in its historical context.
This is potentially good news, but to me there are two hurdles the movement has to overcome: First, we must vote with common intention in numbers. We must move from being a demonstration movement to a voting force. Second, We must learn what the Right already knows. This voting force must occur at both the Federal and state level.
