Were the Bonus Wars in the USA during WWI about unpaid salaries?
Upvote:5
I think you're referring to the Bonus Army. WWI vets were paid in full. The issue was over, you guessed it, a bonus for serving in a war zone.
Traditionally, US soldiers received a bonus for serving during war-time to make up the difference between what they would have earned as a civilian. This was not done after the Spanish-American War, and after WWI they got only a $60 bonus.
In 1924 the World War Adjusted Compensation Act attempted to correct this by offering a bonus of $1 for every day of the war served in the US, and $1.25 for every day overseas up to $625. President Coolidge vetoed the bill saying "Patriotism which is bought and paid for is not patriotism." Congress, realizing you can't pay the bills with patriotism, overrode the veto.
Up to $50 per veteran was to be handed out immediately. The rest would go into an Adjusted Service Certificate to be paid out, with interest, in 20 years. They were basically given a government bond redeemable in 1945. Vets could use the bond as collateral to borrow money, but they couldn't cash it in until 1945.
Then the Great Depression hit and suddenly these veterans were out of work and needed money right now, not in 1945. The Bonus Army, and others, demanded to be able to redeem their Certificates immediately. After a Congressional bill to do just that failed in the Senate 62 to 18, the Bonus Army was forcefully evicted by the US Army.
Finally, in 1936, Congress passed the Adjusted Compensation Payment Act which replaced the old Certificates with normal Treasury Bonds at an interest of 3%, better than a savings account, which matured in 1945. The vets could redeem them before then for cash, and most did. The sudden influx of $1.5 billion into consumer hands provided a quick, easy economic stimulus to counter the ongoing Depression.
At the end of WWII, rather than simply give a bonus and send the vets on their way, the issue of what to do with returning soldiers was handled with the Servicemen's Readjustment Act of 1944 aka the G.I. Bill that the US still uses today. This includes veterans benefits for unemployment, school, home ownership, and starting a business in effect helping to retrain millions of soldiers for civilian life.
More post
- 📝 Why were Catholic priests prohibited from participating in ordeals but allowed to participate in inquisitions?
- 📝 What was entering Grand Central Station like in 1943, especially interior?
- 📝 The end of swords as infantrymen sidearms
- 📝 When and why did tank crews cover their tank markings in WWII?
- 📝 Where Can I Find Historical Candidate Photos of U.S. Elections (both winners and losers)?
- 📝 Did Erwin König Exist?
- 📝 Fat jokes in ancient Greek comedies
- 📝 What was the ratio of German to Soviet losses on Eastern front during different stages of the war?
- 📝 What do these symbols & annotations in medieval and related texts mean?
- 📝 If adultery was a felony during Hamilton era, why isn't he prosecuted?
- 📝 Why did the scutum fall out of use?
- 📝 Bretton Woods System : The Meaning as International Monetary System
- 📝 In Europe, why were there few portraits showing a real likeness of the subject before the 15th century?
- 📝 What did Hitler say in Mein Kampf about the possibility of other nations allying against Germany in response to her aggression?
- 📝 What's the origin of the legend that this rock formation in America had a 12th century Welsh Origin?
- 📝 How did Leonardo plan on moving his tank?
- 📝 Did Archimedes have any students?
- 📝 Was ever a poisoning prevented by the person accustoming themselves to poison beforehand (Mithridatism)?
- 📝 How frequently were girls adopted in Ancient Rome?
- 📝 Who should be the king/queen of England?
- 📝 Who is this American politician holding a speech at the beginning of "In the year of the Pig" (1968)?
- 📝 What percentage of slaves originally brought from Africa were purchased from slave traders as opposed to having been captured by Europeans?
- 📝 Why was Hannah Ocuish believed to have been mentally disabled?
- 📝 Was Churchill a poor HR manager?
- 📝 Where did the French National Constituent Assembly meet on August 4, 1789?
- 📝 Why are dates and locations important in History?
- 📝 Why did Bakht Khan switch sides in Indian War of Independence 1857?
- 📝 What did Mirsky mean by this quote (Russian Revolution 1905)?
- 📝 Why did Virginia let Kentucky become a separate state?
- 📝 How could a black woman be transported directly from Africa to Britain in 1760s?
Source: stackoverflow.com
Search Posts
Related post
- 📝 Were the Bonus Wars in the USA during WWI about unpaid salaries?
- 📝 Why were schoolchildren in the USA taught virtually nothing about the Holocaust during the fifties and sixties?
- 📝 What did the Germans believe were the causes of WWI during the war and after?
- 📝 When did the allies find out about the killing of Jews during WW2
- 📝 What drugs were used in England during the High Middle Ages?
- 📝 Why were so many more Jewish men than Jewish women killed during the Holocaust?
- 📝 Why were there no internment camps for German-American citizens in USA during WW2?
- 📝 Why were Albanians the only nation in the Balkans who converted to Islam during the Ottoman occupation?
- 📝 What disruptions were brought about by Islam that the Arabians saw so many victories?
- 📝 How beneficial were war bonds to the US during WWII
- 📝 Were Russians in the cold war era USA discriminated against for their ethnicity?
- 📝 Were there any travel restrictions during the Black Death pandemic?
- 📝 Were there any high-ranking female soldiers during the Middle ages?
- 📝 Why were the Irish exempt from conscription during WWI?
- 📝 The WWI Christmas truce of 1914 resulted in no consequences, in spite of clear warnings against such beforehand - why were there no courts-martial?
- 📝 Were Shakespeare's plays written for "high culture" or "entertain the bawdy masses" during his time?
- 📝 Were soldiers in the World Wars paid?
- 📝 About how many immigrants were on the Titanic?
- 📝 Why were bloody religious wars so incredibly frequent in Europe in the century following the Reformation?
- 📝 How educated were the clergy during the Medieval period?
- 📝 How were the Bulgarians regarded by the Nazis during World War II?
- 📝 How wide-spread was antisemitism in the USA during WWII?
- 📝 During World War I, why were church bells stopped until the war was over?
- 📝 What were the thoughts of the Celts, Romans and other ancient European people about the standing stones which survive from prehistoric times?
- 📝 What did the Soviets know about the Hunger Plan during WWII?
- 📝 Was it not clear to the WWI allies that they were over-reaching with the treaty of Sevres?
- 📝 How could it be that 80% of townspeople were farmers during the Edo period in Japan?
- 📝 What were the individual soldiers motivated by during World War 1?
- 📝 How were the Venera Probe missions received/presented in the Western world during the space race?
- 📝 Were any works completely lost during the Nazi book burnings?