July 28 - Burning Veterans Out

On this day in Labor History the year was 1932.  That was the day that flames burned in the US Capitol.  The US armed forces set fire to a “shanty-town” of unemployed World War I veterans.  The veterans had come to the capitol to demand a bonus that had been promised for their service.  The payment was not due until 1945. But the nation was in the throes of the Great Depression.  Desperate veterans demanded the bonus be paid early.