FDR, New Deals, and the Limits of Power 175United States Government has been met, swiftly and firmly.” Hoover so badly
botched this situation that Roosevelt’s victory in the coming fall election,
already quite likely, was assured. Ironically, FDR, like Hoover, had opposed the
early bonus payments, but handled the situation in a much different way.
Instead of sending troops out, his wife went to visit the soldiers with trays of
cookies and tea to relax them and the new president initially set aside 25,000
public jobs for the veterans, many of whom went on to build the Overseas
Highway in the Florida Keys. Congress finally voted to grant early payment
of the bonuses in 1936, only to have it vetoed by Roosevelt but then over-
ridden by Congress. Finally, seven years into the Great Depression, Great War
veterans received their bonuses, though by that time the poverty, hunger, and
homelessness had become more dire than ever.
The “First” New Deal as Conservative Reform
In Roosevelt’s inaugural address, he uttered words that would become
famous—“the only thing we have to fear is fear itself.” But, in truth, there
was much to fear. Over 10 million Americans were unemployed, millions
FIGuRE 4-1 Bonus Army campsite ablaze in Washington, D.C.