To answer this question correctly, students must identify the event depicted in a historical photograph and clearly explain why the event is historically significant. For the first question, successful students will identify this as an encampment of the Bonus Expeditionary Force, a group of more than 20,000 World War I veterans who were demanding immediate payment of monetary bonuses due to them in 1945 under the World War Adjusted Compensation Act of 1924. For Question 2, successful students might elaborate on one or more of the following:
- The prolonged demonstration and occupation of Washington, D.C., garnered significant media attention at the time, and the plight of the veterans became a powerful symbol for the hardships of the Great Depression and the federal government’s response to it.
- The federal government’s reaction to the protests was politically consequential for President Hoover and the Republican Party. Hoover’s seeming antipathy toward the veterans and his orders to use the military to violently clear their encampments significantly damaged his prospects for re-election later that year.
Level: Proficient
Question 1
Student clearly and specifically identifies the event depicted in the photograph.
Question 2
Student clearly and specifically explains why the event is historically significant.
Level: Emergent
Question 1
Student provides correct information related to the event but does not clearly identify the significant event.
Question 2
Student correctly elaborates on the event but does not clearly explain why the event is historically significant.
Level: Basic
Question 1
Student does not correctly identify the event.
Question 2
Student does not provide a correct or relevant explanation for why the event is historically significant.
