The Shocking True Story of Amsterdam

The Shocking True Story of Amsterdam

Welcome to WatchMojo, and today we’re talking about the shocking true story of “Amsterdam.”

For this list, we’ll be exploring the story and conspiracy at the center of David O. Russell’s period mystery film. This means a few spoilers.

What did you think of “Amsterdam?” Let us know in the comments.

“A Lot of This Actually Happened”

“Amsterdam” opens with this statement, but “a lot” and “actually” should be emphasized. The film centers on a doctor with a glass eye, an African-American lawyer, and a nurse who uses shrapnel pulled from soldiers to create art. This trio forms a friendship in Amsterdam during World War I. While these three are essentially fictional, Bales’ Burt Berendsen is based on a real officer named Dr. Shields. Bale and Russell looked at pictures from this era of people partying, wondering what their stories were. According to Russell, they “took some recorded history that’s explosive and fascinating” … “then invented our own friendship of those who were never really recorded.” The filmmakers also drew inspiration from Bale’s grandmother, who lived every day to the fullest throughout the Blitz.

Butler & the Bonus Army

Returning to New York, the three friends catch wind of a conspiracy to overthrow President Franklin D. Roosevelt and replace him with a fascist dictator. This plot takes various liberties, including one involving the murders of a senator and his daughter. At its core, though, the story is grounded in a real conspiracy known as the Business Plot. In 1932, roughly 17,000 WWI veterans and another 26,000 demonstrators arrived in Washington, D.C. Struggling to provide for their families and themselves due to the Great Depression, these veterans wanted to redeem service bonus certificates they got from 1924’s World War Adjusted Compensation Act. They couldn’t cash the certificates until 1945, however. The “Bonus Army,” as the press called them, set up camp.

After protesting veterans William Hushka and Eric Carlson died in a police shooting, President Herbert Hoover ordered General Douglas MacArthur to drive the marchers out of the campsite. Although the Bonus Army had lost this battle, they gained a couple of powerful allies. General Smedley Butler appeared at the demonstration before Hoover called in the troops. During the 1932 presidential election, Butler supported Democratic candidate Franklin D. Roosevelt. The Bonus Army and the deaths of the two veterans hurt Hoover’s shot at reelection, paving Roosevelt’s road to victory. Roosevelt also resisted the Bonus Army’s demands, but he took a different approach when another march occurred in 1933. Rather than send the army, FDR sent First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt to connect with the protesters.

Through the Civilian Conservation Corps, Roosevelt offered the veterans jobs with many accepting the deal. While Roosevelt vetoed giving the $2 billion bonuses early, Congress overrode this in 1936 with the veterans being paid almost a decade in advance. Roosevelt had other plans to revitalize the economy and create jobs through his New Deal. Roosevelt also sought to cease the gold standard monetary system, making him an enemy in the eyes of the American Liberty League, an organization so conservative that even Hoover thought they were too far right. This group included the DuPont family, John J. Raskob of General Motors, Al Smith (who lost the Democratic presidential nomination to Roosevelt), and John W. Davis (who supported Roosevelt until the New Deal was introduced).

It’s Just Business

The League was allegedly part of a conspiracy to seize the White House from FDR. The Wall Street leaders at the top of this conspiracy sought to remodel the country after Hitler and his Brownshirts or Mussolini and his Blackshirts. The U.S. was already forming extremist groups like the Silver Shirts. To lead this coup, the conspirators turned to the retired General Smedley Butler. Although Butler had supported Roosevelt, he was still an immensely popular figure and had spent most of his life as a self-described “racketeer for capitalism.” Believing that Roosevelt’s health was declining, the businessmen presented a scenario where the president appoints Butler as “secretary of general affairs,” a replacement for the secretary of state. From there, Butler would assume almost-absolute power.

In “Amsterdam,” Robert De Niro plays General Gil Dillenbeck, a stand-in for Butler. Numerous liberties are again taken, including a climax where Dillenbeck is almost publicly assassinated on stage for speaking out. However, parts of Dillenbeck’s storyline echo Butler’s accounts of what happened. At his Pennsylvania residence, Butler was approached by Gerald C. MacGuire, a bond salesman, WWI veteran, and commander for the Connecticut American Legion. Also present was William Doyle of the Massachusetts American Legion. MacGuire offered Butler 500,000 ex-soldiers and full financial support to overtake the presidency, mapping out the far-fetched plan. Although Butler wasn’t interested, MacGuire remained persistent, wanting him to deliver a speech at an American Legion convention calling for the gold standard to be reinstated.

Growing suspicious, Butler decided to unravel the conspiracy that would come to be known as the Business Plot. MacGuire spent some time in Europe, collecting information on how to bring fascism to America. Upon returning, MacGuire met with Butler a few more times. Butler also had meetings with Robert Clark, heir to the Singer Sewing Machine Company fortune. Between MacGuire and Clark, Butler found that many business giants were attached to the conspiracy, including John Davis, Al Smith, and the DuPont Corporation. The conspirators assumed Butler would keep quiet. Instead, Butler spoke with Paul Comly French, a Philadelphia reporter and his former secretary. French broke the story through the Philadelphia Record and New York Post, although the New York Times called it a “gigantic hoax.”

Butler reportedly told MacGuire, “If you get 500,000 soldiers advocating anything smelling of fascism, I am going to get 500,000 more and lick the hell out of you, and we will have a real war right at home.” Butler also confided in Hoover, still director of the FBI, who relayed information to Roosevelt. There were attempts to discredit Butler with people claiming he was mentally ill. Based on Butler’s testimony, though, the Congressional committee concluded that there were discussions of such a plot and that it could’ve been put into effect. Congressman John McCormack said, “If General Butler had not been the patriot he was, and if they had been able to maintain secrecy, the plot certainly might very well have succeeded.”

Despite this, no charges were brought against the individuals singled out. Some names were excluded from the final report, the richest not even being called to testify. MacGuire and the others accused denied the accusations against them. Roosevelt helped to conceal the testimony, supposedly fearing the public’s reaction. Butler, who grew more critical of FDR, talked about his testimony in a 1935 newsreel, which is referenced in “Amsterdam.” His testimony wouldn’t see the light until journalist John Spivak released it in 1967. By that point, Butler had been dead for almost 27 years. MacGuire died from pneumonia five years before Butler in 1935. Being under 40, MacGuire’s death was seen as mysterious, although his doctor believes stress from the accusations led to his pneumonia.

Did This Actually Happen?

Almost 90 years later, historians still debate how much of Butler’s testimony was true and, if it was, how close was America to becoming a fascist nation. Rumors also continue to surface, including accusations that Prescott Bush, George H. W.’s father and W.’s grandfather, played a role, although some find this unlikely. We’ll never know what might’ve been, but if the Business Plot had worked, World War II would’ve paved the way for a much bleaker future. While we’d like to tell ourselves that the Business Plot couldn’t happen today, the modern political landscape suggests otherwise. “Amsterdam” may be more fiction than fact, but the true story it unearths shows just how little politics and capitalism have changed in nearly a century.