Douglas Macarthur And The Korean War Essay

1815 Words4 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: Reflection of the importance of patriotism

David Sylvester
A.P.U.S.H.
Mr. Pickford
February 11, 2014
Douglas MacArthur And The Korean War
Arguably one of the greatest generals in American history Douglas MacArthur was born to be in the military, his father Arthur MacArthur was a great soldier who honorably in the Army and it MacArthur went to West Point to follow in his father's footsteps. MacArthur served for rising through the ranks at a rapid pace, he became most well known for his leadership during the second world war but after that he led his troops on the battlefields of Korea in his seventies. Although MacArthur proved to be a brilliant general, his aggressive decisions towards the end of the Korean War led to his honorable removal as general of the United Nations Army and his heroic actions and tales to be cemented permanently in American History.
June 27th, 1950 was the day the United States announced its direct assistance in the Korean War. The following day United States planes were already bombing the North Korean Army and the United States is getting prepared for more attacks. On July 7th, 1950 General Douglas MacArthur was appointed to be commander of all UN forces which was an easy choice for President Truman to make because he and MacArthur were great friends and Truman admired MacArthur for his great military leadership. After being appointed MacArthur said to Truman "I can only repeat the pledge of my complete personal loyalty to you as well as an absolute devotion to your monumental struggle for peace and good will throughout the world. I hope I will not fail you"(MacArthur). When MacArthur took command in Korea he provided the soldiers with a much needed moral boost that kept them fighting harder and gave them a new sense of hope. During the begin...

... middle of paper ...

...or his country and freedom sores past many others it led him into some trouble when he began speaking out against the government for not helping them and instead restricting how they could fight the war. MacArthur's words and actions he took against Harry Truman did not help him because he wanted to fight a full war to get a full victory and liberate all of Korea but Truman wanted to fight a restricted war and only liberate South Korea. The constant disputes between Truman and MacArthur ultimately led to Truman firing MacArthur. MacArthur's fate had already been cemented in history as an American hero and one of the greatest generals in military history, his tactics, moral and leadership were all driving factors that made him such a great general and he was always well respected by the men who served him because he was always right in the battle with them.

Show More
Related

  • Truman vs. MacArthur

    739 Words  | 2 Pages

    The Korean War changed the face of American Cold War diplomacy forever. In the midst of all the political conflict and speculation worldwide, the nation had to choose between two proposed solutions, each one hoping to ensure that communism didn?t sweep across the globe and destroy American ideals of capitalism and democracy. General Douglas MacArthur takes the pro-active stance and says that, assuming it has the capability, the U.S. should attack communism everywhere. President Harry Truman, on the other hand, believed that containing the Soviet communists from Western Europe was the best and most important course of action, and that eliminating communism in Asia was not a priority.

    Read More

  • George Patton Quote Analysis

    478 Words  | 1 Pages

    George S. Patton as a young child had always admired his ancestors ("George Patton Biography"). He heard the numerous stories of his own relatives taking part in the Civil war and the American Revolution ("George Patton Biography"). In addition, Patton wanted to follow in the same footsteps. Accomplishing his childhood dream, George S. Patton is remembered as one of the most successful combat generals in U.S history ("George Patton Biography"). He took part in WWI and WWII ("George Patton Biography"). Having to be quick in battle and come up with ideas. This leads us to his quote, “If everyone is thinking alike, then somebody isn't thinking.”

    Read More

  • General Douglas MacArthur

    955 Words  | 2 Pages

    General Douglas MacArthur is one of the United States' most popular and accomplished generals. He is mostly known for being the commander of all Allied forces in the Pacific theater during World War II. His life was a spectacular rise and tragic fall. He was one of the United States' greatest leaders of all time. He lived his entire life living by the West Point code of Duty, Honor, and Country.

    Read More

  • General Douglas Macarthur: Military Leaders In World War I And II

    564 Words  | 2 Pages

    There were many important leaders in World War I and II fighting for the United States, but none had as much influence on the outcome of the wars as General Douglas MacArthur. MacArthur was born on January 26, 1880 to Mary and Arthur MacArthur of Little Rock Arkansas. MacArthur’s family had a strong military history.

    Read More

  • Why Did American Respond To The Events In Korea Essay

    455 Words  | 1 Pages

    General Douglas MacArthur reacted to the events in Korea by thinking he could do anything he wanted to them because he was liked by the American people. He wanted to stop Korea entering China.

    Read More

  • Rhetorical Analysis of MacArthur’s Duty Honor Country

    1268 Words  | 3 Pages

    For a united nation to prosper, its people must overcome obstacles and take on numerous responsibilities. Throughout our lives, there are problems occurring continually in our world related to war and combat. During these times of hardship, we must remind ourselves to persevere and continue to defend the country. In addressing the Sylvanus Thayer Award on May 12, 1962, at the city of West Point, New York, General Douglas MacArthur urged Americans to remember the major responsibilities we have as Americans in his speech Duty, Honor, Country. With a position of authority, MacArthur powerfully stated that America will only survive through winning wars and fulfilling our duties. His main priority was to defend the nation, respect the nation, and prosper in that vast nation, otherwise remarked as three key terms: duty, honor, and country. Through the use of rhetorical devices, MacArthur expresses the theme that Americans should defend the country sturdily and carry on its numerous objectives by means of his moral code: “Duty, Honor, Country”.

    Read More

  • Compare And Contrast Truman And Macarthur

    1160 Words  | 3 Pages

    The Korean War was not only a battle between the communist and nationalist forces, but was also a battle between President Harry S. Truman and General Douglas MacArthur. The two individuals were very prominent figures in the Korean War, however both individuals were viewed differently in the eyes of the public. Truman was consistently failing as a result of his independent and pessimistic-like behaviour, while MacArthur was already successful due to his command in World War II. Despite the differences, the two individuals had more in common regarding their personality as they were both exiled from their position in power and they both had mutually assured public destruction and this was a result of the misconceptions of minor events during

    Read More

  • Alfred Forrest Character Analysis

    1081 Words  | 3 Pages

    : Lieutenant General Nathan Bedford Forrest is one that goes against all stereotypes concerning that of the rise to becoming an officer, but has been called “one of the greatest soldiers the Civil War produced,” by General Ulysses S. Grant of the Union Army. Forrest’s lack of education and upbringing in rural Tennessee molded him very differently from that of the other Confederate Officers considering that the majority were West Point graduates and the other few that were not had military backgrounds and were raised and breed into the life of an officer. From an enlisted confederate soldier working his way to the rank of lieutenant general he became one of the greatest and most feared generals of the war due to his high energy, intimidation

    Read More

  • The 1914-1945: The Era Of Nightmares

    1886 Words  | 4 Pages

    Douglas MacArthur was born on January 26, 1880 in a military camp in Arkansas. He graduated West Point in 1903 with honors. After he was commissioned as a junior officer in the Army Corps of Engineers where he spent his time getting promotions and moving around the world including the Philippines, Japan, Mexico At the start of WWI France. (“Douglas MacArthur”... 1 ) when the United States entered the war on the side of the entente, Macarthur was colonel and set to lead the rainbow division (1). In 1918 he participated in the St. Mihiel, Meuse-Argonne, Sedan offensives (1). When the war concluded in 1918 he became the superintendent of West Point (2). In 1930 he was promoted to a General (2). During WWII he commanded the troops in the pacific, then occupied Japan after the war (2). He was also in the Korean War. When the north invaded the south he aided the south

    Read More

  • Dwight D. Eisenhower's Childhood

    287 Words  | 1 Pages

    He was seen as president because he ended the korean war, he was a five star

    Read More

  • General Douglas Macarthur Speech Rhetorical Precis

    1418 Words  | 3 Pages

    He knew that he had to make the topic of his speech relatable to current issues. So the main topic of his speech was centered on the Korean war and communism, which was a current issue of the time. He mentions that if we were to let the Asian continent fall to communism it would not be very long before Europe also fell. He also mentions that the key to winning the Korean war is to attack their supporters the Chinese communist. After all, without their support the North Koreans would not have the resources to sustain the war longterm. During his speech General MacArthur is able to establish a positive ethos. The first thing he does in his speech is make himself look humble by mentioning all the great people who stood where he was standing. He also says that he is not the head of any cause, he is just here as another American citizen trying to let his viewpoint be known. He says that his only wish is to serve his country to the best of his ability. MacArthur makes the wording of his speech complement the demographic of his audience. Which in this case is a bunch of well educated men. He tries to be as diplomatic as possible with his approach since the person whose viewpoint he was countering was the head of the country. MacArthur knew that Congress was filled with well educated men so he did not need to keep the wording of his speech simple. He used formal language since it was a formal address to Congress. Not

    Read More

  • George Patton's Accomplishments Of A True Hero

    850 Words  | 2 Pages

    Have you ever heard of George Patton? People thought of George Patton as a very helpful, caring man. When people asked him for something he would always help them out. His goal in life was to become a hero. He accomplished his goal. Patton never put himself before others. He was third main general during World War II. George Patton was skilled at tank warfare. He always sat down and said to himself, “Success is not just how high you bounce but how high you bounce when you hit the bottom”. That was always what he said when he felt a little insecure about himself.

    Read More

  • Robert E Lee

    790 Words  | 2 Pages

    Lee is an excellent general for our newly created Confederacy. He is not only a national hero and in a very positive public light, he is also brilliant and valiant, knowing when to strict vital blows on the enemy. Even considering Lee’s weaknesses, he is still the General we need to lead the Confederacy to victory.

    Read More

  • Patton Leadership

    944 Words  | 2 Pages

    General Patton had a great deal of characteristics that would ultimately be the necessary factors in the victories that were seen in the Second World War. While many had admired him, some did not find him as acceptable as others and found him to be haughty or even vulgar to the point of being an ineffective leader. Regardless of few views, the General had the uncanny ability to inspire and also lead soldier into combat with an effective ability to win wars as well as inspire those around him to give there all in terms of

    Read More

  • Battle Of Bataan By Douglas Macarthur: A Hero

    1168 Words  | 3 Pages

    After he did not follow Franklin Roosevelt's orders, and never surrendered to the Japanese he soon became noticed in the newspaper for being a hero. March 11, 1942 MacArthur had escaped a torpedo boat during the two month long battle of Japan and America, then he became noticed in the U.S. newspapers again for a famous quote ¨I shall return.¨ It is important to know about my topic Battle of Bataan because the article Manila Bay tells about how Manila Bay nearly landlocked the inlet of the South China Sea, the Manila Bay was divided into two channels during the Battle of Bataan on May, 1, 1898. And also where Commodore George Dewey had destroyed the Spanish Fleet of within a few hours to save the Manila bay in the philippines. “In the Allied recovery of the Philippines (1944-45), many Japanese ships were sunk in the bay.” It is giving an overall statement of what happened in the Manila Bay on (may, 1, 1898) during the Spanish - American

    Read More

More about Douglas Macarthur And The Korean War Essay

Open Document