America's Reluctant Entry into World War II

The neutral United States could no longer resist neutrality in the deadly war that had broke out two years before the Japanese bombed Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941. Up until then, former President Franklin D. Roosevelt had done everything he could to prevent the participation of his country in what is now known as World War II. When the United States declared war on Japan, Germany declared war on the United States, which transformed the war into a global conflict. At a conference code-named “Arcadia” with Churchill, Roosevelt had agreed to make the war with German the major priority and the Pacific theater second. By the time Roosevelt and General George C. Marshall, the army chief of staff, had decided to create a unified command structure

It is clear that the two generals did not care for each other before World War II even started, as they “rubbed each other the wrong way” when they first met while stationed at Fort Leavenworth together from 1908-1911. When Marshall became MacArthur’s superior, MacArthur would say, “My worst enemy has always been behind me.” The two had their quarrels from the time they met up until the end of World War I, which had been evident for many spectators to witness. However, both MacArthur and Marshall were able to put their hostility towards each other aside when they had to focus on the task at hand in order to help the American military progress. There were times in which General Marshall would encourage and support the decisions MacArthur made, and there were times in which Marshall would not support the actions of MacArthur during the course of World War II. The support for MacArthur endured during the first half of America’s participation in World War II, whereas Marshall’s support and encouragement had become minimal towards the end when MacArthur’s “egotistic” attitude had taken the best of