DOUGLAS MACARTHUR: LARGER THAN LIFE

Ben Hummel

May 2, 2004

DOUGLAS MACARTHUR: LARGER THAN LIFE

Introduction

The historian who wishes to study the life of General Douglas MacArthur (1880-1964), must be ready for a great deal of reading, a great deal of patience, and the fortitude to put up with quite an ego. Besides numerous writings by MacArthur himself, there are countless biographies and articles that have been done on MacArthur and his relation to different events. These are still being produced at an astonishing rate today. MacArthur is a complex and controversial historical figure in U.S. history and stands as the most decorated soldier in our history. He also found himself involved in many of the most important events of the last hundred years. MacArthur was the most decorated soldier of World War I, leading many important charges at the end of the war; he was the chief of staff during the depression and crushed the Bonus Army marches in 1932; he helped to build the Philippines, and found himself almost defeated by the Japanese in 1942, only to return to the Philippines and rescue his men in 1944 as the Southwest Pacific Commander; he was instrumental in the creation of the new Japanese Constitution, and in rebuilding post-war Japan; and was the commander of UN forces in Korea before his relief from duty by Truman in April of 1952. MacArthur found himself in some of the most important historical events of the 20^th century.

Anyone alive today that lived during the time of World War II can remember images of MacArthur striding onto the beach with his troops smoking his pipe with his Philippine commander’s hat and sunglasses. MacArthur became a hero and a great leader at a time when America was searching for one. He came home in 1952 to throngs of people and praise, as possibly the most popular man of that time. He was a great and revered leader but never rose to any political power. The attraction to MacArthur as a historical figure comes not only from his involvement in historical events and legendary status in the minds of millions, but his controversial relationships with Presidents, politicians, and other military commanders. MacArthur often became a policymaker as a general which caused fear in many high-ranking officials. He too frequently mixed military and civil relations. MacArthur was never able to be a good subordinate and was found deliberately ignoring orders and carrying out his own policy. This all came to a head during the Korean War where the policy of MacArthur ran counter to that of President Truman. As an active general, MacArthur even became involved in politics and briefly campaigned for President in 1944 and 1948. The most astonishing date is 1944, where he was briefly campaigning while World War II was still going on! Many in Washington saw this as insubordinate behavior, but no one could really do anything because he was such a popular and heroic figure to the American people.

President Truman was very careful in conducting the Korean War. He was afraid of Soviet involvement in the war and advocated a policy of containment. MacArthur was on the complete opposite page and advocated a war that would be expanded and waged even against China for total victory. He did not understand the political realities of the situation and the many things that Truman had to consider. When MacArthur began speaking out against Truman’s policies publicly, Truman had no choice but to relieve MacArthur of his command, even though it was an unpopular move. While MacArthur returned to America a hero, he quickly faded into obscurity as a public figure, much as he said in his famous farewell address to Congress upon his return in 1952, “Old soldiers never die, they just fade away”.

As can be easily surmised, a journey into the life of MacArthur can quickly turn into a quagmire as there is so much to study, and so many angles to take in looking at his long career filled with failures and successes. Historiographically speaking, the fundamental work on MacArthur is a book by D. Clayton James called Years of MacArthur (1970-1985), a three-volume 2600 page work that covers most every aspect of MacArthur’s career. Unfortunately, I was unable to get a hold of that collection in time for the submission of this bibliography, as it is an older work and only came up in later research. Most other biographies get much of their basic information from this book. The 1978 biography, American Caesar by William Manchester is another important work because of its much shorter length, but is not recognized as a good scholarly work by most as it mainly praises MacArthur and holds him up as a hero, rather than critically analyzing his life. Since then, many important works have been written, some looking at particular aspects of MacArthur’s career, as in Carol Petillo’s Douglas MacArthur: The Philippine Years (1981) and Stanley Weintraub’s MacArthur’s War: Korea and the Undoing of an American Hero (2000). Others have attempted to write more manageable and critical one volume biographies, and I believe the latest and best of these to be Michael Schaller’s Douglas MacArthur: The Far Eastern General (1989). As far as primary sources go, it is not difficult to find many of MacArthur’s own writings, especially now with the release of many military records. The most famous and basic book by MacArthur is probably his Reminisces (1964).

Annotated Bibliography

I. Reference Works

American National Biography. Vol. 14. Edited by Johan A. Garraty & Mark C. Carnes.

New York: Oxford University Press, 1999.

The biography of MacArthur offered in this work is the most extensive of any other reference work. It is a relatively short, but detailed account of the life of MacArthur that also includes critical analysis of MacArthur’s life, especially some of his war strategies. This article sites Schaller’s book, which is cited later in this bibliography, as well as the fundamental book by D. Clayton James, The Years of MacArthur (3 vols, 1970-1985). [LIB]

Reference Guide to United States Military History. Vol. 4 (1919-1945). Edited by

Charles Reginald Shrader. New York: Facts on File, 1994.

This reference guide offers a brief, but informative summary of the life of MacArthur, focusing on his military career. The article is rich in numbers and dates, and primarily focuses on MacArthur’s involvement in World War II. The section explaining his work at West Point was of special interest and included information not found elsewhere. Many books were referenced that can be found in this bibliography, including Reminisces and American Caesar. [LIB]

The West Point Atlas of American Wars. Vol. 2. Edited by Vincent J. Esposito. New

York: Frederick & Praeger, 1959.

This unique atlas provides a great visual backdrop for those interested in MacArthur’s campaigns in Southwest Asia during World War II, as well as the campaigns of the Korean War. The maps are extremely detailed and show troop movements as well as size. There are important dates and descriptions also included on the map. The editor provides brief explanations of each battle. This is a great resource for anyone attempting to understand MacArthur the military strategist and top general in Southwest Asia, and later Korea. In my opinion this is an interesting way to try and understand MacArthur on his own terms. [LIB]

II. Primary Sources

Condon, David (Web Site Producer for PBS). American Experience: Douglas

MacArthur. 1999. www.pbs.org/wgbh/amex/macarthur/ (3 April 2004).

The primary sources available on this website are great. As mentioned later on, it features easily accessible direct links to letters, communiqués, and speeches given by and to MacArthur. The sources cover MacArthur’s private life with his wife and mother, and also his official relationship with Truman, among other notable figures. This is a quick, easy place to access some of the more famous primary documents surrounding the life of MacArthur. Along with this, there is also a decent size collection of photographs.

MacArthur, Douglas. Reminisces. New York: McGraw-Hill, 1964.

MacArthur basically tells his own story in an autobiographical fashion. It is interesting reading about the Philippines and the Korean War through the eyes of MacArthur. He does not see his tactics or attempts at creating policy as the problem that everyone else did. While the book gives a decent history, it is obviously heavily biased. One gets a real sense of the struggle of MacArthur to look good and be victorious in everything, as he makes arrogant claims making sure to point out awards and nice congratulatory comments given to him by peers of note. One also becomes aware of MacArthur’s ignorance of politics and the pattern of U.S. foreign policy. While this account gives great insight into the psychology and thought process of MacArthur, it is hardly a fair historical account. [LIB]

MacArthur, Douglas. Revitalizing a Nation: A Statement of Beliefs, Opinions, and

Policies Embodied in the Public Pronouncements of General of the Army

Douglas MacArthur. Edited by John Pratt. Chicago: The Heritage Foundation,

Inc., 1952.

These writings of MacArthur are compiled upon his return to the U.S. after being relieved of his command in April of 1951. The words seen are from speeches at rallies and parades across the U.S. In this book, the reader finds a desperate last attempt at entering the political world by MacArthur. His stance is clear: a complete defeat of communism and a return of the U.S. to its moral foundations. Fearing an off-track state department, and a morally weakened American people blinded by politics, MacArthur calls people to be revitalized in the struggle against godless communism. This is a unique and interesting look at the tail end of MacArthur’s public life. [ILL]

U.S. Army. Reports of General MacArthur. Vol. 2, Japanese Operations in the

Southwest Pacific Area. 1994.

This book presents a rather interesting compilation of Japanese military records from World War II, compiled and analyzed by General MacArthur himself. While this source may not interest all, it is another way to understand MacArthur the soldier. His in-depth analysis and commentary show why he was the great general that he was. There are excellent maps and visual aids that are especially of use to the military historian. MacArthur’s perspective on Japanese troop movements is rich and telling. After reading this, one appreciates MacArthur’s prowess as a military man. A must read for the serious military historian. [LIB]

III. Secondary Histories

Manchester, William. American Caesar: Douglas MacArthur, 1880-1964. Boston:

Little, Brown, & Co., 1978.

Manchester’s book is one of the earlier compilations on the life of MacArthur, therefore it is not nearly as critical as some of the more recent literature. Manchester did not quite have access to some of the material available to later historians. His biography ends up praising MacArthur as a great leader more than any later works, probably giving him more credit than he is due. This has led to many scholars rejecting this book as a scholarly work. However, the book contains many great photographs and a very detailed survey of MacArthur’s life, along with being the most important work on MacArthur for its time period outside of D. Clayton James’s immense three volume work that is much less manageable and readable. Manchester’s book is possibly the first readable one volume biography of MacArthur. The book focuses on how MacArthur lived his life, and as implied in the title, his role as a great American leader in the military. Manchester shows a MacArthur that is to be remembered at his best, thus having a certain amount of bias. [LIB]

**Petillo, Carol M. Review of American Caesar: Douglas MacArthur, 1880-1964, by

William Manchester. Pacific History Review 50, no. 5 (May 1981): 270-1.

Petillo, an author of MacArthur books herself, is complimentary of Manchester’s work for its comprehensive analysis and readability, but at the same time finds some major problems. Petillo desires to know beyond the events of MacArthur’s life, the psychological sources, and finds MacArthur to still be a mystery at the end of the book. She also finds coverage of the Philippine Years before World War II to be quite lacking, and suggests further research in military archives. Petillo gives important criticism that really digs into the book and shows improvements that can and are made by later biographers of MacArthur. [ILL]

Perret, Geoffrey. Old Soldiers Never Die: The Life of Douglas MacArthur. New York:

Random House, 1996.

Perret presents the reader with a large and detailed biography of the life of MacArthur, covering the full range of his activities. Though lengthy, the book is well written and as easy a read as 600 pages can be. Perret focuses on the contradictions and inconsistencies in MacArthur’s life, looking at his many triumphs and failures. He is quite critical of MacArthur and in the end claims him to not be the greatest military commander in history as William Manchester claims in American Caesar. Rather, Perret says, “MacArthur was too difficult a subordinate to be an entirely successful commander” (589). MacArthur is criticized quite harshly in relation to earlier books, and perhaps to a fault, but this may be the best overall look at the events, good and bad, of MacArthur’s career. [ILL]

**Stoler, Mark A. Review of Old Soldiers Never Die: The Life of Douglas MacArthur,

by Geoffrey Perret. American Historical Review 103, no. 1 (1998): 289.

Stoler makes a fairly critical review of Perret’s book, as he points out many small errors and accuses him of revisionism, but also finds Perret’s book to be the most readable and condensed biography of MacArthur to date. Stoler finds Perret to be “savagely critical” of MacArthur, to the point that it puts undue blame on him at times. Stoler has done his own work on MacArthur and reviews Perret’s book fairly and accurately, pointing out small historical errors that may otherwise not be noted. I also found Stoler’s placing of this work in its proper historiographical location in reference to other works on MacArthur to be helpful. [ILL]

Schaller, Michael. Douglas MacArthur: The Far Eastern General. New York: Oxford

University Press, 1989.

Schaller writes one of the most critical biographies written on MacArthur. He focuses on the psychology and egoism found in MacArthur as he surrounds himself with a “staff of sycophants”. MacArthur thrives in the Far East, according to Schaller, because of the large influence he is able to have over there. MacArthur claims to understand the Oriental psyche, but fails often in his Asian policies. This book is great for anyone interested in a taste of psychohistory, as it really examines the mind of MacArthur and his constant drive to make himself look good. Schaller focuses on MacArthur in the context of overall American policy in the Far East and its failure, and even concludes by calling MacArthur’s legacy a failure. This is one of the more interesting books on MacArthur as it tries to deconstruct the legend surrounding the general and attribute his successes to public relations and control of what people knew about him. Schaller draws greatly on D. Clayton James, Carol Petillo, and William Manchester. [LIB]

**Krome, Frederic. Review of Douglas MacArthur: The Far Eastern General, by

Michael Schaller. Historian 54 (Autumn 1991): 171-2.

This review is highly praising of Schaller’s work, noting its wealth of primary and secondary source material and fascinating insight. His only real criticism is in finding no new details of MacArthur’s life, but this seems more like an attempt to find something to criticize in Schaller’s work, Schaller delves into psychohistory, but does not get lost in it and really does a great deal to debunk the myths surrounding MacArthur. I would say that this review is maybe too nice. Schaller’s book is so intent on debunking myths that it may take away some truth as well in the process, and this is something the reviewer overlooks. [ILL]

Weintraub, Stanley. MacArthur’s War: Korea and the Undoing of an American Hero.

New York: The Free Press, 2000.

This book is an excellent account of the Korean War that focuses especially on MacArthur and his role in military planning, as well as his complex relations with Truman, Marshall, and Acheson, among other notable American figures of the time. The Korean War is clearly portrayed as a war dominated by the strategies and policies made by MacArthur. It was his insistence on his ways and policies that led to the necessity of his dismissal by Truman. It is quite clear in this account that Truman really had no choice, as MacArthur was trying to control policymaking and push the war further into China, as in his attempt to overturn the U.S. policy of neutrality towards Formosa. Weintraub’s book is well written and narrated in an easily readable fashion, and is the most in-depth study of MacArthur’s involvement in Korea that can be found. It is especially helpful in analyzing the relationships and events that led to the stunning dismissal of America’s most decorated and famous general. [ILL]

**Briggs, Philip J. Review of MacArthur’s War: Korea and the Undoing of an

American Hero, by Stanley Weintraub. Armed Forces and Society 28, no. 4

(Jun 2002): 669.

Briggs’ review is insightful and helpful. It points out the strengths of the book in its writing style and excellent critical analysis. It is proved clearly that the Korean War was indeed “MacArthur’s War”, but Briggs is not convinced that Weintraub proves that MacArthur’s dismissal led to the “undoing of an American hero” as indicated in the title. The review is quite favorable and gives a precise summary of the book which is quite helpful. [ILL]

IV. Journal Articles

Briggs, Philip J. “General MacArthur and the Presidential Election of 1944.”

Presidential Studies Quarterly 22, no.1 (1992): 31-46.

Briggs takes a look at civil-military relations in the context of MacArthur’s brief bid to run for President in 1944 against Franklin D. Roosevelt. MacArthur stood as a potential candidate because of his great speeches and legendary status attained during World War II. Influential senators like Republican Senator Vandenberg threw their support behind the General and tried to ride MacArthur’s popularity to victory. MacArthur’s primary campaign against Dewey fell through quickly as Illinois was his only primary victory. Briggs also looks at the relationship between FDR and MacArthur and whether a deal was struck that took MacArthur out of politics for FDR’s benefit, and gave MacArthur the wartime decisions he desired. In conclusion, Briggs shows that successful generals do not always make it into the White House. This is a great case study article that lets the reader see an aspect of MacArthur’s life that is not well known. One question that remains is how much of MacArthur’s political ambition was his own and how much was from others pushing him into politics? However, this is a unique study into a little known part of MacArthur’s life. [ILL]

McCullough, David. “Truman Fires MacArthur.” The Quarterly Journal of Military

History 5, no. 1 (1992): 8-21.

This article is based off of a larger book written by McCullough and specifically focuses in on the events surrounding Truman’s firing of MacArthur. McCullough illustrates the rough relationship between the two and the wide gap between the military demands of MacArthur and the political realities faced by Truman. MacArthur dabbled in policymaking and wanted to expand the war in Korea, which made Truman nervous and angry. It was difficult, however, to fire MacArthur because of his heroic standing with the people. In the end, McCullough surmises that MacArthur left Truman no choice but to fire him. This account is detailed and well written, really showing clearly to the reader how a great and beloved hero like MacArthur could end up ultimately being fired. [ILL]

Rasor, Eugene L. “General Douglas MacArthur, the Philippines, and Strategic Decisions

Of World War II: A Survey of the Literature.” International Social Science

Review 70, no. 1 & 2 (1995): 15-25.

This is an excellent article as a background to some of the materials and works related to MacArthur, especially in regards to his involvement with the Philippines. Rasor looks historiographically at these different works and their fundamental arguments. This article is a good tool for those beginning research on MacArthur, as it gives great summary analyses of a good amount of material. I was disappointed that the author never states any opinion or argument about MacArthur of his own based on his reading. Through this article it quickly becomes apparent how expansive the literature on MacArthur is, and also what a complicated man he was for so much diverse material to have been written that continues to this day. [ILL]

Schonberger, Howard B. “The General and the Presidency: Douglas MacArthur and the

Election of 1948.” Wisconsin Magazine of History 57, no.3 (1974): 201-219.

Schonberger does another case study of MacArthur, but looking at the election of 1948, where it is clear to Schonberger that MacArthur had large political ambitions of his own, answering my earlier question from Briggs’ article. MacArthur is portrayed as “anxious for the Presidency” and is studied in the context of his enormous policymaking power in postwar Japan. Schonberger looks very closely at the Wisconsin primary, as this is MacArthur’s home state, and focuses on his surprisingly large defeat there in 1948. MacArthur’s failure to win in Wisconsin and elsewhere can be attributed to many factors, but for Schonberger none so much as his lack of political organization. MacArthur was an outsider and seen as too extreme and difficult to be a serious contender. Besides being interesting, this article looks at MacArthur the politician, and his shortcomings in this area. It shows the real political ambition he had. These small case studies are sometimes the most informative with new information. [ILL]

V. Internet Sites

Condon, David (Web Site Producer for PBS). American Experience: Douglas

MacArthur. 1999. www.pbs.org/wgbh/amex/macarthur/ (3 April 2004).

This website is by far the best one for MacArthur material on the Internet. It goes along with the American Experience: MacArthur video and contains the video transcript, interview transcripts, and an extensive list of primary documents, and photographs. There are also links to learn about the people and events surrounding MacArthur. The primary documents included are impressive and include letters from MacArthur’s mother, as well as official government documents of orders give to MacArthur. The site also includes timelines, maps, and interactive material. For those in teaching, there is also teaching material online to aid in discussion of the film. This is a must see website for those interested in MacArthur.

The MacArthur Memorial. 1996. http://sites.communitylink.org/mac/ (3 April 2004).

This website is not nearly as extensive as the PBS one, but offers introductory information on MacArthur, as well as a tour of his memorial. It is well laid out and has links to many archives that are especially useful for the serious historian. These links may be the highlight of the site, as none of the information on the actual website is very extensive by itself. There are some pictures, but all of the websites pale in comparison to the PBS one.

VI. Miscellaneous Sources

Hummel, Virginia. Interviewed by Ben Hummel. 24 April 2004.

I interviewed my grandmother, Virginia Hummel, to get a unique perspective on MacArthur. Virginia was a missionary in New Guinea from 1950-53 and then again later in the 1960s. While there was not much evidence of MacArthur’s impact on the native people of New Guinea, Virginia vividly remembers MacArthur as a hero, and along with much of evangelical Christianity thought it a horrible thing when he was relieved of his duty in Korea. She also talked about MacArthur’s attempt to Christianize Japan by bringing in missionaries, which was not supported by the U.S. This Southwest Asian missionary’s perspective brought to life how MacArthur was thought of by a typical American Christian citizen.

The American Experience: MacArthur. Written, Produced, and Directed by Austin

Hoyt. 4 hours. PBS Video, 1999. VHS.

The video, like the website, is extremely informational, well put together, and easy to watch. The photos and film are enjoyable, as well as the narration. Watching this 4 hour documentary may be much easier than reading the average 600 page biographies that are done on MacArthur. In the film important historians are interviewed (Schaller, Petillo, Stoler, etc.), as well as surviving friends and family of MacArthur. The film takes a fair and critical approach when looking at MacArthur’s life, noting his failures and triumphs. The first part of the film goes through much of MacArthur’s life up until World War II, while the second part focuses on World War II, Korea, and the drafting of the Japanese constitution. Especially interesting was the detailed look at MacArthur in postwar Japan and his spat with Truman over Korea. This is definitely the documentary to watch on MacArthur.

Reflections

When looking at a syllabus on the first day of class, every student dreads the typical big semester long research paper that must be written for just about every history class. The time commitment and difficulty of writing a good and well-researched paper is enormous. That is why when looking at the syllabus for this class, the first feeling is relief. This relief stems from the fact that no large research paper is required, only an annotated bibliography. I had not done an annotated bibliography in some time, but it became quickly apparent that writing a solid, well-researched annotation also takes a great deal of time. First of all, it is very difficult to fit the content of a 600 page book into one concisely written paragraph. This probably takes the most time, especially since for this project I came up with 23 sources. When annotations must be written for all of them, it is also a large time commitment. For me, also, formatting the bibliography properly took a very long time. Getting all of the citations in their proper bibliographic form and order takes more time than one would think, or like.

While this experience did end up being very time consuming, it was also quite rewarding. I learned more about research materials available than I had previously known, even though I am a Senior. The most important thing I learned was how to use DIALOG, a history search engine that our school subscribes to, that students can access for free after asking a librarian. I think it is a shame that more professors do not notify their history students of this research tool. It is far and away the best online research engine I have ever used. The majority of my interlibrary loan sources, especially for journal articles came from here, and I did not even know this program existed until the second half of my last semester as a history major. There were journals, books, and reviews that would never show up on EBSCO. This was also my first experience using book reviews. I found them to be quite helpful, not only in critiquing the book, but in summarizing the content. It was nice to see times where the reviewer agreed with my assessment, or where they picked up on things that I missed. One other aspect of the research process was the difficulty of such a short deadline when our library does not have very many good sources. I would have loved to have gotten my hands on the D. Clayton James volumes on MacArthur, but did not have the time to Interlibrary loan it by the time I realized what an important work it was. It did not come up in my initial searches because it is an older work.

I did not find this assignment to be particularly difficult as I have a general knowledge of researching and summarizing books succinctly. I found that sources were also not particularly hard to gather as long as you look your sources up early in the process, rather than waiting until the last minute. The most difficult part was the nature of the beast. Looking through all of those sources and putting the whole bibliography together takes a long time. In the end, I feel like I almost might as well have written a whole research paper, and it would not have been that much more work. Writing the annotations caused familiarity with the sources that would make it fairly easy to write a good paper. Overall, the experience was positive, and even though I took this class much later than I should have, I ended up gaining some new insight into research resources available, as well as an appreciation for the work it takes to create a good critical bibliography.