Page 159 - Historical Dictionary of Political Communication in the United States

HARRY S
TRUMAN,
148
TRUMAN, HARRY S. See "Dewey Defeats Truman"; One-Party Press.
TRUMAN FIRING OF MacARTHUR. In America's 200-plus years of mili-
tary history, it has not been uncommon during wartime for military commanders
to be relieved from duty. The most famous case of a general's being relieved
of his command is President Harry S Truman's firing of General Douglas Mac-
Arthur, the supreme commander of United Nations forces during the Korean
War. There are several theories about why MacArthur was fired. The most
widely accepted is that MacArthur was sacked because of his arrogant and in-
subordinate attitude. Truman's policy was to contain the war, and despite the
presence of large numbers of communist Chinese troops in Korea, he ruled out
bombing China. MacArthur disagreed and was very vocal about it.
Another theory is that Truman's decisions about MacArthur and the Korean
War strategy were made with significant consideration of the United States'
diplomatic relations with Great Britain. After World War II, Britain was phys-
ically and economically devastated. It was dependent on the United States for
defense from the communist bloc. This officially began with the creation of the
North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) in 1949. Britain hoped that the
United States would deploy a large force in Western Europe. Britain was afraid
that if the Korean War expanded, the United States would decrease its troops
in Western Europe. The possibility of war between the United States and China
also concerned Britain because Britain had commercial interests in China. Brit-
ain had, in fact, recognized the government of communist China, which the
United States had not done, and was pushing for communist China to be in the
United Nations, which the United States opposed. All this led to intense anti-
MacArthur sentiment in Britain. MacArthur criticized Britain's policies and ad-
vocated use of nuclear weapons against the communist Chinese and the use of
Nationalist Chinese troops to invade the China mainland.

SOURCES: Laura Belmonte, "Anglo-American Relations and the Dismissal of Mac-
Arthur," Diplomatic History, Fall 1995; Roy K. Flint, Korean War, 1995.
/. Sean McCleneghan