The General vs. the President Summary

Summary of
The General vs. the President
From H.W. Brands
MacArthur and Truman
At the Brink of Nuclear War

By Summary Station

Truman relieving General Douglas MacArthur caused a bit of an uproar amongst the American public. His motives were to limit the conflict in Korea, resulting in his decision to remove MacArthur.
General MacArthur was full of ego and flair, and issues between the two were inevitable. When the Korean war first began in June of 1950, MacArthur had fantastic military strategies and maneuvers up his sleeve. He used these to keep South Korea protected from communist invaders in North Korea. MacArthur urged to enact a policy to defeat North Korean forces entirely. Truman agreed, but did so warily, as he was aware the People’s Republic of China may feel threatened and join the fight. During October of 1950, MacArthur assured Truman that the Chinese wouldn’t interfere. Directly afterwards, in November and December, Chinese troops burst into the American lines, hundreds of thousands of soldiers preventing American forces from entering North Korea. MacArthur requested the use of bombs against communist China, as well as to utilize Taiwanese forces to fight the People’s Republic of China. When Truman denied him these requests, their public disagreement began.