Douglas MacArthur

**Douglas MacArthur** (26 January, 1880 - 29 January, 1944) nicknamed **"Big Mac"** and "**The American Sulla"**, was an American military leader and statesman who served as Acting President of the United States from March 15, 1937 until his arrest on October 27, 1942. He also previously served as the 13th Chief of Staff of the United States Army, and the 16th Superintendent of the United States Military Academy. MacArthur seized power after overthrowing President John Nance Garner in the White House Putsch of 1937. Upon his seizure of power, he established a military junta, and led the United States through the Second American Civil War.

Born from a long line of military men, MacArthur was valedictorian at the West Texas Military Academy and First Captain at the United States Military Academy at West Point, where he graduated top of the class of 1903. MacArthur rose rapidly in the service; he served as aide-de-camp to his father in the Philippines and attended the Engineer School of Application in Washington DC, and by 1911 he had achieved the rank of captain. During the 1914 occupation of Veracruz, he attempted a daring reconnaissance mission that earned him a nomination for the Medal of Honor. MacArthur served as Superintendent of the US Military Academy at West Point from 1919 to 1922, where he attempted to enact a series of reforms. He was instrumental in quelling the 1924 Philippine Scout mutiny and became the Army’s youngest major general at the age of forty-four in 1925. He served on the court-martial of Brigadier General Billy Mitchell and was president of the American Olympic Committee during the 1928 Summer Olympics in Amsterdam. In 1930 he was appointed by President Herbert Hoover as Chief of Staff of the United States Army.

MacArthur was retained as Chief of Staf of the Army once Garner became president. With the Battle of New York City resulting in a victory for the Combined Syndicates of America, MacArthur launched a coup against Garner in March 1937, and declared himself Acting President of the United States. MacArthur would relocate the capital of the federal government to Denver upon the capture of Washington, D.C. by Syndicalist forces. MacArthur's expertise in war was vital in the federal government's retainment of Texas from 1938 to 1941. Ultimately, MacArthur would be captured by the Combined Syndicalists after the federal collapse in Denver in 1942. After the end of the war, MacArthur was put on trial for supposed abuses of power and war crimes perpetuated against Syndicalist soldiers, specifically with his ordering of the use of mustard gas during the Battle of Denver. MacArthur would be convicted, and executed via hanging in January 1944.

MacArthur is regarded as a highly controversial figure, with West America and the Socialist Commonwealth having completely opposite views of him. Supporters in West America see him as a heroic figure, and credit him with playing a major part in leading a briefly successful resistance against the encroaching American Union State and Combined Syndicates. Detractors and critics in the Socialist Commonwealth have denounced him as a brutal dictator at the front of a corrupt authoritarian war-time regime that massacred civilians and suppressed political dissents, and often accuse him of being a national populist. In West America, he is viewed highly in right-wing revanchist circles. Historians often rank him as one of the most significant military figures in American history.

## Early life and Education

Douglas MacArthur was born on 26 January 1880 in Little Rock Barracks, Arkansas to Arthur MacArthur Jr., a US Army captain, and his wife, Mary Pinkney “Pinky” Hardy MacArthur. His father was the son of Scottish-American immigrant and jurist Arthur MacArthur Sr. and received the Congressional Medal of Honor for his actions with the Union Army at the Battle of Missionary Ridge during the First American Civil War, as well as a promotion to lieutenant general; he later resigned his commission to briefly study law before reentering the Army. The MacArthurs had three sons, of whom Douglas was the youngest after Arthur III (b. 1876, d. 1923) and Malcolm (b. 1878, d. 1883). He was baptized at Christ Episcopal Church in Little Rock on 16 May 1880 and lived on a succession of military outposts in the Old West. He spent three years from age four to six at Fort Selden near the Mexican border, watching the drills and parades of the fifty soldiers stationed there, and remembered learning to ride and shoot at Fort Selden even before he could read or write.

MacArthur entered West Texas Military Academy in 1893 while his father was stationed in San Antonio, and was named valedictorian upon his graduation. After his father and grandfather failed to secure him a presidential appointment to the US Military Academy at West Point, he passed the examination for an appointment from Congressman Theobald Otjen with a score of 93.3. MacArthur entered West Point at the age of nineteen in June 1899 and excelled academically while playing left field for the baseball team and managing the football team. Hazing was still widespread at West Point during this time, and MacArthur and his classmate Ulysses S. Grant III were singled out for special attention by Southern cadets as the sons of prominent Northern generals. After Cadet Oscar Booz left West Point due to hazing and subsequently died of tuberculosis, MacArthur was called to appear before a special Congressional committee in 1901, where he testified against the implicated cadets but downplayed his own hazing even though the others had given the full story to the committee. He graduated at the top of his 93-man class on 11 June 1903 and was subsequently commissioned as a second lieutenant in the US Army Corps of Engineers.

## Junior Officer

MacArthur spent the summer after his graduation with his parents in Fort Mason, California, where his father was serving as commander of the Department of the Pacific after being promoted to major general. He departed for the Philippines in October 1903 as a member of the 3rd Engineer Battalion, and supervised the construction of a wharf at Camp Jossman as well as conducted surveys of local cities and towns. He was ambushed while working on the island of Guiramas by a pair of Filipino brigands or guerillas, who he shot and killed with his pistol. He was promoted to first lieutenant in Manilla in April 1904, but his tour of duty was cut short after he contracted malaria during a survey of Bataan. He returned to California and subsequently became chief engineer of the Division of the Pacific in July 1905.

In October 1905 MacArthur was appointed as aide-de-camp to his father and traveled to Tokyo, where they inspected several Japanese military bases and toured both India and China. They returned to the United States in July 1906, where MacArthur’s father resumed his duties at Fort Mason with his son continuing as his aide. In September MacArthur was transferred to the 2nd Engineering Battalion at the Washington Barracks and enrolled in the Engineer School of Application, where he served as "an aide to assist at White House functions" at the personal request of President Theodore Roosevelt and received a degree in 1908, after which he worked at the Office of the Chief of Engineers.

In April 1908 he was posted to Fort Leavenworth and given his first command, Company K, 3rd Engineering Battalion. He became battalion adjutant in 1909 and subsequently engineer officer at Fort Leavenworth in 1910. After being promoted to captain in February 1911 he was appointed as head of the Military Engineering Department and the Field Engineer School, and he served in Panama on detached duty in January and February 1912. After the sudden death of his father that September, Douglas returned to Milwaukee to care for his aging mother and requested a transfer to Washington DC so his mother could be near Johns Hopkins Hospital. Army Chief of Staff Major General Leonard Wood took up the matter with Secretary of War Henry L. Stimson, who arranged for MacArthur to be posted to the Office of the Chief of Staff in at the young age of thirty-two.

## Veracruz Expedition

On 21 April 1914 President Woodrow Wilson ordered the occupation of the Mexican port city of Veracruz after US Navy sailors were detained by Mexican forces when they came ashore for supplies. MacArthur joined the headquarters staff that was sent to the area and arrived on 1 May 1914. During his time in Veracruz, MacArthur went to great lengths to acquire a number of locomotives for the Army, traveling to Alvarado to secure them and engaging with multiple armed parties on his way back to American lines. General Wood put forward MacArthur’s name for the Medal of Honor, but the board convened by Chief of Staff Hugh L. Scott feared that "to bestow the award recommended might encourage any other staff officer, under similar conditions, to ignore the local commander" and did not grant him the honor, despite MacArthur’s commanding officer at the time Brigadier General Frederick Funston considering awarding the medal to MacArthur “entirely appropriate”.

After returning to the United States, MacArthur resumed his duties at the War Department and was promoted to major in December 1915. He was later placed in charge of dealing with the National Guard Bureau within the War Department, and in early 1917 was elevated two grades in rank from major to full colonel. Upon his promotion, he transferred his basic branch from the Corps of Engineers to the Infantry.

## West Point Superintendent

In 1919, MacArthur was appointed as superintendent of the U.S. Military Academy at West Point, which had become out of date in many respects and was much in need of reform. MacArthur sought to modernize the education system at West Point, expanding the concept of military character to include bearing, leadership, efficiency and athletic performance. He formalized the previously unwritten Cadet Honor Code in 1922 and formed the student-elected Cadet Honor Committee to review alleged Honor Code violations. MacArthur also attempted to end hazing by using officers rather than upperclassmen to train the plebes, or freshmen. He expanded the sports program, increasing the number of intramural sports and requiring all cadets to participate, and attempted to modernize the curriculum by adding liberal arts, government, and economics courses, but encountered strong resistance from the academic board, professors, and alumni.

## Youngest Major General

MacArthur returned to the Philippines in June 1923, assuming command of the 23rd Infantry Brigade of the Philippine Division. A little over a year later in July 1924, he was forced to personally intervene after a mutiny broke out among the Philippine Scouts over grievances concerning pay and allowances. On 17 January 1925 he was promoted at the age of forty-four, becoming the Army's youngest major general. MacArthur returned to the US and assumed command of the IV Corps Area based at Fort McPherson in Atlanta, Georgia on 2 May. A few months later, he took command of the III Corps Area based in Fort McHenry in Baltimore, Maryland and served on the court martial that convicted Brigadier General Billy Mitchell, an episode MacArthur later called “one of the most distasteful orders I ever received”. In August 1927 William C. Prout, the president of the American Olympic Committee, died suddenly and the committee elected MacArthur as their new president, and he successfully prepared the US team for the 1928 Summer Olympics in Amsterdam. Upon his return to the US, he received orders to take command of the Philippine Department and returned to Manila.

## Role in the Hoover Administration

By 1930, MacArthur was still, at age 50, one of the youngest and most well known of the US Army's major generals. He left the Philippines on 19 September 1930 and briefly commanded the IX Corps Area in San Francisco. On 21 November 1930 MacArthur was appointed by President Herbert Hoover as Chief of Staff of the United States Army, with the rank of general. The onset of the Great Depression prompted Congress to make cuts in the Army's personnel and budget, but MacArthur managed to prevent attempts to reduce the number of regular officers. MacArthur's main programs included the development of new mobilization plans, grouping the nine corps areas together under four armies charged with responsibility for training and frontier defense. In March 1935, MacArthur activated a centralized air command, General Headquarters Air Force under Major General Frank M. Andrews.

One of MacArthur’s most controversial acts came in 1933, when anti-Hoover demonstrators converged on Washington DC to pressure Hoover's administration to take more drastic steps at fighting the depression. MacArthur privately agreed with the protesters’ demands. On February 15, President Hoover, fearing that the demonstrations could get out of hand and overwhelm security at the White House, ordered MacArthur to "surround the affected area and clear it without delay". MacArthur brought up troops and tanks under Major George S. Patton and, against the advice of Major Dwight D. Eisenhower, decided to accompany the troops despite not being in charge of the operation. The troops advanced with bayonets and sabers drawn under a shower of bricks and rocks, but no shots were fired. In less than four hours, they pushed the demonstrators away from Pennsylvania Avenue. While the crackdown wasn't as brutal as previous government crackdowns, it was nevertheless a public relations disaster and massively tarnished MacArthur’s image.

MacArthur's support for a strong military and public criticism of pacifism and isolationism made him popular with the Hoover administration, and the president extended MacArthur's term as Chief of Staff and awarded him a Distinguished Service Medal for his service. Due to his outspoken nature, MacArtthur became the media darling of newspapers owned by William Randolph Hearst. In a 1935 interview, MacArthur explained his deep hatred for the new AFP and SPA parties, recounting abuse he faced for being the son of a Union officer in the American Civil War and providing stories of fellow soldiers that fought in Nicaragua against Sandino. MacArthur claimed that his youthful tormentors were the progenitors of Huey Long and that Sandino’s syndicalist guerillas are related to the SPA’s Red Guard. Hearst published numerous interviews with MacArthur in the early 1930s extolling his leadership virtues. Hearst popularized the nickname "Big Mac" for MacArthur.

## Early Days of the Second American Civil War

On January 27, 1937, the Battle of Philadelphia began, sparking the Second American Civil War. Due to his popularity and the existential circumstances facing the country, President John Nance Garner chose to retain MacArthur as Chief of Staff of the Army. Without delay, MacArthur mobilized the U.S. Army in order to properly respond to the Combined Syndicates and the American Union State. MacArthur secured the federal government its first victory in February 1937, with the U.S. Army successfully defending the major city of Charlotte, North Carolina from longist incursion. Following this, MacArthur would order a federal battalion to push into syndicalist held West Virginia, with the U.S. Air force supporting them. The federalists would successsfully capture the capital city of Charleston on February 9, 1937, winning MacArthur much acclaim from the Hearst controlled press.

MacArthur tried his best to support the New York Army National Guard during the Battle of New York City, sending some reinforcements their way. These reinforcements, however, did not significantly turn the tide of the battle, being overwhelmed by the syndicalist troops coming over from Newark, New Jersey. By February 13, the syndicalists had pushed the federalists back into Long Island, with New York City now effectively under their control. President Garner responded poorly to this defeat, doing little to assuage the nation. This loss to the syndicalists was a major embarassment to Garner's administration.

## White House Putsch

With New York City being lost, and remaining Democrats and Republicans in congress struggling to pass any sort of emergency legislation, MacArthur and his surbodinates began formulating a plan for action. The idea to oust Garner in a coup was actually proposed by Lieutenant General Richard K. Sutherland, with MacArthur eventually adopting it. MacArthur spents weeks convincing other generals of this proposal. At 5:30 AM on March 15, 1937, U.S. Army tanks and military personel streamed into Washington, D.C. and surrounded the White House. Garner was awoken from his bed, and placed into handcuffs by a group of soldiers, being led out of the building. Police and civilians were told to vacate the area, declaring it to be a military operation. Once again, tear gas was used to control the crowds. By 8:20 AM, MacArthur was in the White House and making a radio address to the nation, declaring that Garner had been relieved of his duties as president, and that he would be serving as the interim president until the civil war was over. MacArthur's co-conspirators were given high-ranking positions in this new military junta. Congress was kept intact, but the supreme court was "temporarily dissolved", fearing the court would hinder the federal war effort.

In response to this coup, even more senators and congressman resigned in protest. Notably, future president Charles L. McNary would resign and return to Oregon due to MacArthur's actions. A week after the coup, congress was also dissolved, with the ability to propose legislation being given to MacArthur's inner circle.

## Defense of Washington, D.C.

Once in power, MacArthur began demanding more Canadian military aide and assistance. He was in regular correspondence with Prime Minister William Lyon Mackenzie King, with the two men having a somewhat strained relationship. King was deeply troubled by the coup and distrusted MacArthur for his ambition. The liberal leader purposefully kept the acting president at a distance, intentionally ignoring certain calls from MacArthur. During the early stages of the New England campaign, federal troops loyal to MacArthur were forced to cooperate with the Canadian Army. American-Canadian forces successfully prevented syndicalists from marching further north into New York state, creating a stalemate that would last for the majority of the war. Additionally, the remnants of the U.S. Navy also began coordinating with the Royal Navy.

Initially managing to push all the way into Ohio, federal troops were eventually encircled by syndicalist forces, leading to a full frontal retreat. Meanwhile, federal troops had managed to gain a serious foothold in the eastern half of Tennessee, and were gaining ground in South Carolina. With resources stretched incredibly thin, MacArthur was forced to take drastic steps. Tanks were positioned all along the Potomac River, in the event of an invasion. Most roads were closed off with sandbags, and local D.C. Police were made to help the military. By late 1937, the syndicalists were nearly at Washington, D.C., with MacArthur ordering his forces to prepare for a siege. On December 7, 1937, the Battle of Washington, D.C. began. Syndicalist forces under the command of Smedley Butler worked slowly up the Potomac River and fully utilizing urban warfare. Georgetown University and the Washington Cathedral had been transformed into heavily fortified strongholds, slowing down syndicalist advances. For the first few days, neither side made any substantial gains. Then about a two weeks after the battle had begun, Butler's forces managed to position artillery in the Arlington Heights Historic Neighborhood. U.S. Air Support was put in a bind because of this, with two planes being shot down by C.S.A. anti-aircraft artillery. MacArthur's defensive line began to crumble. He ordered troops to take up defensive positions near the Tidal Basin Bathhouse hoping to create a future choke point for the syndicalists. MacArthur again began demanding Canadian support, but was denied.

Federal troops under the command of General George S. Patton were successful in preventing the capture of Georgetown University, thanks in large part to federal tank support. Patton then began ordering his soldiers to attack the left flank of the syndicalist formation advancing towards Lafayette Park, which forced the C.S.A. to briefly pull back. Despite these successes, MacArhur's defensive positions became increasingly untenable, with Butler now ordering his men to shell the U.S. Capitol. By early January 1938, the situation had begun to turn against the federalists, with the American Union State moving towards Washington, D.C. from the south. The U.S. Air Force was diverted from the battle, and sent south to prevent any longist advance. MacArthur and his inner circle had evacuated the city on January 7, 1938, and had since been issuing orders from Virginia. By January 21, 1938, the remaining federalist troops were forced to retreat, with the syndicalists finally winning the month long battle. Now in need of a provisional capital, MacArthur relocated the military junta to Denver, Colorado, believing the city would be easier to defend.

MacArthur was horrified to learn of Garner and Vice President Robert F. Wagner's assassination by syndicalist revolutionaries.

## Defense of Texas

With fuel being in short supply, MacArthur understood that retaining Texas was vital for the federalist war effort. Once in Denver, he ordered Patton and General Dwight D. Eisenhower to help reinforce the Texas Army National Guard, with the intention of protecting the state's valuable oil fields. Under the joint command of Eisenhower and Patton, federal forces saw enormous success, managing to completely overrun longist forces in Oklahoma, and capturing Oklahoma City. By mid-1938, Patton use of tank warfare had forced longists to fully pull out of eastern Texas, with the federalists now pushing into Louisiana. MacArthur was personally present at the Invasion of New Orleans, overseeing troop movements and watching as the city was bombared by the U.S. Navy. The city was taken soon after, and the state of Louisiana was conquered by MacArthur. The American Union State had been put on the back foot, and was now being pushed inward by the federalists and the Combined Syndicates.

MacArthur's forces saw less success in the west however, with the Provisional Pacific Coalition making serious territorial gains. By late 1938, the states of Idaho and Nevada had seceded and joined the coalition. This again placed a strain on federal resources. PPC troops were winning battles against MacArthur's forces, as well as causing certain federal regiments to defect.

## Trial and Execution

Upon his capture, MacArthur was transported to the D.C. Central Detention Facility. MacArthur's trial was held in April 1943, along with other notable federalist officials. MacArthur was the highest ranking defendant out of all of them. He was represented by the ACLU in court. The prosecution levelled an indictment of four charges, including a charge of conspiracy; war crimes, including the use of mustard gas at the Battle of Denver; crimes against humanity, including the disappearance of political and other opponents; and the torture and ill treatment of prisoners of war. MacArthur pled guilty to all counts leveled against him.

The trial lasted for twelve days, and ended with MacArthur being convicted on all counts. He was sentenced to death by hanging. Before sentencing, the judge permitted MacArthur a lengthy statement to the court, in which he said "Part of the American dream is to live long and die young. Only those Americans who are willing to die for their country are fit to live." On January 29, 1944, MacArthur was marched to the gallows, and hung by an official executioner. He died at approximately 1:38 PM. His remains were later cremated.

## Legacy

MacArthur's legacy has been subjected to heated debates because of the different views held about him. For some, he was a national hero and champion of anti-Syndicalism who successfully pushed the American Union State out of Texas, and managed to hold out against the Combined Syndicates of America and Provisional Pacific Coalition for several years despite losing Washington, D.C. very early in the war. MacArthur often called on supporters of the federal government to fight to the "bitter end" until their ultimate victory was achieved. During the subsequent Cold War, he was seen by several right-wing revanchists in West America as a tragic figure who tried and failed to be a bulwark against syndicalism. His popularity in West America is divided along political lines, enjoying better support among Republicans while being widely unpopular among Democrats and those who blame him for the eventual collapse of the federal government and criticise his dictatorial rule.

In Canada and Europe, MacArthur was often perceived negatively as the one who lost America to the syndicalists. Canadian Prime Minister Lord Beaverbrook remarked that "MacArthur, from now until forever, will be synonmous with defeat." In recent years, MacArthur's image has been somewhat rehabilitated, and he has been increasingly perceived as a man overwhelmed by the events in the United States, having to fight the syndicalists, longists, and breakaway western states simultaneously while trying to reconstruct and unify the country. His intelligence, charisma, and refusal to retreat in the face of capture has continued to endear him to certain people.

MacArthur is often compared to the Roman general Sulla, as both men seized power through force in order to prevent the collapse of democratic institutions. This similarity has posthumously earned MacArthur the popular nickname **"The American Sulla"**.