Allied Commanders of World War Two/MacArthur, Part Two

"Douglas MacArthur" Part 2

MacArthur was Superintendent of West Point for three years and he brought change to the tradition-bound institution, something that was not popular with all involved. For decades the course of military study centered around the Civil War. MacArthur ordered the just recently fought World War* to be the main course of study. He also emphasized sports as an important part of the curriculum.

In the fall of 1922, MacArthur was sent to the Philippines where he made many friends among the Filipino people, something that did not sit well with some bigots and self anointed super American patriots who saw the Filipinos as purely colonials.** By the mid 1920s he was back in America, serving in various positions until he returned briefly to the Philippines and then was named Chief of Staff of the Army in late 1930. During the Great Depression, it was MacArthur who was given orders by then President Herbert Hoover to disperse "Bonus March" protesters who were camped out in Washington, D.C.*** The use of the Army, including tanks, became a political hot potato, and MacArthur's role in the spectacle that played out in newsreels across the country has been challenged by some on the political right, but the general chose to be there, and he was Chief of Staff of the Army. All the facts will never be truly known. MacArthur and the Army operated the Civilian Conservation Corps, a New Deal program, during the Great Depression. In the fall of 1935 MacArthur was asked to help form the Philippine army in preparation for independence. He was given the title "Field Marshal of the Philippines," and he was accompanied by his aide, Dwight D. Eisenhower.

Gradually MacArthur and Philippine leaders, helped by aid from the U.S., began the formation of a new Philippine military. MacArthur retired from active duty with the U.S. Army, but remained in the Philippines. As America drew closer to military involvement in World War Two, President Roosevelt recalled MacArthur to the army, giving him command of U.S. Forces in the Far East, and the U.S. took control of the Philippine forces (it was still a possession of the United States). On December 7, 1941, the Japanese attacked the American fleet at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii.

* Since at that time there had only been one world war, the term "World War" or "the Great War" were commonly used.

** The Philippines, a series of islands, were under Spanish rule from the 1500s until the treaty between the United States and Spain ended the Spanish-American War in late 1898 (the treaty was not ratified until the spring of 1899). The Philippines then remained an American possession (colony) until the mid 1930s, when the islands were granted commonwealth status in preparation for independence. As a "commonwealth," the Philippines had their own government, but were under U.S. jurisdiction in foreign policy and military matters. World War Two and the Japanese invasion brought the move to independence to a halt, but after the war the nation was given its independence from the U.S. in 1946.

*** For information on the "Bonus March" and the use of the U.S. Army, see my article: http://pontificating-randy.blogspot.com/2012/05/great-depression-part-nine.html

WORD HISTORY:
Pine-This is the "pine" of "pine tree, pine cone, pineapple." It is likely this word goes back to the Indo European root "pei," which meant "sap or resin for trees and plants, and fat regarding flesh." This gave its Latin offspring "pinus," which meant "pine tree, or the wood derived from such a tree." Old English borrowed the word as "pin," with a long "i" sound, and it was used in the English compound "pintreow," which meant "pine tree." "Pin" was later reinforced by French "pin," which had the same meaning. French is a Latin-based language.