Question

Which statement explains President Truman's dispute with General MacArthur over war strategy in Korea?
Truman feared that attacking China would bring the Soviet Union into the war.

Truman felt that MacArthur had failed to prepare for Chinese entry into the war.

Truman felt that MacArthur was reluctant to use limited atomic weapons in the war.

Truman feared that invading North Korea would bring Chinese communists into the war.

Answer 1

Well, you can rule some of these out right away. First, MacArthur was already in North Korea. Second, it was MacArthur who (reportedly) wanted to use nukes, and Truman who declined to allow it.

That leaves both the first and the second, and they're both somewhat plausible. In the first place, in 1951 the Chinese were still reasonably close allies of the USSR -- the big fracture came later -- and it was reasonably plausible that nuking (or even severely defeating) the Chinese would draw the Russians in and make the war much broader than Truman (or the US generally) wanted. In the second, MacArthur had made some grand promises about how the Chinese would stay on their side of the Yalu and he would whip the North Koreans by Christmas or something -- and on both questions he was dead wrong, as the Chinese came across into North Korea and participated directly in attacks on Americans, and the Americans suffered significant setbacks, e.g. at the famous and brutal battle at Chosin Reservoir. So MacArthur looked rather like a blowhard who couldn't produce -- and his failure to anticipate the Japanese attack on the Phillippines in 1941, and the debacle of Corregidor and Bataan that followed, may easily have been in Truman's mind.

But I would generally vote for (1), I think. That probably fits in with the modern popular perspective on the history of the 1950s. Although it is anachronistic, most modern teachers, particularly those who grew up in the 70s and 80s, think the history of the 1950s was driven by fears of nuclear war. That's not true, or not very true, but if you grew up in the 70s and 80s it's often how you think.

The most correct answer is probably that Truman thought MacArthur was a showboating blowhard, in part because of his failure to win the war as promptly as he seemed to say he would, and that MacArthur's public complaints about not being allowed to win the war because of unreasonable restrictions on how close he could brush back China -- e.g. whether his warplanes could cross into Chinese airspace, directly engage Chinese forces on Chinese soil -- were excuse-making for his own inadequacies, as well as demonstrative of a "loose cannon" inability to see the Big Picture. Truman and MacArthur had very different personalities. Truman was an aristocrat, a guy who liked to have big image as a big generous amazing guy, with panache and swagger. Truman was a quieter homebody, who liked people to be unassuming and competent, and disliked swagger and drama. (He probably suffered considerably under FDR, who was like MacArthur, and who probably disliked Truman and despised him as a little and unimaginative man.)

Unfortunately Truman was also a pretty vicious guy when cornered, and he probably felt MacArthur was cornering him, forcing him into policy choices he would rather have left ambiguous and sotta voce. So MacArthur had to go. Truman was no doubt well aware of how unpopular that would be -- he well understood MacArthur was more popular than he was. But he had almost a full year before the next election (MacArthur was relieved in April of 1951), and it was better that he act then then be forced to act even later and have less time to repair the damage.

So in the end I think it was ultimately just the fact that MacArthur and Truman has the wrong personalities to be general and President. They didn't work together well. Arguably, the result was positive anyway. I don't think all that much of MacArthur as a general, and Matthew Ridgway (his replacement in Korea) probably did a more workmanlike job. The only unfortunate aspect is that Truman was strengthened, and I think even less of Truman as a President than I do of MacArthur as a general.

Answer 2

the answer is that he didn't want to bring the soviet into the war. but @Carl_Pham well done!

Answer 3

aha well done , and waaaay to long :P

Answer 4

damn carl, good but too long

Answer 5

it was lengthy, but a good explanation! lol

Answer 6

No you're wrong. Mcarthur was questioned because he wanted to bomb korea with a nuke and truman said no because the soviets would nuke the U.S if we did. The truman and congress removed Mcarthur because he was gonna do it anyways.