General Douglas Macarthur Speech Rhetorical Precis

On April 19th, 1951 General Douglas MacArthur was invited to speak at the joint session of Congress. He made use of this invitation to let all of Congress know about his opposing viewpoint on the communism and the Korean War. During his lifetime, General Douglas MacArthur was a figure of great controversy in the United States. As the son of an United States Army officer, it is not surprising that Douglas MacArthur followed in his father’s footsteps. The young MacArthur was at the top of his class at West Point, a prestigious military academy. During his career in the military he was the Supreme Commander of Allied forces at the time of World War II. In addition to achieving the highest rank possible in the United States military, a 5 star general.

This rank ceased to exist after the Korean War, and Douglas MacArthur is one of only nine men to have achieved that rank. After a disagreement about the direction of the Korean War, President Truman fired his highest ranking general. In response to his public humiliation General MacArthur effectively used his speech as his last chance to lobby his political agenda to Congress. General MacArthur’s speech fulfilled its purpose by fitting the constraints of the occasion, and supporting his opinions with facts.
General MacArthur’s speech fully fulfills its specific and general purposes. The general purpose of his speech was to provide another perspective on the Korean War and communism. This is because the majority of his speech revolves around these two main topics.Within his speech the opinions that he gives are totally polarized in comparison with Truman’s. Meanwhile the specific purpose of his speech was to try to earn support for his Korean War agenda, whilst seeking retribution for being humiliated by President Truman. He uses the opportunity of this speech to try to sway support away from President Truman. President Truman and General MacArthur had many disagreements on foreign policy while they were working together. However, the argument about the direction of the Korean war was the breaking point for the two men. The first way he tried to win support is by stating the ways in which his decisions were thwarted by Washington. By doing this he effectively placing the blame for his mistakes elsewhere. He also tries to argue against the idea that he simply just wants to continue the war, by saying that he wants nothing more than peace. In order to fulfill his purposes though he had to make sure that they were amiable to his audience, by meeting all the necessary criteria.
MacArthur made his speech fit the constraints of the occasion.

He knew that he had to make the topic of his speech relatable to current issues. So the main topic of his speech was centered on the Korean war and communism, which was a current issue of the time. He mentions that if we were to let the Asian continent fall to communism it would not be very long before Europe also fell. He also mentions that the key to winning the Korean war is to attack their supporters the Chinese communist. After all, without their support the North Koreans would not have the resources to sustain the war longterm. During his speech General MacArthur is able to establish a positive ethos. The first thing he does in his speech is make himself look humble by mentioning all the great people who stood where he was standing. He also says that he is not the head of any cause, he is just here as another American citizen trying to let his viewpoint be known. He says that his only wish is to serve his country to the best of his ability. MacArthur makes the wording of his speech complement the demographic of his audience. Which in this case is a bunch of well educated men. He tries to be as diplomatic as possible with his approach since the person whose viewpoint he was countering was the head of the country. MacArthur knew that Congress was filled with well educated men so he did not need to keep the wording of his speech simple. He used formal language since it was a formal address to Congress. Not

just a talk between two friends. MacArthur made sure that he followed protocol and thanked the president, the speaker of the house and congress for inviting him to speak. He does not use any names just titles so that he gives them the proper respect. Once he was able to make his speech reach his audience he had to prove to them that his chosen topic was not just opinions, but were also backed by observations.
The General clearly stated the reasoning for his arguments and stated facts to back them up. For example he stated that the Asian continent poses a real threat to the world if it is allowed to be swallowed up by a communist regime. Asia makes up for at least half of the world’s population, meaning it has the manpower to do a lot of harm. It also contains more than half of the world’s natural resources, meaning it has the means to completely sustain itself. Not to mention the threat it poses to United States’ territories in the Pacific Ocean. The second statement he makes is that best way to weaken the North Koreans is to weaken their allies, the communist Chinese. The United States had all but won the war against North Korea, when reinforcements from China appeared. By blockading China we would have lessened the amount of aid that they could have sent to North Korea. He also stated that Japan is a key ally in the fight against communism. In the past they acted quickly against the threat of communism within their own borders. Resultingly he was unafraid of any repercussions caused transference of troops occupying Japan to North Korea. He is not the only one who has come to the previous conclusions. In the past even the Joint Chiefs of Staff have come up with the same strategies, relating to the Korean war. By providing such supporting information in his speech he makes himself appear very knowledgeable which helps his speech hold up to scrutinization.
Though General MacArthur’s speech is a strong one there are areas in which he could have improved it.

Parts of the speech tended to be a little dry. He could have improved this by using stylistic devices, such as metaphors or alliteration. The speech was written appropriately for its intended audience, but this would not be the case if he wanted to be able to reach the common man. Though his speech was written mainly for the well educated men of Congress, it was sure to be printed in the newspapers all well. So it would only be logical that he would want the average person to be able to comprehend his speech as well. He used a lot of complex vocabulary within his speech and political jargon, which would make it somewhat more difficult for an outsider to digest. If he made those two corrections to his speech I would see no reason why his speech would not have made it into the top ten

speeches.
General Douglas MacArthur’s speech is still highly relevant to today’s political climate. In fact MacArthur’s position on communism in Asia predates the Domino Theory. This theory states that if one country falls to communism it is only a matter of time before its neighboring countries join it. President Truman himself said “If the Communists were permitted to force their way into the Republic of Korea without opposition from the free world, no small nation would have the courage to resist threats and aggression by stronger Communist neighbors. . . . If this was allowed to go unchallenged it would mean a third world war. . . . It was also clear to me that the foundations and the principles of the United Nations were at stake unless this unprovoked attack on Korea could be stopped.” Though MacArthur’s speech did not bring about its desired result, that does not mean that it was not an effective speech. MacArthur was able to reach his intended audience, make the speech fit within the constraints of the occasion, and he clearly stated his reasons and was able to support those reasons with facts. By doing so MacArthur took full advantage of the occasion and created a memorable speech, that managed to captivate his audience.