Essential American History Teaching American History Grant Lessons from the Cold War Barb Ryan Carrie Steele Parkway South High Was President Truman s decision, to relieve General Douglas MacArthur of his command during the Korean War, justified? A DOCUMENT BASED LESSON Directions: In 1951, during the Korean War, President Harry S. Truman found it necessary to relieve General Douglas MacArthur of his command of United States troops. MacArthur, representing the United States, had been named commander of the United Nations forces supporting the South Korean government. Truman s decision to fire MacArthur raised a storm of controversy. This DBQ exercise asks you to look at this controversy from both MacArthur and Truman s viewpoints to determine an answer to the essential question. Teacher Notes: Students are expected to have studied the Korean War. Teacher should have discussed with students United States government policies regarding the military being subordinate to civilian leaders. i.e. the United States Constitution makes the President the Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces (power of civilian president over the military.) If this is your students first attempt at DBQ analysis, you may want to try some of the following:
* Have students work in small groups to discuss documents/cartoons/photos as they are completing analysis sheets. or * After students have read the documents, make a transparency of the document and lead the class in oral responses to the questions before they attempt to answer the essential question. If you do not wish to use the NARA document/cartoon/photo analysis sheets, you can use a shorter version that you and/or the students create. For example, for analyzing a documents (tailor the questions to your documents): 1. Who created the document? 2. What type of document is it? 3. For what purpose was the document created? 4. Who received the document? 5. Whose copy of the document is this? 6. What do the dates of the document reveal about the life of the document? Reference to Grade level Expectations (GLE s) and Core Curriculum Objectives: GLE s: PC1AUSHb.i UH1DUSHa.i WH1GUSHa.i EG1DUSHc.i RI1DUSHa.ii Analyze the roles and influences of political parties and interest groups. Describe and evaluate the evolution of United States domestic and foreign policies. Examine all of the wars of the twentieth century. Explain how and why different people may perceive the same place in varied ways. Identify the consequences that can occur when individuals fail to carry out
TS1BUSHa.i TS1CUSHa.i TS1DUSHa.i their personal responsibilities. Distinguish between and analyze primary sources and secondary sources. Distinguish between fact and opinion and analyze sources to recognize bias and points of view. Interpret maps, statistics, charts, diagrams, graphs, timelines, pictures, political cartoons, audiovisual materials, continua, written resources, art and artifacts. Core Curriculum Objectives: o Students will recognize the influence of individuals and groups on the growth and development on the social, political, economic, cultural, and technological evolution of the United States. o Students will examine and evaluate the challenges America faced as a developing nation. o Students will explain the role the United States played in global conflicts. o Students will apply the tools of social science inquiry (such as primary and secondary source documents, maps, charts, and graphs) to their study of United States history. o Students will read and summarize a biography from a person who lived in the 20 th century. Suggested steps to follow: 1. Read the background essay. It provides context for answering the question. 2. View the video clip: www.wpafilmlibrary.com/archive_trumanfiresmacarthur.html 3. Skim through the documents to determine the overall focus. 4. Read the documents slowly. Use a document analysis sheet to record:
a. Who or what is the source? Is it a primary or secondary source? b. What is the main idea of the document? 5. Look at the photos of Truman and MacArthur and analyze with the Photograph Analysis Worksheet. 6. Analyze the two political cartoons using the Cartoon Analysis Worksheet. 7. Organize the documents into support for President Truman or support for General MacArthur. Assessment: Read and analyze the documents and present your answer to the essential question in an essay. Your answer should be supported by your knowledge of the Korean War and references from the accompanying documents, the background essay and the video clip. Your essay will be graded according to the included rubric. Documents: Background essays: Korea Divided and Old Soldiers Never Die Conklin, Wendy. Exploring History Through Primary Sources, The Cold War. Westminster: Teacher Created Materials, 2004. Document A: President Truman s Statement on the Recall of General Douglas MacArthur, 1951, Department of State Bulletin, Vol. XXIV, No. 615 Recall of General MacArthur. The Department of State Bulletin Vol. XXIV, No. 615, Publication 4185, 16 April 1951, p. 603-605 http://usinfo.state.gov/usa/infousa/facts/democrac/58.htm. Document B: George C. Marshall Biography George C. Marshall. History Biographies 21 November 2006
http://korea50.army.mil/history/biographies/marshall.shtml. Document C: Senate Hearings on Korea (May-June, 1951) Senate Hearings on Korea. PBS American Experience 4 August 2006 http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/amex/macarthur/peopleevents/pandeamex104.html. Document D: Political Cartoon Who does Truman think he is --- the PRESIDENT? Document E: Political Cartoon Truman Fires M Arthur Truman fires MacArthur. Washington Post 3 August 2006 http://www.trumanlibrary.org/photograhs/view.php?id+1731. Document F: Letter to Harry Truman from Mrs. J.H. Weaver Document G: Letter to Major General Harry H. Vaughan from Leslie M. Skerry Document H: Truman Diary entries April 6-7, 1951 Diary Entries, April 6-7, 1951;1951;Diaries;PSF;Truman Papers. Truman Library. 3August.2006 <http://www.trumanlibrary.org/exhibit_documents/index.php?tldate=1951-04-06&groupid=3 >.
Document I: Top Secret Document Draft messages to Frank Pace, Douglas MacArthur and Matthew Ridgeway. Proposed Draft Messages to Frank Pace, Douglas MacArthur, and Matthew Ridgeway. Truman Library. 3August.2006 <http://www.trumanlibrary.org/exhibit_documents/index.php?tldate+0000-00- 00&groupid+3 >. Document J: Joint Resolution No. 27 Assembly and Senate of the State of California Document K: Press Release, April 13, 1951, Statement by the President, President s Secretary s Files Document L: Senator Nixon resolution to reconsider dismissal and restore MacArthur to his command.,. The Democratic National Committee Document M: Letter to Harry S. Truman from Elizabeth M. Wood, Papers of Harry S. Truman Official File Document N: What Gen. Bradley Said About Korea
Sherrod, Robert. What Gen. Bradley Said About Korea. The New York Times 29 June. 1981: 3 August 2006 <http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9d04e3da1e38f934a35754c0a967 948260&sec=&spon=&pagewanted=print>. Document O: Picture President Harry Truman and General Douglas MacArthur President Harry Truman and General Douglas MacArthur. Grolier Online. Parkway School Libraries, Chesterfield, Mo. 12 December 2006 http://ap.grolier.com/images/cache/099/uh073.jpg. Document P: Picture President Harry Truman and General Douglas MacArthur President Harry Truman and General Douglas MacArthur. Grolier Online. Parkway School Libraries, Chesterfield, Mo. 12 December 2006 http://ap.grolier.com/images/cache/099/uh073.jpg. Document/Photograph/Cartoon Analysis Worksheets may be obtained from the U.S. National Archives and Records Administration website at: http://www.archives.gov/education/lessons (full citing given at the bottom of each analysis sheet) Rubric for the DBQ Essay comes from: Chip Brady and Phil Roden of The DBQ Project 2002 www.dbqproject.org