Task for Students

In the spring of 1951, a ferocious debate dominated American headlines and dinner table discussions as no other issue had for decades. Whether it was called the "Korean Problem," the "MacArthur Controversy," or simply the "Great Debate" the two sides were clearly drawn: President Harry Truman vs. General Douglas MacArthur.

Should President Truman have relieved General MacArthur? Who better understood the situation? Would MacArthur's policies have ended the war in Korea sooner, or would they have risked World War III? Imagine that it's April 1951 -- who do you think was right?

In this lesson, students will construct General Douglas MacArthur’s argument for the use of nuclear weapons to contain China and the spread of communism.  Students will analyze MacArthur’s address to the joint session of Congress in 1951, outline his position on the use of nuclear weapons in the Far East (Korea and China), and answer the essential question in a persuasive essay.