Douglas MacArthur - An Administrative Biography

441 Pages·2003·7.28 MB·English

Douglas MacArthur - An Administrative Biography

by

William J. Tehan III

Dissertation submitted to the Faculty of the

Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University

in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of

DOCTOR OF PHILOSPHY
in
Public Administration and Policy

John A. Rohr, Chair
Gary W. Wamsley
James F. Wolf
Charles T. Goodsell
Philip S. Kronenberg

August 30, 2002

Blacksburg, Virginia

Keywords: Douglas MacArthur, Administrative Biography, Public Administration

Copyright 2002, William J. Tehan III

Committee Chairman: John A. Rohr
Center for Public Administration and Policy
Douglas MacArthur - AN ADMINISTRATIVE BIOGRAPHY

by

William J. Tehan III

Committee Chairman: John A Rohr
Center for Public Administration and Policy

(ABSTRACT)

For more than a half century Douglas MacArthur was a public servant of the United States. He is
best remembered as a general and soldier, especially for his leadership during World War II and
the Korean War. MacArthur was also the Superintendent of West Point, Chief of Staff of the
U.S. Army, Generalissimo (Commander) of the Armed Forces and Military Advisor (Minister of
Defense) to the President of the Commonwealth of the Philippines, and Supreme Commander
Allied Powers and Military Governor of occupied Japan. In these positions he functioned not as
a soldier, but as a senior public administrator. The dissertation will begin by establishing the
military as a valid and unique field of Public Administration. Contributions of military
administration to the discipline of Public Administration will then be examined. The dissertation
will examine MacArthur's professional and academic training for his previously listed
administrative posts. A determination and analysis of MacArthur's theoretical and applied
approaches to Public Administration and General Management Theories will be made.
The analysis of MacArthur's performance in his administrative positions will be made against a
backdrop of contemporary Public Administration Theory.
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
This dissertation would not have been possible without the support and encouragement of
many people. I want to express my gratitude to all of them. The staffs of the National Archives,
the West Point Library, the MacArthur Archives, the Defense Intelligence Agency Library, and
the Breckinridge Library of Quantico,Virginia were particularly helpful in their advice and
assistance during my research for this dissertation.
I would also express my gratitude to my doctoral committee; Charles T. Goodsell, Philip
S. Kronenberg, Gary L. Wamsley, James F. Wolf, and the late Philip L. Martin. These gentlemen
and scholars not only read the dissertation, and through their comments and guidance, made it a
much better document, but they provided a unique motivational and collegial environment
throughout my doctoral studies without which this research would not have been completed.
I would like to offer special recognition to John A. Rohr, my doctoral committee chair.
His guidance, advise, and encouragement were central to my research and writing. His high
standards of scholarship, research, and writing skill not only provided me a goal to attain, but
were the significant factors in the completion of this research.
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Preface
Because this dissertation is an administrative biography, the basic methodological
approach has been that of historical research. First hand interviews and direct access to individu-
als directly associated with MacArthur are almost impossible because of their death or advanced
age. Access to the National Archives, and MacArthur's papers at West Point and the MacArthur
Memorial in Norfolk are readily available. My approach has been to conduct a detailed review of
the numerous available secondary sources. I did this to determine the primary sources that were
examined and provided a focus for additional research that was conducted. I then supplemented
the results of my secondary source search by a selective examination of primary sources.
MacArthur was keenly aware of his historical importance, and took great pains to insure that his
historical legacy would be left intact. MacArthur's extensive personal involvement in the
creation and preservation of documents chronicling his place in history posed problems in
conducting a historically neutral examination. Indeed a common criticism of previous research
and published works on MacArthur has been that they were biased for or against MacArthur.
This phenomenon is so recognized and accepted by scholars that D. Clayton James, the defini-
tive biographer of MacArthur, was criticized in a book review for being balanced and even-
handed in his coverage of so controversial an individual. Some of MacArthur’s papers, such as
office diaries, briefing notes, and biographical summaries prepared for meetings with visitors or
dignitaries were prepared by his staff. There are also references by MacArthur and his staff to
articles and books he had read. These papers and documented references can be used without
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reference to MacArthur's involvement in his history. These documents have been used to
describe and analyze MacArthur's exposure to, and understanding of, managerial and administra-
tive theory.
Reports that MacArthur wrote, or approved, although valuable historical documents,
must be carefully analyzed. This is because, of their preparation for "external consumption."
They thus might not always reflect reality, or what was considered in their preparation. In
dealing with source documents prepared for external consumption, other primary sources, not
written by MacArthur, will be used to corroborate MacArthur's personal documents.
The argument of this dissertation is that MacArthur had an identifiable administrative
style. This dissertation shows that this administrative style not only complemented his military
leadership style, but had a more lasting effect on current world events than his military exploits.
The objectives of the study are the subject of the opening chapter of the dissertation. This
is followed by chapters describing and analyzing the four "administrative" periods of MacAr-
thur's career as Superintendent USMA, U.S. Army Chief of Staff, Military Advisor to the
President of the Philippines, and Supreme Commander Allied Powers for Japan. The closing
chapter relates MacArthur's administrative approach to contemporary Public Administration
Theory. MacArthur's academic and professional education are analyzed to determine the basis
for his administrative performance and his general approach to administration. Administrative
and managerial aspects of MacArthur's career are identified that apply to contemporary
administrative theory as well as current theory. This dissertation establishes that MacArthur was
not only a military administrator, but a public administrator. It demonstrates that military
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administration is not only part of public administration but an essential part of its theoretical
basis and praxis.
TABLE OF CONTENTS
ABSTRACT ................................ ................................. ii
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS ..................................................... iii
Preface .................................... ................................ iv
Table of Contents ....... ...................................................... vi
List of Tables ........................................... . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . x
CHAPTER
I. Introduction, Background, and Purpose ..................................... 1
Objectives, Goals, and Purposes ........................................... 2
MacArthur the Public Administrator ........................................ 5
The Military and Public Administration ..................................... 9
The Problem ..................................................... 9
The Military's Constitutional and Legal Basis ......................... 11
The Military's Functional Basis as a Field of Public Administration ........ 13
The Military's Non-Public Perception ............................... 14
Military Administration and Public Administration's Theoretical Basis ..... 16
The Military Ethic, the Military Mind ............................... 19
The Military's Contributions to Public Administration ...................22
Leadership Theory ......................................... 24
PPBS ................................................... 26
The Modern Staff System ................................... 31
II. Literature Review ..................................................... 48
Autobiographies ....................................................... 49
Official Histories ...................................................... 50
Biographies .......................................................... 52
Historical Works ...................................................... 59
Dissertations .......................................................... 60
Summary of Literature .................................................. 60
III. Professional Education, Training and Early Career ........................... 62
MacArthur's Education and Training as a Public Administrator ................. 64
Ad Interim: West Point to West Point ...................................... 72
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viii
A Company Grade Engineer Officer ................................. 72
Washington, D.C. 1912-1917: A Springboard to Greatness ................75
World War I .....................................................81
MacArthur Establishes Himself ................................81
The 42nd "Rainbow" Infantry Division ..........................81
The Nature and Environment of MacArthur's Duties ...............86
To The Front ..............................................88
MacArthur the Leader, Administrator Up To 1919 ......................90
Personal Traits .............................................91
Leadership Style ...........................................97
West Point 1919-1922 ..................................................101
Political and Theoretical Environment ...............................101
The Nation and the Army ...................................101
The Nature of War .........................................103
West Point in Crisis ..............................................104
West Point: Another Emergency Officer Training School ..........104
West Point as a School of Higher Education .....................106
Leadership and Discipline in Crisis ............................108
The Savior of West Point ..........................................109
MacArthur's Reforms .............................................111
The Vision ...............................................115
MacArthur's Academic Reform Proposals ......................118
The Institution Reacts ......................................128
MacArthur of West Point ..........................................130
MacArthur's Leadership and Administration of West Point .........132
Ad Interim: West Point to Washington .....................................137
Overview ......................................................137
Return to the Philippines: The First Time .............................138
Between Tours in the Philippines ...................................142
General Billy Mitchell's Court Martial .........................143
MacArthur's Olympics ......................................147
Return to the Philippines: The Second Time ...........................148
The Goal Realized ...............................................149
IV. Middle Career: Chief of Staff to Theater Commander ............. ...........155
The Environment on Mount Olympus .....................................155
The Nation .....................................................155
Civil-Military Relations ...........................................156
The Army ......................................................160
Four Stars and an Army .................................................166
MacArthur's Concerns and Goals as Chief of Staff ......................166
Proper Prior Planning Prevents ...............................171
To Have An Army You Need Soldiers .........................172
The Minutemen ...........................................176
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Reorganizing the Legion ....................................177
MacArthur Versus Chaffee, Guderian, de Gaulle et al. .............183
MacArthur and Mitchell: Act II ...............................187
Caesar Crosses the Rubicon: The First Time ...........................193
MacArthur as Chief of Staff .......................................206
MacArthur's Persona as Chief of Staff .........................208
A Different Kind of Corps ...................................210
The Chief of Staff and Public Administration ....................213
The Field Marshal of the Philippines .................................. .....214
The Plan .......................................................218
The Military Advisor and His Office .................................222
War Plan Orange ..........................................223
Implementing the Plan ......................................226
The Reality .....................................................233
The Military Advisor and Washington .........................234
The Military Advisor and His Staff ............................240
Quezon and His Military Advisor .............................244
The Nadir ................................................247
Redemption and Return to the Abyss ..........................248
V. Shogun ..............................................................259
Setting the Stage ................................................259
Organization of the Occupation .....................................265
SCAP Staff Organizational Forms .............................268
The Personal Dynamic ......................................274
SCAP and Occupation Policy ......................................279
SCAP’s Role in Occupation Policy Formulation ................281
National Occupation Policy Formulation .......................283
The Shogun and Policy Implementation ........................285
MacArthur the Jurist .............................................292
The Law Giver ... ...............................................305
VI. Eclipse ................................................................336
Epilog .. ...................................................................357
Bibliography ...............................................................365
APPENDIX A, Course of Study U.S. Military Academy 1899-1903 ....................388
APPENDIX B, Academic Departments/Chairs USMA
When MacArthur Was Superintendent (1919-22) .............................391
APPENDIX C, Course of Study USMA Academic Year 1916-1917
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By Subject, Academic Weights, and Year ...................................393
APPENDIX D, Course of Study USMA Academic Year 1919-1920
By Subject, Academic Weights, and Year ...................................395
APPENDIX E, Comparison of Courses of Study USMA Academic Years 1902-1903,
1916-1917, 1919-1920 By Subject and Academic Weights .....................397
Appendix F, Budget Time Lines and Submissions Fiscal Years 1930-1937 ..............399
Appendix G, War Department Budgets Fiscal Years 1930-1937
(By Request, Budget Bureau/Presidential Budget, Enactment, and Withheld) .......400
Appendix H, Army Budget by Accounts For Fiscal Years 1931-1935 ...................401
APPENDIX I, Summaries of Annual Reports of the Chief of Staff Fiscal Years 1931-1935 .402
APPENDIX J, Organization and Manning of the General Staff 1930-1935 ..............407
Appendix K, Table of Organization and Manning, Office of the Military
Advisor to the President of the Philippines (October 1937) ....................412
Appendix L, Organization Charts for SCAP .......................................414
Vitae ... ...................................................................430