Episode Details

Douglas MacArthur ruled postwar Japan as a virtual god-emperor — rewriting its constitution, dismantling its military, and reshaping its society with more unilateral power than any American has ever wielded over a foreign nation. Then he publicly defied President Truman over Korea strategy, and Truman fired the most popular general in America on live television. The confrontation between civilian and military authority that followed was the most dramatic in American history since Lincoln and McClellan.

This episode traces MacArthur from his military dynasty childhood through the Pacific War, the occupation of Japan, the Korean War insubordination, and the firing that tested whether a general could be bigger than the presidency.

• MacArthur's military dynasty origins and the ego that shaped every decision of his career
• The Pacific War, the "I shall return" promise, and the Japanese surrender on the Missouri
• The occupation of Japan — rewriting a constitution and reshaping a civilization
• The Korean War, the public defiance of Truman, and the firing that proved civilian supremacy