April 11, 1951 — Lebanon Daily News
| Arash Norouzi The Mossadegh Project | September 27, 2019 |
“Harry Truman is mentally, morally and emotionally unfit to be our President.”
Immediately after Harry S. Truman’s firing of General Douglas MacArthur, his approval rating plummeted and cries for his impeachment resounded across the country.
Centered between the blaring headlines, this Pennsylvania newspaper featured a scorching front page editorial in its evening edition the day of MacArthur’s dismissal, urgently calling on Congress to “cleanse this nation which has been disgraced by its President”.
Though deeply unpopular, Truman was fully within his rights to remove MacArthur, hence there was no crime to prosecute. The Korean War itself, however, never had a firm legal foundation, and ended in stalemate two years later.
• Harry Truman editorial archive
• Harry Truman letters, speeches, etc.
• Korean War media archive
IMPEACH TRUMAN!
Editorial
By his latest act of stupidity Harry Truman has clearly demonstrated he no longer is fit to be President of these great United States.
Harry Truman has fired General Douglas MacArthur as commander of the American forces (yes, the American forces, the assistance from the weak-kneed United Nations up to this time has been negligible) in Korea.
Outnumbered 10 to 1, and with both hands tied behind his back by orders from the Truman-Attlee-Acheson Axis, General MacArthur has kept the Stars and Stripes flying on embattled Korea. [Sec. of State Dean Acheson and British Premier Clement Attlee] Guided by MacArthur’s masterful strategy, American forces have twice driven the invading Reds north of Parallel 38 and off the territory of the Korean Republic. And all of this has been accomplished in spite of the fact that MacArthur was not allowed to bomb the sources of his foe’s strength in Manchuria and Soviet China.
General MacArthur is one of the greatest military leaders ever to wear the khaki of the United States Army. Hero of Bataan and conqueror of Japan, General MacArthur is a legendary figure who will always be beloved by the American people.
Harry Truman, once tool of Boss Pendergast, is one of the most pathetic figures ever to be installed in the White House. [Kansas City political boss, Truman friend and supporter Thomas J. Pendergast, imprisoned for corruption]
This latest act of Trumanism is more than dim-witted slap at the Marine Corps. It is more than caustic diatribe aimed at a music critic. It is more than a “red herring” remark to protect Alger Hiss and other traitors within our government.
This slap at MacArthur is a slap at the people of the United States. It is a slap at the American flag, Valley Forge, Gettysburg, Verdun, Normandy, Wake Island and every other glorious chapter in American history.
There will joy in Moscow, Peking and perhaps London and Paris. But there is only gloom in the United States.
In only one way can this nation be redeemed. That duty lies with Congress—the elected representatives of the American people. They have it in their power to cleanse this nation which has been disgraced by its President. Harry Truman CAN be removed from office before it is too late. Congress can and should impeach him. His latest deed proves beyond a question of a doubt that Harry Truman is mentally, morally and emotionally unfit to be our President.
If Congress has the slightest sense of responsibility for those American heroes who paid the supreme sacrifice in Korea, it will measure up to its task. It will give Truman the boot.
Related links:
The Great Betrayal | anti-Truman editorial, April 12, 1951
Impeachment Parade | The Chicago Tribune (letter), April 12, 1951
Bogey Man Tactics | The Danville Bee (Virginia), May 8, 1951
MOSSADEGH t-shirts — “If I sit silently, I have sinned”
