General Douglas MacArthur was a five-star general of the Philippine army. In this capacity and in his capacity as Chief of Staff of the United States Army, he played a prominent role in Pacific Theater during World War II. On May 12, 1962, he addressed the cadets at West Point Military Academy in a speech entitled “Duty, Honor, Country” for the acceptance of the Sylvanus Thayer Award. He was the recipient of this award for being an “outstanding citizen of the United States whose service and accomplishments in the national interest exemplify personal devotion to the ideals expressed in the West Point motto, duty, honor, country.” (West Point Association of Graduates, 2016)
MacArthur’s main purpose in this speech was to instill the importance of these values (duty, honor, and country) to the cadets who comprised his audience. MacArthur closely ties three important elements together with emotion in order to install these values in his audience. These three elements are 1) duty; 2) honor; 3) patriotism. In turn, the way how MacArthur elicits emotions in conjunction with an effective appeal to these three values should be critically addressed.
“the loneliness and utter desolation of jungle trails; the bitterness of long separation from those they loved and cherished; the deadly pestilence of tropical disease; the horror of stricken areas of war; their resolute and determined defense, their swift and sure attack, their indomitable purpose, their complete and decisive victory” (MacArthur, 2016)
In this passage, MacArthur speaks to the hardships and frustrations associated with service (Ibid.). He is appealing to the emotion of courage in order to overcome these hardships and frustrations for the sake of duty. In the name of victory, the future leaders of the army—those cadets that were his audience members—are encouraged to be courageous and do their duty.
Second, MacArthur appeals to the concepts of freedom and justice in order to bring the value of honor to the fore. He states that it is the honor associated with fighting for freedom and justice that will go to the cadets:
“Others will debate the controversial issues, national and international, which divide men's minds; but serene, calm, aloof, you stand as the Nation's war-guardian, as its lifeguard from the raging tides of international conflict, as its gladiator in the arena of battle.” (MacArthur, 2016)
Here MacArthur is praising the particular honor that will be bestowed upon those who are in the special position of fighting for freedom and justice—namely the cadets who will be the future soldiers. He states that others will debate and theorize, but that the special role of guardians that the cadets will play is one that is requires a calm demeanor in the face of conflict that will be rewarded with honor (Ibid.). It is to them that falls this mighty charge, and it is to them that the honor shall fall as well. Here, MacArthur is appealing the emotion of pride that the cadets will feel if they do their work rightly and justly. He ties the emotion of pride to the value of honor through an effective description of honor as a reward, and a description of the special place as cadets and soldiers in society.
Finally, MacArthur appeals to the importance of country or patriotism. Again he appeals to the special role of the cadets he states that:
“You are the leaven which binds together the entire fabric of our national system of defense. From your ranks come the great captains who hold the nation's destiny in their hands the moment the war tocsin sounds.” (MacArthur, 2016)
Here MacArthur is tying the emotion of pride to the value of patriotism. He is implying that the cadets should feel proud that they play such an important and even crucial role in securing the safety of the country (Ibid.). Whereas he previously conjoined pride and honor together, he now ties the emotion pride with the value of patriotism.
Despite what he professes, General MacArthur is a skilled orator. And his speech “Duty, Honor, Country” is a classic of American rhetoric. He effectively uses various emotions such as frustration, courage, and pride in association with concepts such as a freedom and justice in order to instill the values of duty, honor, and patriotism in the cadets of West Point. Rather than provide a logical argument based on conceptual or evidential premises, MacArthur employs the association of emotions and values to influence his audience.
Works Cited
MacArthur, Douglas, and William Childs Westmoreland. Duty, honor, country. Armed Forces Information and Education, Department of Defense, 1964.
West Point Association of Graduates. Web West Point Association of Graduates, April. 2016. ‹https://www.westpointaog.org/thayerward/›.
