Process Paper
One of my primary interests has been the Korean War because my grandfather had fought in it. My interest in this topic drove me to chose this as my topic for National History Day. When I researched different important people during the war, I came across Douglas MacArthur. He definitely sparked my attention being the general for the United States. What interested me most was when I read about how he was fired, so I immediately knew that was going to be the topic of my project. He was the man, an individual in history, who had helped control the outcome of the Korean War. He was an optimistic man who never gave up.
Douglas MacArthur was well known during his time and admired by many so information on him was somewhat easy to find, both primary and secondary sources. Luckily, I could find various newspaper articles about when he was relieved from duty. I also interviewed Donald Brittain, my grandfather, on what he knows about the Korean War and Douglas MacArthur. Donald was a very wonderful resource as he gave me information regarding how Douglas MacArthur changed the course of events with one decision no one believed that could actually happen. I had also found audio on when Truman announced the release of MacArthur from duty and Douglas MacArthur's farewell address. As I dug deeper into MacArthur's life through the research, my main interest about the Korean War had grown.
With this project, it seemed only natural to create a website because I love working with technology and a website could allow me to include anything I wanted from text to videos. I could incorporate anything in my website to transition smoothly. The first thing I did was create a slideshow including various pictures of Douglas MacArthur himself along with pictures from the war and Harry Truman announcing MacArthur's release of duty. At first, it was somewhat confusing on how to move through creating the pages, but now it is simple to maneuver through and include whatever I want. What took the most time for me was uploading the videos to YouTube. The first time I tried uploading the video, it had been taken down for being too long so this resulted in splitting the video into three different parts so I could interpret his words into the project.
When Harry Truman fired Douglas MacArthur from duty, the release of a general had never been done before. This marked the point MacArthur retired from the army. Some people who very upset who used picket signs to share their opinions about the president. During the war MacArthur wanted to go to further than the 38th parallel to the Chinese border, maybe even further. The United States was winning the war but then stopped because of the decisions of the United Nations. This is a turning point in history because if Truman had not fired Douglas MacArthur, the war could have ended differently and completely with a signed document.
Douglas MacArthur was well known during his time and admired by many so information on him was somewhat easy to find, both primary and secondary sources. Luckily, I could find various newspaper articles about when he was relieved from duty. I also interviewed Donald Brittain, my grandfather, on what he knows about the Korean War and Douglas MacArthur. Donald was a very wonderful resource as he gave me information regarding how Douglas MacArthur changed the course of events with one decision no one believed that could actually happen. I had also found audio on when Truman announced the release of MacArthur from duty and Douglas MacArthur's farewell address. As I dug deeper into MacArthur's life through the research, my main interest about the Korean War had grown.
With this project, it seemed only natural to create a website because I love working with technology and a website could allow me to include anything I wanted from text to videos. I could incorporate anything in my website to transition smoothly. The first thing I did was create a slideshow including various pictures of Douglas MacArthur himself along with pictures from the war and Harry Truman announcing MacArthur's release of duty. At first, it was somewhat confusing on how to move through creating the pages, but now it is simple to maneuver through and include whatever I want. What took the most time for me was uploading the videos to YouTube. The first time I tried uploading the video, it had been taken down for being too long so this resulted in splitting the video into three different parts so I could interpret his words into the project.
When Harry Truman fired Douglas MacArthur from duty, the release of a general had never been done before. This marked the point MacArthur retired from the army. Some people who very upset who used picket signs to share their opinions about the president. During the war MacArthur wanted to go to further than the 38th parallel to the Chinese border, maybe even further. The United States was winning the war but then stopped because of the decisions of the United Nations. This is a turning point in history because if Truman had not fired Douglas MacArthur, the war could have ended differently and completely with a signed document.