Douglas MacArthur was one of the most well-known men in the world at the end of World War II.

1. Douglas MacArthur was one of the most well-known men in the world at the end of World War II.

2. Douglas MacArthur and the Renaissance of Japan • Source :nhs.needham.k12.ma.us/cur/Baker_00/2002-p4/baker_p4_12-01_jf_zw/

3. After serving in many different capacities in the US military, he was the commander in the Philippines when the Japanese attacked in December 1941. There is much debate whether he was ordered to leave or skedaddled before the fall. But that was overshadowed by his announcement as he left-

4. “I shall return.”

5. And in 1944, he did just that.

6. On August 11th, 1945, General MacArthur was named the Allied Supreme Commander, which entitled him to accept Japan's surrender.

7. He held a very large public ceremony, which left no doubt that the Japanese had finally lost. MacArthur and the United States were occupying a country which had previously never been defeated in war.

8. This is MacArthur signing the surrender of the Japanese to the Allied Powers. The signing was a public ceremony, as opposed to the private signing of Germany's surrender to Eisenhower. MacArthur saw to it that the ceremony took place at a time when military representatives from many countries, including China, Russia, Britain, and the Philippines, could attend in full uniform.

9. MacArthur wanted to make it clear that there was no doubt that the Japanese had lost. He gave a speech that showed that other counties needed to be involved in restoring peace to Japan. This was critical to the adjustment of a country that had never lost a war before.

10. MacArthur had many goals. He wanted to destroy Japan's military power, punish war criminals, build the structure for a new representative government, revise the Japanese constitution, hold free elections, enfranchise Japanese women, free political prisoners, liberate farmers, set up a free labor movement, support free economy, eliminate police oppression, develop a free and responsible press, liberalize education, and disperse the central political power in Japan.

11. MacArthur treated the Japanese people very kindly, carefully making sure there was no interference with their cultural lives.

12. The emperor of Japan came to have a conference. MacArthur, before the meeting, told the Emperor that they were to take one picture. This photograph, which was published in the Japanese newspapers, was very shocking.

13. It shows MacArthur in an open shirt with "No neck tie," as the Japanese press said, towering over the little man who was the "larger than life" Emperor. The Emperor, appeared little in comparison to MacArthur, the symbol of America. The picture also signified that MacArthur would stand by the Emperor.

14. The most daunting task that MacArthur faced was the writing of a new Japanese constitution. At first, MacArthur elected a committee of Japanese leaders to revise the old constitution. However, when a draft was presented to MacArthur, it had little change to the existing laws. MacArthur ordered political experts to prepare a draft guided by his principles.

15. The task was completed quickly and reviewed by the Japanese committee, which again expressed its dislike. MacArthur forced both committees to meet together and wouldn't let them end the meeting until an acceptable constitution was drafted. The meeting lasted nearly 48 hours

16. The constitution eliminated the emperor's political power. MacArthur, as Supreme Commander, was able to enfranchise Japanese women, give workers the right to unionize, force landowners to sell their land to the farmers that worked the land, set up reform programs for schooling, and break up companies that had monopolized business in Japan.

17. By 1950, MacArthur had successfully instated democracy in Japan. The occupation didn't end until 1952, but MacArthur left Japan in 1950 to fight in the Korean War. In September of 1951 a treaty was signed between Japan, the U.S. and 47 other countries, officially ending the military occupation and restoring full independence to Japan.