January 15, 1999 Truman Fires MacArthur President Harry Truman relieved General Douglas MacArthur of his duties on April 11, 1951. Truman did this because in the early spring of 1951, MacArthur was taking matters into his own hands. In March, Truman drew up a cease-fire proposal and a few days later MacArthur announced that he might expand the war to China. Truman wrote about MacArthur's announcement "It was in open defiance of my orders as President and Commander in Chief......By this act MacArthur left me no choice.....I could no longer tolerate his insubordination."The reaction was strong against Truman, because MacArthur was a well-known war hero, but Truman knew that is was the only thing he could do.
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