MacArthur & Beyond

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Join us for a one-day conference sponsored by Marquette University Law School

MacArthur & Beyond: Challenges of Externally-Imposed Constitutions in the Aftermath of War – The Lessons of Yesterday for the World of Tomorrow

The conference will address constitution-building across time and geography and the influence of Douglas MacArthur on this and related phenomena.

8:15 a.m.
Registration and coffee

8:45 a.m.
Welcome and Introduction. Peter K. Rofes, Marquette University Law School

9:00 a.m.
The Army and Constitution Making: The Civil War to World War II by Louis DiMarco, USA Command and General Staff College

DiMarco, a military historian, will highlight the experience of the United States Army with supervising and creating state and national constitutions, beginning with the Reconstruction of the South after the Civil War, through the Philippine and Cuban experiences, to the occupation of Italy, Germany, and Japan during and after World War II.

Questions & Comments

10:00 a.m.
Break

10:15 a.m.
MacArthur's Japanese Constitution?

Ray Moore, Amherst College. Moore, an historian, will paint a picture of how General MacArthur, as Supreme Commander of the Allied Powers, ordered his staff to draft a constitution for Japan that would democratize and demilitarize that country. He pressured the Japanese government to translate the English draft and to present it as Japan’s own. Animating MacArthur was the fear that, otherwise, the Far Eastern Commission – consisting of the United States, the United Kingdom, China, and the Soviet Union – would assume the role of revising the post-war Japanese Constitution.

Kyoko Inoue, University of Illinois Chicago. Inoue, a linguist, will probe many of the same events but will focus the lens in a fascinatingly different way. She will explain how linguistic and cultural differences engendered circumstances in which neither the Americans nor the Japanese fully understood the other. She will discuss, in particular, why MacArthur prompted his staff to draft the new Japanese Constitution; the differences in the rhetoric of the American draft and that of the final version crafted by the Japanese; and, especially, how and why the Japanese failed to understand the distinctively American concept of individual dignity.

Following the presentations, Professor Rofes will moderate a conversation among Professor Moore, Professor Inoue, and the audience.

11:45 a.m.
Constitution-making in the Aftermath of War: An Analytic Model, Three Applications, and the Experience of Sudan

Keith Sellen, [Wisconsin] Office of Lawyer Regulation. Sellen will present an analytical model for constitution-making in the aftermath of war. This model explores the concepts of unity, coercion, and legitimacy in constitution-making; analyzes the relationships among them; and applies the concepts to three prominent historical examples: post-war Japan, Russia during the early 1990s, and the Balkans during the mid-1990s.

Brady Williamson, Godfrey & Kahn. For 20 years in South Sudan, a liberation army fought the autocratic government in Khartoum—with a toll of two million deaths. That civil war ended in 2005 with a Comprehensive Peace Agreement and, in turn, a semi-autonomous government in South Sudan and new constitution in both the North and the South. The two regions remained divided over oil and religion. Yet, in 2011, the Republic of South Sudan became fully independent and the world’s newest country. Now the South itself is divided by its own violent conflict with divisions, this time, tribally-based and politically-driven. What brought this destitute country to this point? Do constitutions, new or old, matter?

Questions & Comments

1:10 p.m.
Complimentary lunch (A variety of box lunches will be provided) and Photography Exhibit.

1:45 p.m. (note new time)
The Impact of MacArthur: Australia, Philippines, and South Korea

  • Charles Mulcahy, L’62, Marquette University Law School, Moderator
  • Roger Price, Australian Consul General – Chicago
  • Ricarte Abejuela III, Philippines Vice Consul – Chicago
  • Jae Wong Lee, South Korean Deputy Consul General – Chicago
  • Masaharu Yoshida, Japanese Consul General – Chicago
  • Stephen Bridges, Great Britain Consul General – Chicago
    Following presentations, Mr. Mulcahy will moderate a conversation among the presenters and the audience.

3:50 p.m.
Closing Remarks by Peter K. Rofes, Marquette University Law School

The conference promises to include rich discussion and lively interaction among speakers, moderators, and the audience.

 

Link to the MacArthur Memorial Week website for information about other events taking place starting on June 3.

 

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