He was born into a family with a military background on both his mother’s and father’s side. Douglas’s father, Arthur, had a very successful military career being very well thought of for his actions in the Union Army during the Civil War. At the time of Douglas’s birth, he was a captain. There is some irony in this due to the fact that Douglas’s mother, Mary, came from a military family having brothers who had fought for the Confederate Army during the Civil War. Throughout most of Douglas’s childhood, he moved throughout military bases around New Mexico, Texas, etc. Growing up, Douglas was quickly introduced to this military lifestyle. He learned to ride and shoot before learning to read and write. It was clear that he would grow up to be quite the military man. “It was here I learned to ride and shoot even before I could read or write–indeed, almost before I could walk or talk.” –Douglas …show more content…
He took this even farther by attending the United States Military Academy at West Point. Once here, he showed great success. He had a lot of pressure from his mother to be successful, and he was completely up to the task graduating first out of 94 cadets. In fact, there was only two people to ever show more success at the academy at West Point, General Robert E. Lee and one other cadet. Douglas MacArthur jumped right into a military career after graduating by being commissioned as a junior officer in the Army Corps of Engineers. His career was headed to the top as he would eventually become one of the most important generals in the war