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This test consists of 5 short answer questions, 10 short essay questions, and 1 (of 3) essay topics.

Short Answer Questions

1. How does Isaacson claim Joseph Stalin's temperament changed between Harriman's first and second meetings?

2. What does Isaacson claim to have been America's foreign policy following WWI?

3. Who was the Supreme Court Justice for whom Dean Acheson clerked?

4. For what purpose had Robert Lovett's father been grooming him and Averell Harriman since their graduation from college, according to Isaacson?

5. What does Isaacson claim to be Harriman's first crusade in his role with the Roosevelt Administration?

Short Essay Questions

1. Who does Isaacson identify as the two men that Secretary of War Henry Stimson called the "Heavenly Twins"?

2. Which of the "Six Wise Men" attended Yale, according to Isaacson?

3. Where does Isaacson report Dean Acheson started his career after WWI?

4. What does Issacson suggest comes between 20th century isolationism and a utopian dream of a world order based on international law?

5. What does Isaacson report to be Averell Harriman's first achievement after he was named as transportation adviser to the National Defense Advisory Commission by President Franklin Roosevelt?

6. What does Isaacson claim to be Averell Harriman's view regarding Russia building a tier of states friendly to its system in Eastern Europe?

7. What does Isaacson report that George Kennan believed Marxism offered to Soviet Russian leaders?

8. What does Isaacson report to be a prerequisite for being tapped for Skull and Bones at Yale?

9. What does Isaacson report to be the difference between George Kennan's approach to training for the foreign service and that of Chip Bohlen?

10. What were the major declarations of the Atlantic Charter, according to Isaacson?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Much of what the "Wise Men" helped to develop during the Cold War (NATO, the CIA, foreign aid spending, the military industrial complex) still exists today despite the fact that the Soviet Union collapsed in 1989 and China has abandoned communism as an economic and governing model. Consider how these institutions and strategies are being used in the "War on Terror," and the reasons current leaders say this is a necessary global war and compare them to claims of the "Wise Men" for confronting the global threat of communism. Use evidence in the book and from outside sources in this comparison give your opinion on one of three options:

a. The efforts of the "Wise Men" to develop the tools to protect America's interests around the world were for the sake of the people of the U.S. and they are still being used for the same today.

b. The intentions of the "Wise Men" were to protect the U.S. but they have recently been used to expand the power of people in the government over the lives of American citizens.

c. The "Wise Men" used their access to the foreign policy bureaucracy to draw power to themselves and the foreign policy establishment and they continue to be so used today.

Essay Topic 2

Compare and contrast Robert Lovett and Averell Harriman as they used their personal business connections throughout the world to gain access to positions that allowed them to direct government policy. Use details and quotes as they were reported by Isaacson.

Essay Topic 3

Connections with the Soviet Union became a connecting point between each of the "Wise Men" and other world leaders. Detail how the "Wise Men" established connections with the Soviet Union, what leaders affected their connections with it, and events that shaped their future perspectives of the Soviet Union.

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