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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. What does Isaacson claim to be George Kennan's biggest concern regarding Soviet Communism?

2. What does Isaacson report that Clark Clifford wrote in a campaign memo to use the Soviet Crisis to help President Truman's re-election campaign for 1948?

3. Who eventually took the position of Ambassador to Vietnam, according to Isaacson?

4. What event at the end of 1967 does Isaacson suggest influenced the Johnson Administration that America had to withdraw from Vietnam?

5. What does Isaacson report that members of the Truman Administration suggested caused the political opposition to the Truman Doctrine to confront Soviet Communism wherever it was asserted?

Short Essay Questions

1. What does Isaacson claim to be the North Vietnamese offensive that made the Johnson Administration realize America needed to get out of the Vietnam War?

2. How does Isaacson report England was affected by the end of WWII?

3. What did Isaacson identify as George Kennan's recommended next phase for dealing with communist expansionism after he felt that his plan for containment was working?

4. What does Isaacson claim made President Dwight D. Eisenhower's Secretary of State, John Foster Dulles, attractive to the eastern foreign policy Establishment?

5. What does Isaacson report to be the entry into the logbook of the Enola Gay to record the dropping of the atomic bomb over Hiroshima?

6. Why does Isaacson suggest that Dean Acheson recommended Dean Rusk to President-Elect Kennedy for Secretary of State?

7. According to Isaacson, what caused President Truman to remove General Douglas MacArthur from his command over the conduct of South Korean forces in the Korean War?

8. How many coups were conducted in Vietnam in less than a year between 1963 and 1964, according to Isaacson?

9. What organization did John McCloy help to form that became the precursor to the European Common Market, according to Isaacson?

10. What was the focus of George Kennan's "Long Telegram" according to Isaacson?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

While the "Wise Men" were initiating the policies upon which the Truman Doctrine was based to confront communist expansionism, a high-ranking member of the State Department, Alger Hiss was discovered to have been passing classified documents to Soviet agents. What were the reactions of the "Wise Men" to this fact, and how do the reactions of the "Wise Men" to Hiss' conviction affect your view regarding the Truman Administration's policies regarding the Soviet Union? Use information from the book and other historical references to support your answer.

Essay Topic 2

Upon the dropping of the atom bomb on Hiroshima, the crew of the Enola Gay realized the power of the weapon. Trace the steps that led to the decision to use the atom bomb on Japan with information from the book. Consider the situation Japan faced after the surrender of Germany and Italy in Europe. Was the use of the atom bomb necessary to bring Japan to face its defeat? Why or why not? What reasons are cited in The Wise Men for making the decision to use the atom bomb? Do these reasons justify the destruction that was brought on the general populations of those two cities?

Essay Topic 3

Averell Harriman and Robert Lovett established lucrative careers in rail roads, investment banking, shipping, and ship building, among other industries. Was the track these two took to influence government policy altruistic toward the benefit of the U.S., or followed for the benefit of the industries that made them powerful? Use details from the book to support your view.

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