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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 suggest shaped President Johnson's views on dealing with Soviet Communism?

2. What did Gen. MacArthur recommend, according to Isaacson, to stem the flow of Chinese soldiers into North Korea?

3. After Dwight D. Eisenhower was elected president in 1952, who does Isaacson state became Secretary of State?

4. What role did Frank Wisner play in Kennan's plans for confronting Soviet expansionism?

5. Where does Isaacson indicate two crises confronted the Kennedy Adminstration in 1961?

Short Essay Questions

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

2. To what event did President Truman compare the Soviet clampdown on Czechoslavakia in 1948, according to Isaacson?

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

4. How did President Truman respond to the North Korean invasion of South Korea on June 24, 1950, according to Isaacson?

5. Why did Truman's most trusted foreign advisers, including Robert Lovett, George Kennan, Chip Bohlen, and Dean Acheson, oppose the formation of a Jewish State in Palestine, according to Isaacson?

6. Why did the Truman Administration consider making an atomic arms control "covenant" with the Soviet Union, according to Isaacson?

7. 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?

8. What does Isaacson report to have been General Douglas MacArthur's proposal to stop the flow of Chinese Soldiers into the war between North and South Korea?

9. Who did President Kennedy choose to act as his chief negotiator at the International Control Commission talks on Laos, according to Isaacson?

10. What affect did the Soviet aggression in Czechoslovakia have on Truman's effort to win Congressional approval of the Marshall Plan, according to Isaacson?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

The "Wise Men" joined President Johnson in taking a hard line on Vietnam and committing more than 500,000 combat soldiers to that war. Why did Vietnam cause the social and political turmoil that overtook the U.S.? What were the human and economic costs of the Vietnam war to the U.S.? Were the positions the "Wise Men" took regarding Vietnam consistent with their record or had they lost some foresightedness of how the war would affect the rest of the country? Use information from the book and outside sources to support your position.

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

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.

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