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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 was a personal factor that made the "Six Wise Men" unpopular to the general public, according to Isaacson?

2. Why did President Eisenhower relieve Bob Lovett from the Defense Department, according to Isaacson?

3. Who does Issacson report to have written a telegram that claimed fear that war could come, "with dramatic suddenness"?

4. Who does Isaacson claim blocked MacArthur's plans for slowing the flow of Chinese soldiers into the Korean War?

5. Who does Isaacson report to have offered proposals that the United States develop an intelligence-gathering system?

Short Essay Questions

1. What does Isaacson claim Clark Clifford wrote in a campaign strategy memo regarding the affect of the Soviet clampdown on Czechoslovakia on the reelection chances of President Truman?

2. 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?

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

4. What was the suggestion that Dean Acheson made regarding the future of freedom if Turkey and Greece fell into the influence of Soviet Communism, according to Isaacson?

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

6. What was Dean Acheson's view regarding America's involvement in Vietnam, according to Isaacson?

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

8. 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?

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

10. What does Isaacson report to be the concern of Robert Lovett regarding the operations of the CIA under President Eisenhower?

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

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

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.

(see the answer keys)

This section contains 942 words (approx. 4 pages at 300 words per page) View a FREE sample