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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 report that President Truman did to decide America's response to the Soviet Union's possession of nuclear weapons?

2. Who does Isaacson report to be the first of the "Six Wise Men" whom Kennedy sought out for advice after his election to the presidency in 1960?

3. How did the U.S. Government consider North Korea's invasion of South Korea, according to Isaacson?

4. When and where was the first atomic bomb used on Japan?

5. What does Isaacson record came of Kennan's concern regarding confronting Soviet Communism?

Short Essay Questions

1. 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?

2. Who does Isaacson claim that Dean Acheson supported for the 1960 Democrat Presidential nomination over John F. Kennedy?

3. What does Isaacson claim Winston Churchill offered as a suggestion for a solution to Soviet expansionism in his "Iron Curtain" speech in Missouri?

4. 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?

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. 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?

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

10. What scandal does Isaacson report to have come to the Truman Administration's state department in January 1950?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

The Wise Men examines the life long connections of six men and how they shaped America's foreign policy for nearly 40 years. How were the early lives and experiences of the "Wise Men" intertwined and how did their elite upbringing give them access to the seats of power where they were given opportunity to direct American foreign policy?

Essay Topic 2

George Kennan and Chip Bohlen used their very different personalities and skills to climb the ranks of the foreign service to eventually enter the inner circles of the Roosevelt Administration. Compare and contrast the diverse personalities and skills of Kennan and Bohlen and detail how they complemented each other to become major influences on policies concerning the Soviet Union.

Essay Topic 3

The "Wise Men" repeatedly relied on military power and government spending to defend American interests and free societies from oppressive systems such as communism. Identify situations in which the "Wise Men" recommended public funding to protect various interests and other situations in which they recommended using the military. Did their positions benefit the interests of the taxpayers who provided the funding and personnel in each situation? Explain your answers with evidence from either the book or support from outside sources.

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