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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 to have been the reaction to communist tactics against the Marshall Plan?

2. What did Winston Churchill recommend as a solution to the challenge of growing Soviet Power?

3. 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?

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

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

Short Essay Questions

1. What Southeast Asian country did President Eisenhower tell President-Elect Kennedy was the "key" to keeping communism from overtaking all of Southeast Asia according to Isaacson?

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

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

4. 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?

5. Who did President Kennedy choose to act as his chief negotiator at the International Control Commission talks on Laos, 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. How did President Truman respond to the North Korean invasion of South Korea on June 24, 1950, according to Isaacson?

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

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

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

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Harry Truman committed American soldiers to fight the war in Korea without a Congressional declaration. What are the constitutional requirements for committing American soldiers to war? How did the Truman Administration justify the action to Congress? Who benefited from this decision? What have been the long-term effects of using American soldiers to fight undeclared wars beyond the oversight of Congress? Who carries the responsibility for these effects, the presidency or Congress?

Essay Topic 2

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.

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 974 words (approx. 4 pages at 300 words per page) View a FREE sample