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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 members of the Truman Administration suggested caused the political opposition to the Truman Doctrine to confront Soviet Communism wherever it was asserted?

3. Who does Isaacson report to be the last of the "Six Wise Men" whom President-Elect Kennedy called before he made his choice for Secretary of State?

4. 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?

5. What were the three questions President Truman wrote regarding America's confrontation with Soviet aggression?

Short Essay Questions

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

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

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

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. 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?

6. What does Isaacson claim to be Stalin's reaction to the Marshall Plan?

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

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

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

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

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

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 2

The Soviet Union was an ally of Nazi Germany before the U.S. entered WWII, but sought out U.S. and British support after Germany invaded it. Use details from the book that suggest:

a. American support for enemies of Nazi Germany was bringing America to the brink of the European war.

b. The Soviets would manipulate the alliance with the U.S. and Britain for their own benefit.

c. How the war time alliance between the Soviet Union and the U.S. foretold conflict for the future.

Essay Topic 3

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?

(see the answer keys)

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