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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 event propelled the United States into WWII?

2. How many days was Truman Vice President?

3. Who was the most influential new friend Truman gained during his first term as Senator?

4. When Roosevelt announces in 1944 that he will run for the fourth term as President, how many terms were Presidents allowed to serve?

5. What was Harry Truman's first paid job?

Short Essay Questions

1. Why did the Kansas-Nebraska Act cause so much trouble in Missouri?

2. Re-read the account of the committee's hearings with Irwin Works, a steel producing plant. What is your opinion of Truman's tactics in determining the truth?

3. How is Truman's approach to the press so different from Roosevelt's?

4. Reading over the description of Independence, MO, beginning on Page 50, describe Truman's hometown as it relates to 1) economic viability, 2) founders and citizens, and 3) education.

5. Was Truman adequately prepared to assume the role of President? If you choose to answer no, detail what attributes or knowledge Truman needed to do a good job. If you choose to answer yes, outline what qualities or experience Truman had to prepare him for the job.

6. Do you think Harry was a good farmer? Explain your answer with examples from Chapter 3. .

7. Senator Truman's committee to investigate defense spending was timely and changed the way he was viewed by his colleagues and the public. Was that his purpose in proposing this committee? Why do you think he started this effort, and did he accomplish his goals?

8. Re-read the section on U.S. Steel's involvement in manufacturing and supplying the Navy with defective steel. What was their motivation for this deception? How did they rationalize it with the Truman Committee? In their opinion, was the action of the US Steel Company right or wrong?

9. Bess Wallace is considered "ideal" by Harry, and is well respected by the other children. What qualities does she display that make her ideal, and do you think she would be popular by today's standards?

10. Truman's job at the bank in Kansas City taught him about fiscal responsibility. How would this assist a potential president?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

After the Soviet Union acquires the bomb, the author states "It was a different world now." What does he mean by that statement? Was it better for the world for one country alone to have the weapon? Was it better for the two most powerful countries to have the bomb? In your opinion, which countries should have atomic weapons?

Essay Topic 2

Based upon what is reported in this novel regarding Japan's attitude towards surrender and the outcome of the war, would you have ordered the use of the atomic bomb?

Essay Topic 3

Why were Americans, and southern Democrats in particular, so opposed to the inclusion of minorities in the rights of other Americans?

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