View a FREE sample

This test consists of 15 multiple choice questions and 5 short answer questions.

Multiple Choice Questions

1. Who does Isaacson report that President Johnson wanted to serve as Ambassador to Vietnam in 1964?
(a) George Ball.
(b) McGeorge Bundy
(c) Dean Rusk.
(d) John McCloy.

2. What scientist suggested the United States should respond to the Soviet Union's possession of the A-bomb by producing more powerful bombs?
(a) Edward Teller.
(b) Robert Oppenheimer.
(c) David Lilienthal.
(d) George Ball.

3. What concern does Isaacson claim motivated Under Secretary of State Dean Acheson to encourage America's financial support for Greece?
(a) That an economic collapse in Greece would lead to a general economic collapse throughout Europe.
(b) A possible takeover of Greece by communists as a result of a civil war.
(c) That an economic collapse in Greece would expose the weakness of America's "dollar diplomacy."
(d) That an economic collapse in Greece would be widely seen as a failure of market systems.

4. What does Isaacson report eventually came of the idea of a "Western Union" military alliance?
(a) It became the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO).
(b) It became the European Union (EU).
(c) It became the United Nations (UN).
(d) It became the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA).

5. 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?
(a) "This gives us the opportunity to make voters fear a change at this time."
(b) "Great wars define great leaders."
(c) "In times of crisis, the American citizen tends to back up his President."
(d) "Never waste a good crisis."

6. What event does Isaacson claim one of the "Six Wise Men" used to encourage President Johnson to get tougher in Vietnam?
(a) Dean Acheson recounted the Chinese invasion of Korea in 1950 when it appeared the American military was defeated.
(b) John McCloy showed how American efforts had brought peace and prosperity to the world.
(c) Averell Harriman detailed how communism was built on an unsustainable model and was doomed to collapse.
(d) George Kennan reviewed how the Long Telegram became the foundation of foreign policy decisions that contained communist imperialism throughout the Cold War.

7. Who does Isaacson claim that Dean Acheson, Robert Lovett, and John McCloy suggested for President-Elect Kennedy's Secretary of State?
(a) Paul Nitze.
(b) Dean Rusk.
(c) Bill Fulbright.
(d) David Bruce.

8. According to Isaacson, why did did George Kennan oppose the development of more powerful nuclear weapons?
(a) Kennan believed the confrontation with communism was a social battle, not military.
(b) Kennan felt that communism was unsustainable especially when its systems were attempting to build empires.
(c) Because Kennan felt the Soviets were paranoid and a bigger bomb would make them more dangerous.
(d) Kennan believed that confronting the Soviets with conventional forces would avoid nuclear annihilation.

9. What does Isaacson claim to have become the consensus of the "Wise Men" concerning Vietnam in their advice to President Johnson?
(a) "There should be no question of making whatever combat force increases were required."
(b) "This has become a quagmire and we need to leave."
(c) "Our policy of containment will collapse if we fail in Vietnam."
(d) "The results in Vietnam will determine the course of the world well into the future."

10. How did the Pentagon recommend the government should respond to the Soviet Union's possession of nuclear weapons, according to Isaacson?
(a) The Pentagon recommended an increase in A-bomb production.
(b) The Pentagon recommended increased budgets for all possible strategies so the country could be kept safe from communist aggression.
(c) The Pentagon recommended a national campaign to inform citizens of the need for increased military spending to keep the communist threat at bay.
(d) The Pentagon recommended increased presence and support for conventional war to avoid a nuclear confrontation.

11. What does Isaacson report to be the entry in the Enola Gay log book by co-pilot Robert Lewis after the explosion of the atomic bomb over Hiroshima?
(a) "Target visually bombed with good results."
(b) "This thing is over."
(c) "My God. What have we done?"
(d) "Is this all it's cracked up to be?"

12. What office did President-Elect Kennedy offer to the first of the "Six Wise Men" whose counsel he sought?
(a) Chief of Staff.
(b) Secretary of State.
(c) Ambassador to NATO.
(d) Ambassador to Russia.

13. After the atomic bombs had been detonated in Japan, what does Isaacson indicate to be the next challenge for the government in the post-war era?
(a) Taking steps to control atomic weapons.
(b) Finding work for all the veterans.
(c) Preserving Germany's industrial capacity.
(d) Restoring Europe's economy.

14. Which of the "Six Wise Men" was chosen by President Johnson to assume authority over all diplomatic efforts to end the war in Vietnam according to Isaacson?
(a) John McCloy.
(b) Dean Acheson.
(c) George Kennan
(d) Averell Harriman.

15. What does Isaacson claim to be Dean Acheson's views on Vietnam?
(a) He considered Vietnam to be a distraction from the affairs of Europe.
(b) He considered Vietnam to be identical to the challenges of Korea.
(c) He considered Vietnam the most important confrontation to avoid the "Domino Theory."
(d) He considered Vietnam to be evidence that the war against communism was never going to end.

Short Answer Questions

1. Who does Isaacson claim Dean Acheson supported for the 1960 Democrat Presidential Nomination?

2. How does Isaacson suggest the Soviet Union's possession of nuclear weapons changed President Truman's perspective on checking Soviet aggression?

3. What event at the end of 1967 does Isaacson suggest influenced the Johnson Administration that America had to withdraw from Vietnam?

4. After Dwight D. Eisenhower was elected president in 1952, who does Isaacson state became Secretary of State?

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

(see the answer keys)

This section contains 1,026 words (approx. 4 pages at 300 words per page) View a FREE sample