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

Multiple Choice Questions

1. What does Isaacson claim to be the the Soviet's view of keeping security?
(a) The Soviets saw security as the primary goal of all of its imperial efforts.
(b) The Soviets saw massive military buildups as the primary method of achieving security.
(c) The Soviets viewed security in terms of seeing everyone as a potential threat.
(d) The Soviets viewed security in terms of dominating and occupying as much territory as possible.

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

3. What did Winston Churchill recommend as a solution to the challenge of growing Soviet Power?
(a) An Anglo-American alliance.
(b) Improving working conditions to prevent labor upheavals.
(c) Forming NATO .
(d) Economic warfare.

4. Who were two of the "Six Wise Men" that Isaacson reported had withdrawn their support for the war in Vietnam by the summer of 1967?
(a) John McCloy and Robert Lovett.
(b) George Kennan and Charles Bohlen.
(c) John McCloy and Dean Acheson.
(d) Robert Lovett and Averell Harriman.

5. 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?
(a) Robert Lovett.
(b) John McCloy.
(c) Dean Acheson.
(d) Averell Harriman.

6. 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 increased budgets for all possible strategies so the country could be kept safe from communist aggression.
(b) The Pentagon recommended an increase in A-bomb production.
(c) The Pentagon recommended increased presence and support for conventional war to avoid a nuclear confrontation.
(d) The Pentagon recommended a national campaign to inform citizens of the need for increased military spending to keep the communist threat at bay.

7. What did the Johnson Administration offer to Vietnamese communists if they pulled back on their invasion of South Vietnam in the summer of 1965, according to Isaacson?
(a) An end to American intervention in the region, open trade relations, and withdrawal of American bases throughout the Pacific.
(b) No political or military intrusion into North Vietnam and diplomatic recognition of the North Vietnamese government.
(c) A bombing halt, local elections with Viet Cong participation, and withdrawal of all foreign troops.
(d) An immediate agreement to peace terms that settled the border between North and South Vietnam.

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

9. Why did Dean Acheson believe the U.S. should get involved in the war between North and South Korea, according to Isaacson?
(a) To save the Western Alliance in Europe.
(b) To preserve strategic positions in the Far East.
(c) To preserve the doctrine of containment.
(d) To prove to Stalin and Mao that all of their imperialistic actions would be confronted.

10. How does Isaacson claim President Truman planned to fight for support for the Marshall Plan in Congress?
(a) By advising Democrat congressmen to amend planks of the plan to popular legislation so it would eventually get passed out of the notice of political opponents.
(b) By vetoing every spending bill until the plan was accepted in Congress.
(c) By campaigning across the country to rally popular support for the effort.
(d) By calling for an emergency session of Congress and winning support for an "interim aid" bill.

11. How did the U.S. Government consider North Korea's invasion of South Korea, according to Isaacson?
(a) As a sign that the age of interventionism was over.
(b) As a sign that the U.S. had no other choice but to be involved with all the governments of the world to turn back the communist threat.
(c) As the beginning of a life or death struggle against international communism.
(d) As a warning sign to world war.

12. Why does Isaacson claim MacArthur's plans were blocked?
(a) Because the bombing of the bridges might provoke the Chinese to take harsher actions.
(b) Because the Administration feared communist aggression within the continental United States.
(c) Because the Administration had a strict policy of keeping American soldiers within the boundaries of South Korea.
(d) Because the foreign policy elite feared losing influence if a military success ended the conflict in Korea.

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

14. How does Isaacson claim the Truman Administration learned of the Soviet Union's possession of nuclear weapons in September, 1949?
(a) Weather planes over the Pacific Ocean recorded high radioactive counts.
(b) A Soviet exile involved in the development of the bomb informed the administration of its existence.
(c) Films of the Soviets' first test were delivered to Truman by informants.
(d) The House UnAmerican Activities Committee discovered evidence that members of the Roosevelt Administration helped to pass the plans for the bomb to the Soviets.

15. What does Isaacson claim to have been the primary purpose of the telegram to President Truman with the warning of Soviet aggression?
(a) To give support for more military spending in the battle to confront communism.
(b) To support a greater role for military actions against communist aggression.
(c) To assist military chiefs in Congressional testimony.
(d) To become the basis for a propaganda campaign that helped to condense power within the foreign policy elite.

Short Answer Questions

1. What does Isaacson suggest to be one of the largest factors in America's rise to prominence after WWII?

2. What does Isaacson claim to be Dean Acheson's views on Vietnam?

3. Which two of the "Six Wise Men" does Isaacson report were called to brief the Kennedy Administration on the two crises that faced them?

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

5. 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?

(see the answer keys)

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