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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 have been America's foreign policy following WWI?

2. What does Isaacson report to be the legacy of Harvard's President Charles Elliot after his 40 year tenure ended in 1909?

3. Under whom does Isaacson report Kennan studied for his chosen field?

4. What political movement did Bohlen defend to his classmates?

5. What approach did Wall Street favor regarding the future of Germany's industrial base during plans for the post-war era, according to Isaacson?

Short Essay Questions

1. What were the circumstances through which John McCloy came into contact with Averell Harriman and Robert Lovett after WWI, according to Isaacson?

2. Who does Isaacson identify as the two men that Secretary of War Henry Stimson called the "Heavenly Twins"?

3. How did Averell Harriman and Robert Lovett come to work together after WWI, according to Isaacson?

4. What does Issacson suggest comes between 20th century isolationism and a utopian dream of a world order based on international law?

5. What was the title does Isaacson claims that John McCloy earned during his career in government and as a corporate lawyer?

6. What does Isaacson report to be Averell Harriman's first achievement after he was named as transportation adviser to the National Defense Advisory Commission by President Franklin Roosevelt?

7. What kind of jobs did John McCloy's mother find for him during his youth, according to Isaacson?

8. What does Isaacson identify as the major issues facing Harry Truman during the first month of his presidency after the death of President Roosevelt?

9. What does Isaacson claim to be the "warning" issued through the Potsdam proclamation by the Allied Powers to Japan regarding the dropping of the atomic bomb?

10. What military action did Joseph Stalin demand from his British and American allies once the United States entered WWII, according to Isaacson?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

The "Wise Men" made decisions that they knew would have affects on the voting public. Identify three such decisions, the elections that they influenced and the candidates whom they were intended to assist. Use support from the book to validate your positions.

Essay Topic 2

The Truman Administration was at odds with General Douglas MacArthur even before he took command over the UN troops in Korea. The attitudes of the administration demonstrated themselves with the order to MacArthur forbidding him from bombing bridges between China and Korea across which Chinese soldiers and equipment were traveling to support North Koreans. Was the conduct of the Truman Administration and the "Wise Men" an extension of President Truman's spoken disdain for MacArthur, or did MacArthur cause his own problems with the Truman Administration. Use comments and decisions by members of the Truman Administration and the "Wise Men" pertaining to or directed at MacArthur as well as MacArthur's actions and statements to support your position.

Essay Topic 3

Upon the dropping of the atom bomb on Hiroshima, the crew of the Enola Gay realized the power of the weapon. Trace the steps that led to the decision to use the atom bomb on Japan with information from the book. Consider the situation Japan faced after the surrender of Germany and Italy in Europe. Was the use of the atom bomb necessary to bring Japan to face its defeat? Why or why not? What reasons are cited in The Wise Men for making the decision to use the atom bomb? Do these reasons justify the destruction that was brought on the general populations of those two cities?

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This section contains 996 words (approx. 4 pages at 300 words per page) View a FREE sample