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

Multiple Choice Questions

1. Who does Isaacson claim blocked MacArthur's plans for slowing the flow of Chinese soldiers into the Korean War?
(a) Under Secretary of State Dean Acheson.
(b) Deputy Secretary of Defense Robert Lovett.
(c) White House Liaison with the Korean command George Kennan.
(d) President Harry Truman.

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

3. What does Isaacson record that Mao claimed to be the source of Chinese soldiers in North Korean combat units?
(a) Mao claimed that they were communist sympathizers from throughout Asia seeking to ignite the international revolution.
(b) Mao claimed that they were Russians equipped by China.
(c) Mao claimed that China was not involved, that there were no Chinese soldiers in Korea.
(d) Mao claimed they were Chinese volunteers who were protecting Chinese hydroelectric plants along the Yalu River.

4. Who eventually took the position of Ambassador to Vietnam, according to Isaacson?
(a) General Maxwell Taylor.
(b) McGeorge Bundy.
(c) Robert Lovett.
(d) Dean Acheson.

5. Who did President Eisenhower choose for his Ambassador to Russia, according to Isaacson?
(a) Dean Acheson.
(b) Averell Harriman.
(c) Chip Bohlen.
(d) George Kennan.

6. Who does Isaacson claim Dean Acheson supported for the 1960 Democrat Presidential Nomination?
(a) Lyndon B. Johnson.
(b) Hubert H. Humphrey.
(c) John F. Kennedy.
(d) Stuart Symington.

7. 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) Averell Harriman.
(b) John McCloy.
(c) Dean Acheson.
(d) Robert Lovett.

8. Why was General MacArthur fired according to Isaacson?
(a) Because MacArthur's belligerence had become a threat to world peace.
(b) Because MacArthur was seen as unable to lead with the changes in technology and the enemy at hand.
(c) MacArthur made statements criticizing China's strength and suggesting Chiang Kai-shek could open a second front against China with an invasion on the mainland.
(d) Because MacArthur's popularity within the U.S. was a threat to the Administration's efforts to control the direction of the war in Korea.

9. Who does Isaacson report to be the first of the "Six Wise Men" whom Kennedy sought out for advice after his election to the presidency in 1960?
(a) Robert Lovett.
(b) Averell Harriman.
(c) Dean Acheson.
(d) George Kennan.

10. How does Isaacson report that Clark Clifford understood the rivalry between the U.S. and the Soviet Union had to be framed to make the general public support confronting the Communists?
(a) Clifford understood the rivalry had, "...to be framed as a personal cause of free American talent overcoming international slavery."
(b) Clifford understood the rivalry had, "...to be framed as a potential threat to the freedom and security of every individual in the country."
(c) Clifford understood the rivalry had, "...to be framed as fearfully as possible to cajole the general public to put unquestioning support for the wisdom of its government."
(d) Clifford understood the rivalry had, "...to be framed as a contest between the forces of darkness and light."

11. To whom did President Kennedy look in an attempt to peacefully settle the conflicts in Laos?
(a) George Kennan.
(b) Robert Lovett.
(c) Averell Harriman.
(d) Dean Acheson.

12. What does Isaacson suggest to be the result of George Kennan's "Long Telegram"?
(a) It caused a harmful foreign policy debate within the Truman Administration that led to international paralysis.
(b) It made Kennan persona non grata to his superiors within the State Department.
(c) It caused his old friend, Dean Acheson to advise him to discuss his ideas with him before he put things on paper.
(d) It formulated the containment theory which was embraced by Washington.

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

14. Why did President Eisenhower relieve Bob Lovett from the Defense Department, according to Isaacson?
(a) Because Lovett was a Democrat and Republicans demanded party loyalty while they had control of Congress.
(b) Because Lovett was found leaking policy decisions to his Democrat friends outside the administration.
(c) Because the Eisenhower Administration planned to cut spending on conventional forces and rely totally on nuclear weapons for defense.
(d) Because Lovett was considered untrustworthy based upon his relationship with Alger Hiss.

15. How did communist cells throughout Europe respond to the Marshall Plan?
(a) They posed as businesses that received funds that were then put into programs to promote communism.
(b) They began a program of counterfeiting currencies to cause an inflationary cycle.
(c) They started programs of social support for European laborers to win political support for their agendas.
(d) They would attempt to disrupt governments and try to bring them down.

Short Answer Questions

1. When had Dean Acheson worked with Secretary of State George Marshall, prior to Marshall's appointment to the State Department, according to Isaacson?

2. What does Isaacson report that President Truman did to decide America's response to the Soviet Union's possession of nuclear weapons?

3. What does Isaacson write of what became of the "Six Wise Men" after Dwight D. Eisenhower was elected president in 1952?

4. Who does Isaacson report that President Truman chose to administer the European Recovery Plan (The Marshall Plan) in Europe?

5. What does Isaacson report to have been the reaction to communist tactics against the Marshall Plan?

(see the answer keys)

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