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

Multiple Choice Questions

1. 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) Restoring Europe's economy.
(b) Finding work for all the veterans.
(c) Taking steps to control atomic weapons.
(d) Preserving Germany's industrial capacity.

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

3. Who does Isaacson claim John F. Kennedy called for advice on responding to a congratulatory telegram from Nikita Khrushchev the day after Kennedy was announced the winner of the 1960 election?
(a) Chip Bohlen.
(b) Averell Harriman.
(c) Robert Lovett.
(d) Dean Acheson.

4. What does Isaacson define as the main political challenge to the Truman Administration encouraging Congress to support financial aid to Greece and Turkey?
(a) Harry Truman had become politically unpopular since the Democrats lost their congressional majority during the 1946 mid-term elections.
(b) Americans had become weary of international interventions in the aftermath of WWII.
(c) Congress was more interested in focusing on domestic issues than it was with foreign interventions.
(d) The elections of 1946 brought popular support to balancing budgets and ending foreign spending.

5. 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 the most important confrontation to avoid the "Domino Theory."
(c) He considered Vietnam to be identical to the challenges of Korea.
(d) He considered Vietnam to be evidence that the war against communism was never going to end.

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

7. Who was the Republican upon whom the Truman Administration focused to win support for the Marshall Plan, according to Isaacson?
(a) Senator Arthur Vandenberg of Michigan.
(b) Congressman Richard Nixon of California.
(c) Congressman Joseph McCarthy of Minnesota.
(d) Republican House Leader, Charles Halleck.

8. Isaacson reported that the Soviet Union's actions in East Europe helped the Truman Administration achieve what two political goals?
(a) They helped gain support for the Marshall Plan and for more military spending.
(b) They helped to convince the general public that the communists were out for world domination and win trust for the wisdom of his foreign policy advisors.
(c) They brought the country to understand the necessity of confronting communism and helped the Administration win support for its budget demands.
(d) They helped concentrate power within the presidency and give general support for the foreign policy elite to act without scrutiny.

9. How did Isaacson claim Acheson described the division of the world between the United States and the Soviet Union during the crisis facing Greece and Turkey?
(a) "...a contest between freedom and slavery."
(b) "...an unbridgeable ideological chasm."
(c) "...a test of free will against coercion."
(d) "...a struggle between totalitarianism and democracy."

10. What State Department official does Isaacson report to have been determined to bring the United States into a "Western Union" military alliance?
(a) Theodore Achilles.
(b) Donald Maclean.
(c) John Hickerson.
(d) Robert Lovett.

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

12. What was a personal factor that made the "Six Wise Men" unpopular to the general public, according to Isaacson?
(a) Their roles in the firing of Douglas MacArthur.
(b) Their connections to international banks and Wall Street.
(c) Their support of Algier Hiss who was found to be a Communist spy.
(d) The obvious destruction their agenda had on the American economic system.

13. What does Isaacson suggest shaped President Johnson's views on dealing with Soviet Communism?
(a) The views of Dean Acheson as he served as a congressman in the late 1940's.
(b) Johnson's desire to show his power against that of the leaders of the Soviet Union.
(c) Johnson's admiration for the Truman Administration's confrontation of communist imperialism.
(d) The viciousness with which Joseph Stalin purged political enemies throughout his reign.

14. What does Isaacson report to have been the reaction to communist tactics against the Marshall Plan?
(a) Congress began to realize that the battle against communism was going to be long and costly.
(b) The Truman Administration had the evidence of the corrosive nature of communism to convince the country its steps were the right ones.
(c) The American public began looking for similar activities within their communities.
(d) Congress initiated the House Un-American Activities Committee.

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

Short Answer Questions

1. When does Isaacson report communist North Korea invaded South Korea?

2. Who does Isaacson report that President Johnson wanted to serve as Ambassador to Vietnam in 1964?

3. What did Gen. MacArthur recommend, according to Isaacson, to stem the flow of Chinese soldiers into North Korea?

4. What did Winston Churchill recommend as a solution to the challenge of growing Soviet Power?

5. Who does Isaacson claim blocked MacArthur's plans for slowing the flow of Chinese soldiers into the Korean War?

(see the answer keys)

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