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

Multiple Choice Questions

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

2. What did Gen. MacArthur recommend, according to Isaacson, to stem the flow of Chinese soldiers into North Korea?
(a) Avoiding a mainland war with the communists.
(b) Using nuclear weapons to wipe out China and Russia.
(c) Opening relations with China to negotiate a settlement.
(d) Bombing out bridges over the Yalu River.

3. What does Isaacson record came of Kennan's concern regarding confronting Soviet Communism?
(a) It was shelved by higher members of the Truman Administration but acted upon by the Eisenhower Administration.
(b) It became the foundation for using American embassies as the hub of spying activities against foreign subversives.
(c) It was taken by the House UnAmerican Activities committee to guide its efforts to prosecute communist activities throughout the country.
(d) An "office of special projects" was started in the CIA.

4. Who does Isaacson report to have committed the U.S. to active ground war in Korea?
(a) President Truman.
(b) The U.S. Congress.
(c) General Douglas MacArthur.
(d) Dean Acheson.

5. 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) Robert Lovett.
(b) Averell Harriman.
(c) Chip Bohlen.
(d) Dean Acheson.

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

7. 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 they were Chinese volunteers who were protecting Chinese hydroelectric plants along the Yalu River.
(c) Mao claimed that they were Russians equipped by China.
(d) Mao claimed that China was not involved, that there were no Chinese soldiers in Korea.

8. Where does Isaacson indicate two crises confronted the Kennedy Adminstration in 1961?
(a) Laos and Berlin.
(b) Iran and Israel.
(c) Peking and Moscow.
(d) Vietnam and Czechoslovakia.

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

10. What was the organization that eventually replaced the Office of Strategic Services, according to Isaacson?
(a) The Office of Homeland Security.
(b) The Federal Bureau of Investigation.
(c) The Central Intelligence Agency.
(d) The Secret Service.

11. 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) George Kennan
(b) Dean Acheson.
(c) Averell Harriman.
(d) John McCloy.

12. When and where was the first atomic bomb used on Japan?
(a) August 6, 1945 on Hiroshima.
(b) August 7, 1945 on Nagasaki.
(c) August 6, 1945 on Tokyo.
(d) August 7, 1945 on Hiroshima.

13. Who does Isaacson report that President Truman chose to administer the European Recovery Plan (The Marshall Plan) in Europe?
(a) Averell Harriman.
(b) Paul Hoffman.
(c) General Lucius Clay.
(d) Dean Acheson.

14. 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 formulated the containment theory which was embraced by Washington.
(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 caused a harmful foreign policy debate within the Truman Administration that led to international paralysis.

15. How does Isaacson claim President Truman planned to fight for support for the Marshall Plan in Congress?
(a) By campaigning across the country to rally popular support for the effort.
(b) 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.
(c) By calling for an emergency session of Congress and winning support for an "interim aid" bill.
(d) By vetoing every spending bill until the plan was accepted in Congress.

Short Answer Questions

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

2. What was the only concession the Japanese requested for its surrender to end WWII, according to Isaacson?

3. What does Isaacson claim to be George Kennan's biggest concern regarding Soviet Communism?

4. Who was asked to approach President-Elect Kennedy's choice for Secretary of State to offer him the position, according to Isaacson?

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

(see the answer keys)

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