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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. According to Isaacson, who was the President of the United States who thought Russia could be an ally after WWII?

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

3. What two post-secondary schools does Isaacson report George Kennan attended?

4. What does Isaacson report that John McCloy called, "Something that is worse than anything probably that ever happened in the world"?

5. What does Isaacson claim to the Lovett's and Harriman's most important innovation to the industry for which they were prepared by Judge Lovett?

Short Essay Questions

1. What does Isaacson claim motivated George Kennan to apply for a job with the foreign service?

2. What does Isaacson report that George Kennan believed Marxism offered to Soviet Russian leaders?

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

4. Which of the "Six Wise Men" does Isaacson indicate attended Harvard Law School?

5. How does Isaacson claim that Robert Lovett's father started in his work for E.H. Harriman?

6. What did Isaacson report regarding a meeting between Averell Harriman and Max Beaverbrook that foretold the change in the balance of power between England and the United States?

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

8. What does Isaacson report to be the difference between George Kennan's approach to training for the foreign service and that of Chip Bohlen?

9. Why did Russian soldiers dismantle German factories and send the assets back to their homeland at the end of WWII according to Isaacson?

10. What does Isaacson claim to be Averell Harriman's qualification for Skull and Bones?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Joseph Stalin is very prominent in the development of American foreign policy regarding the Soviet Union. Was American foreign policy developed with regard to American interests or as reactions to Stalin's personality, demands, and aggression against domestic political enemies and satellite states to the Soviet Union? If you choose the answer that policy regarding Stalin's Soviet Union was made in defense of American interests, support your position with evidence from the book and outside sources. If you consider that foreign policy was made as a reaction to Stalin, support your position with evidence and suggest how the government could have acted more for the benefit of the nation.

Essay Topic 2

Harry Truman committed American soldiers to fight the war in Korea without a Congressional declaration. What are the constitutional requirements for committing American soldiers to war? How did the Truman Administration justify the action to Congress? Who benefited from this decision? What have been the long-term effects of using American soldiers to fight undeclared wars beyond the oversight of Congress? Who carries the responsibility for these effects, the presidency or Congress?

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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