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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 is the reason Isaacson suggests that John McCLoy's mother encouraged him to tutor children of her wealthy clients during summers away from school?

2. What does Isaacson claim to be the purpose of the club that Bohlen joined?

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

4. What does Isaacson claim to be the goal of the "Wise Men"?

5. What does Isaacson suggest was a practical challenge that Truman faced when he began his presidency?

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

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

4. What were the major declarations of the Atlantic Charter, according to Isaacson?

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

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

7. What experience in John McCloy's background does Isaacson claim gave McCloy the exposure to Henry Stimson that eventually led to McCloy's appointment to the Department of War as a special consultant on German espionage?

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

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

10. 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?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Throughout WWII Joseph Stalin was depicted in The Wise Men as an unreliable ally and he was considered a threat to American interests after the war. Yet when the destructiveness of the atom bomb was exposed, members of the Truman Administration considered making the Soviet Union part of a system of regulating the use of the weapon and even considered sharing the technology with the Soviets. What were the reasons for inviting the Soviets to share strategic information regarding atomic weapons with the U.S.? Are these reasons contradictory to the distrust that the six "Wise Men" had for Stalin and the Soviets? How so or how not? Did the eventual development of nuclear weapons in the Soviet Union act to preserve peace or lead to justifications for more military build-up? Explain your answers with information from the book.

Essay Topic 2

George Kennan and Chip Bohlen used their very different personalities and skills to climb the ranks of the foreign service to eventually enter the inner circles of the Roosevelt Administration. Compare and contrast the diverse personalities and skills of Kennan and Bohlen and detail how they complemented each other to become major influences on policies concerning the Soviet Union.

Essay Topic 3

Compare and contrast Robert Lovett and Averell Harriman as they used their personal business connections throughout the world to gain access to positions that allowed them to direct government policy. Use details and quotes as they were reported by Isaacson.

(see the answer keys)

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