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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. How did John McCloy come into contact with Averell Harriman and Robert Lovett?

2. After Roosevelt and Churchill made their agreement, what became the responsibility of Averell Harriman?

3. What was one of the first challenges facing the Truman Administration in dealing with the Soviet Union after WWII, according to Isaacson?

4. According to Isaacson, what event took place between Harriman and the person with whom he was sharing responsibility that foreshadowed the role of the two countries they represented in their places in Western leadership?

5. Which of the six "Wise Men" does Isaacson report Roosevelt's Secretary of War asked to work on German espionage?

Short Essay Questions

1. What does Isaacson report to be a prerequisite for being tapped for Skull and Bones at Yale?

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

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

4. 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?

5. How did Averell Harriman and Robert Lovett come to work together after WWI, according to Isaacson?

6. Where does Isaacson report Dean Acheson started his career after WWI?

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

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

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

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

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Much of what the "Wise Men" helped to develop during the Cold War (NATO, the CIA, foreign aid spending, the military industrial complex) still exists today despite the fact that the Soviet Union collapsed in 1989 and China has abandoned communism as an economic and governing model. Consider how these institutions and strategies are being used in the "War on Terror," and the reasons current leaders say this is a necessary global war and compare them to claims of the "Wise Men" for confronting the global threat of communism. Use evidence in the book and from outside sources in this comparison give your opinion on one of three options:

a. The efforts of the "Wise Men" to develop the tools to protect America's interests around the world were for the sake of the people of the U.S. and they are still being used for the same today.

b. The intentions of the "Wise Men" were to protect the U.S. but they have recently been used to expand the power of people in the government over the lives of American citizens.

c. The "Wise Men" used their access to the foreign policy bureaucracy to draw power to themselves and the foreign policy establishment and they continue to be so used today.

Essay Topic 2

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?

Essay Topic 3

The "Wise Men" made decisions that they knew would have affects on the voting public. Identify three such decisions, the elections that they influenced and the candidates whom they were intended to assist. Use support from the book to validate your positions.

(see the answer keys)

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