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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. Under which president did Dean Acheson serve in the Attorney General's office?

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

3. Where does Isaacson claim George Kennan served the government in lieu of paying the expenses of attending law school?

4. With what country did Bohlen become fascinated during late-night discussions at Harvard?

5. What approach did Wall Street favor regarding the future of Germany's industrial base during plans for the post-war era, according to Isaacson?

Short Essay Questions

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

2. Which of the "Six Wise Men" attended Yale, according to Isaacson?

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

4. What were the circumstances through which John McCloy came into contact with Averell Harriman and Robert Lovett after WWI, according to Isaacson?

5. What does Isaacson claim to be Averell Harriman's view regarding Russia building a tier of states friendly to its system in Eastern Europe?

6. Who does Isaacson identify as the two men that Secretary of War Henry Stimson called the "Heavenly Twins"?

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

8. What does Issacson suggest comes between 20th century isolationism and a utopian dream of a world order based on international law?

9. What were the roles of George Kennan and Chip Bohlen in President Franklin Roosevelt's successful effort to open official diplomatic relations with the Soviet Union in 1933, according to Isaacson?

10. 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?

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

While the "Wise Men" were initiating the policies upon which the Truman Doctrine was based to confront communist expansionism, a high-ranking member of the State Department, Alger Hiss was discovered to have been passing classified documents to Soviet agents. What were the reactions of the "Wise Men" to this fact, and how do the reactions of the "Wise Men" to Hiss' conviction affect your view regarding the Truman Administration's policies regarding the Soviet Union? Use information from the book and other historical references to support your answer.

Essay Topic 3

Averell Harriman and Robert Lovett established lucrative careers in rail roads, investment banking, shipping, and ship building, among other industries. Was the track these two took to influence government policy altruistic toward the benefit of the U.S., or followed for the benefit of the industries that made them powerful? Use details from the book to support your view.

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