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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. Which president does Isaacson report Dean Acheson served as Assistant Secretary of State?

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

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

4. How did George Kennan develop his connection to Russia according to Isaacson?

5. What event does Isaacson claim caused tension between the U.S., Britain, and their Soviet Allies?

Short Essay Questions

1. After WWI, how does Isaacson show Averell Harriman's process of making business deals with Leon Trotsky of Communist Russia?

2. 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?

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

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

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

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

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

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

10. What does Isaacson claim to be the "warning" issued through the Potsdam proclamation by the Allied Powers to Japan regarding the dropping of the atomic bomb?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

The Soviet Union was an ally of Nazi Germany before the U.S. entered WWII, but sought out U.S. and British support after Germany invaded it. Use details from the book that suggest:

a. American support for enemies of Nazi Germany was bringing America to the brink of the European war.

b. The Soviets would manipulate the alliance with the U.S. and Britain for their own benefit.

c. How the war time alliance between the Soviet Union and the U.S. foretold conflict for the future.

Essay Topic 2

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 3

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?

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