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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. Why does Isaacson suggest Joseph Stalin of the Soviet Union and Mao Tse Tung of China gave support to North Korea's invasion of South Korea?

2. When had Dean Acheson worked with Secretary of State George Marshall, prior to Marshall's appointment to the State Department, according to Isaacson?

3. How did Isaacson claim Acheson described the division of the world between the United States and the Soviet Union during the crisis facing Greece and Turkey?

4. Who was the Republican upon whom the Truman Administration focused to win support for the Marshall Plan, according to Isaacson?

5. What does Isaacson suggest shaped President Johnson's views on dealing with Soviet Communism?

Short Essay Questions

1. What does Isaacson report to be the entry into the logbook of the Enola Gay to record the dropping of the atomic bomb over Hiroshima?

2. What did Isaacson identify as George Kennan's recommended next phase for dealing with communist expansionism after he felt that his plan for containment was working?

3. What was the focus of George Kennan's "Long Telegram" according to Isaacson?

4. What does Isaacson report to have been General Douglas MacArthur's proposal to stop the flow of Chinese Soldiers into the war between North and South Korea?

5. What does Isaacson claim Clark Clifford wrote in a campaign strategy memo regarding the affect of the Soviet clampdown on Czechoslovakia on the reelection chances of President Truman?

6. Who did President Kennedy choose to act as his chief negotiator at the International Control Commission talks on Laos, according to Isaacson?

7. Who were the first two of the "Six Wise Men" to remove themselves from advising President Johnson because they could no longer support America's involvement in Vietnam, according to Isaacson?

8. What does Isaacson report to be the concern of Robert Lovett regarding the operations of the CIA under President Eisenhower?

9. Why does Isaacson suggest that Dean Acheson recommended Dean Rusk to President-Elect Kennedy for Secretary of State?

10. What was the suggestion that Dean Acheson made regarding the future of freedom if Turkey and Greece fell into the influence of Soviet Communism, according to Isaacson?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Isaacson on several occasions throughout The Wise Men suggests that the "Wise Men" and various leaders in the government were fighting against "isolationist" desires of the general public and various political leaders. What evidence does Isaacson offer to support the idea that "isolationism" was a threat to America's future, and how did the internationalism of the "Wise Men" affect them and the country?

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

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.

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