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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 was the Johnson Administation's plan to settle the Vietnamese conflict rejected, according to Isaacson?

2. What does Isaacson record that Mao claimed to be the source of Chinese soldiers in North Korean combat units?

3. How does Isaacson report that Clark Clifford understood the rivalry between the U.S. and the Soviet Union had to be framed to make the general public support confronting the Communists?

4. Why did Dean Acheson believe the U.S. should get involved in the war between North and South Korea, according to Isaacson?

5. What was the major contributing factor to causing the fate of the "Six Wise Men" after the election of Eisenhower?

Short Essay Questions

1. 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?

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

3. What organization did John McCloy help to form that became the precursor to the European Common Market, according to Isaacson?

4. What Southeast Asian country did President Eisenhower tell President-Elect Kennedy was the "key" to keeping communism from overtaking all of Southeast Asia according to Isaacson?

5. What does Isaacson claim made President Dwight D. Eisenhower's Secretary of State, John Foster Dulles, attractive to the eastern foreign policy Establishment?

6. Why did the Truman Administration consider making an atomic arms control "covenant" with the Soviet Union, according to Isaacson?

7. To what event did President Truman compare the Soviet clampdown on Czechoslavakia in 1948, according to Isaacson?

8. What does Isaacson claim Winston Churchill offered as a suggestion for a solution to Soviet expansionism in his "Iron Curtain" speech in Missouri?

9. 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?

10. According to Isaacson, what caused President Truman to remove General Douglas MacArthur from his command over the conduct of South Korean forces in the Korean War?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

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 2

The Wise Men examines the life long connections of six men and how they shaped America's foreign policy for nearly 40 years. How were the early lives and experiences of the "Wise Men" intertwined and how did their elite upbringing give them access to the seats of power where they were given opportunity to direct American foreign policy?

Essay Topic 3

The "Wise Men" joined President Johnson in taking a hard line on Vietnam and committing more than 500,000 combat soldiers to that war. Why did Vietnam cause the social and political turmoil that overtook the U.S.? What were the human and economic costs of the Vietnam war to the U.S.? Were the positions the "Wise Men" took regarding Vietnam consistent with their record or had they lost some foresightedness of how the war would affect the rest of the country? Use information from the book and outside sources to support your position.

(see the answer keys)

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