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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. What was a personal factor that made the "Six Wise Men" unpopular to the general public, according to Isaacson?

2. What does Isaacson report to be the entry in the Enola Gay log book by co-pilot Robert Lewis after the explosion of the atomic bomb over Hiroshima?

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

4. Who does Isaacson claim Dean Acheson supported for the 1960 Democrat Presidential Nomination?

5. What was the only concession the Japanese requested for its surrender to end WWII, according to Isaacson?

Short Essay Questions

1. How did President Truman respond to the North Korean invasion of South Korea on June 24, 1950, according to Isaacson?

2. What does Isaacson claim to be Stalin's reaction to the Marshall Plan?

3. 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?

4. What scandal does Isaacson report to have come to the Truman Administration's state department in January 1950?

5. What affect did the Soviet aggression in Czechoslovakia have on Truman's effort to win Congressional approval of the Marshall Plan, according to Isaacson?

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

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

8. What was Dean Acheson's view regarding America's involvement in Vietnam, according to Isaacson?

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

10. How does Isaacson explain the changes in the military policy of the Truman Administration once it became clear the Soviet Union had nuclear weapons?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Isaacson clearly takes a complementary view of the six "Wise Men." Consider the total effects of their influence from the past to the present. Do you agree with his assessment? Is Isaacson's perspective justified? Is his view reflective of political or social affinities? Who most benefited from the influence of the "Wise Men"? Who, if anyone suffered? Were the six individuals on whom The Wise Men focuses really wise? Use information from the book and research on relevant events from history and current events to support your answers.

Essay Topic 2

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 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.

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