View a FREE sample

This test consists of 5 short answer questions, 10 short essay questions, and 1 (of 3) essay topics.

Short Answer Questions

1. What office did President-Elect Kennedy offer to the first of the "Six Wise Men" whose counsel he sought?

2. What does Isaacson report that members of the Truman Administration suggested caused the political opposition to the Truman Doctrine to confront Soviet Communism wherever it was asserted?

3. What State Department official does Isaacson report to have been determined to bring the United States into a "Western Union" military alliance?

4. Why does Isaacson claim MacArthur's plans were blocked?

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

Short Essay Questions

1. How many coups were conducted in Vietnam in less than a year between 1963 and 1964, according to Isaacson?

2. 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?

3. 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?

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Compare and contrast Robert Lovett and Averell Harriman as they used their personal business connections throughout the world to gain access to positions that allowed them to direct government policy. Use details and quotes as they were reported by Isaacson.

Essay Topic 2

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 3

The "Wise Men" made decisions that they knew would have affects on the voting public. Identify three such decisions, the elections that they influenced and the candidates whom they were intended to assist. Use support from the book to validate your positions.

(see the answer keys)

This section contains 928 words (approx. 4 pages at 300 words per page) View a FREE sample