Second Midterm

Directions: Do one of the questions found in Part A and one from Part B. All responses should be typed and double-spaced. Total length of the assignment should be no less than seven and no more then ten pages.

PART A:

1. The year is 1946 and you are working in the White House as a young assistant to President Harry S. Truman. You have been tasked by Clark Clifford to write a memorandum to President Truman concerning U.S.-Soviet relations. What would you recommend to President Truman in order to deal with those pesky Russians?

2. There has been growing tensions in the Middle East and it appears that the British are about to cut their loses and abandon Palestine in 1948. As a close advisor to Clark Clifford, what would recommend concerning the independence of Israel. Would you advise President Truman to recognize  Israel and jeopardize American relations with the Arab world or would you oppose American recognition?

3. France was facing a major crisis in Vietnam in 1954 as the Vietminh surrounded a major French base in northern Vietnam. Paris then approached the Eisenhower Administration to determine whether the American government would authorize the use atomic weapons in order to free their forces from Vietminh encirclement. You were asked to attend the meeting between the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs and the French. What would you recommend to President Eisenhower to do? 

PART B

1. What were the origins of the Cold War? Who was responsible for the collapse of the Grand Alliance which defeated the Axis in 1945?

2. What were the reasons that best explain the creation of Israel following World War II? What part did Britain play in the birth of the Israeli state?

3. What were the origins of the Suez Crisis in 1956? What part did the United States play in the crisis? Were there any similarities to the recent war in Iraq?