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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 did the Americans back down on demands for reform in Vietnam in 1962, in Halberstam's account?

2. What did Chester Bowles think was the most important issue to confront?

3. Who was named to head the U.S. command in Saigon in January 1962?

4. What does Halberstam say was the sense in the Kennedy administration as they came into office?

5. Why didn't Kennedy offer the position of Secretary of State to David Bruce?

Short Essay Questions

1. Why does Halberstam say Chester Bowles' popularity faded?

2. Who was Chester Bowles, and what did Kennedy get by tapping Bowles to be an adviser?

3. What kind of reports does Halberstam say the U.S. got from Vietnam?

4. Describe U.S. engagements in Vietnam in the 1950s.

5. Describe Vietnam's problems with the Buddhist monks.

6. What were Americans beginning to say with regard to Diem after the Buddhist monk problems began?

7. What does Halberstam say Kennedy was confronted with at the beginning of "The Best and the Brightest"?

8. Why didn't the U.S. gain the loyalty of the Vietnamese peasants?

9. Who was Kennedy, and how did he become well known?

10. What did Lovett and Kennedy discuss during their meeting?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Compare and contrast the strategies of Robert McNamara and General Westmoreland for bombing and search-and-destroy missions. What were the costs and benefits of either approach to the war against the Vietcong? Were they complementary, or did they work at cross-purposes?

Essay Topic 2

Argue for the appropriateness or the inappropriateness of executive secrecy as it was used during the Johnson administration. What factors and evidence mitigates the need for executive transparency? What factors and evidence makes transparency an absolute requirement?

Essay Topic 3

Compare and contrast John F. Kennedy and Lyndon Johnson's strategies for handling the war in Vietnam. How did they negotiate the complex mixture of voices within the U.S. government in similar ways? How were they different? How did the changes in conditions in the U.S. and in Vietnam account for Johnson's different strategies?

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