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This test consists of 15 multiple choice questions and 5 short answer questions.

Multiple Choice Questions

1. When did Kennedy first send advisers to Vietnam?
(a) June 1963.
(b) May 1962.
(c) February 1962.
(d) October 1961.

2. Why does Halberstam say Harkins had a hard time firing one of his people in the Mekong Delta?
(a) He was discouraged from using his authority.
(b) He was told that there would be too many repercussions.
(c) He knew the person needing to be fired personally.
(d) He was told that everything was under control there.

3. Why didn't Kennedy offer the position of Secretary of State to J. William Fulbright?
(a) Fulbright was too old and conservative.
(b) Fublright was too young and inexperienced.
(c) Fulbright had some unresolved scandals in his past.
(d) Fulbright did not have the support of Negroes or Jews.

4. What policy did Rostow support in Vietnam?
(a) A policy of rapprochement.
(b) An aggressive anti-Communist policy.
(c) An appeasement policy.
(d) Battleship diplomacy.

5. When did the problem with the Buddhist monks begin?
(a) March 1961.
(b) April 1962.
(c) November 1962.
(d) May 1963.

6. Whom did Kennedy ask to be Secretary of State instead of Adlai Stevenson?
(a) Chester Bowles.
(b) Dean Rusk.
(c) McGeorge Bundy.
(d) Robert McNamara.

7. How did McNamara achieve his goals while he was at Ford?
(a) He inspired his underlings with rhetoric.
(b) He used a bonus system.
(c) He intimidated his inferiors.
(d) He got his people to compete against each other.

8. What mistake had the Kennedy administration made in the Bay of Pigs invasion?
(a) They had not checked the weather for the invasion.
(b) They had underestimated the logistical difficulties of a landing.
(c) They had not supplied enough men and material.
(d) They had not seen that the Cuban people were not opposed to Castro.

9. What rule does Halberstam say Kennedy was following in trying to appoint a Secretary of State?
(a) Someone who had not made many mistakes or offended too many people.
(b) Someone who had learned from his mistakes and had diplomatic experience.
(c) Someone who had a strong intuition.
(d) Someone who didn't look back at bad decisions, but plowed ahead.

10. What had Robert Lovett been before entering government?
(a) An investment banker.
(b) An insurance salesman.
(c) An automobile executive.
(d) A career military officer.

11. What was Kennedy's position on the Cold War policies of his predecessors?
(a) He was going to end them.
(b) He was going to improve on them.
(c) He was going to continue them.
(d) He did not want to follow them.

12. What does Halberstam say was the sense in the Kennedy administration as they came into office?
(a) They were going to continue the country's prosperity.
(b) They were going to institute a new era of peace.
(c) They were going to get the country moving again.
(d) They were going to conquer the Russians.

13. How did Kennedy's followers feel about Chester Bowles' ideas?
(a) They were looking for ways to follow them.
(b) They were antithetical to them.
(c) They did not appreciate them.
(d) They were inspired by them.

14. What was the logic behind the U.S.'s actions after the 1961 fact-finding mission?
(a) Further delay would defuse the situation.
(b) Wait for the Vietnamese elections.
(c) A show of force would intimidate the Vietcong.
(d) Inaction would allow trade to develop.

15. What does Halberstam say McNamara tried to do with his fact-finding missions to Vietnam?
(a) Conceal the deteriorating conditions.
(b) Protect the President.
(c) Publish the truth.
(d) Provide a forum for dissenting soldiers.

Short Answer Questions

1. What does Halberstam say was the result of the Thanksgiving Day Massacre?

2. What does Halberstam say the U.S. government had to rely on once it had advisers in Vietnam?

3. How many soldiers had the U.S. sent to Vietnam in its first commitment of troops?

4. How does Halberstam say Dean Rusk felt about his interview with Kennedy for the Secretary of State job?

5. What did Kennedy ask Chester Bowles for advice on?

(see the answer keys)

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