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

Multiple Choice Questions

1. On which issue does Halberstam say Kennedy compromised with the military?
(a) Bombing in the north.
(b) Free fire zones.
(c) The use of jets.
(d) The use of napalm.

2. How does Halberstam say Lyndon Johnson felt in the Kennedy administration?
(a) He felt like a socialist among capitalists.
(b) He felt like a relic of previous administrations.
(c) He felt like a teacher among his students.
(d) He felt like a midwesterner among East-coast men.

3. What events does Halberstam say affected American perceptions of its global priorities?
(a) The tension over civil rights in America.
(b) The escalation of the Cold War and the fall of China.
(c) The agitation of labor unions in America and Europe.
(d) The revolution in Cuba.

4. Whose input did the French and Americans ignore about Vietnam, in Halberstam's account?
(a) Generals.
(b) Military advisers.
(c) Lower-level officers.
(d) Diplomats.

5. What does Halberstam say was the state of tensions within the White House as involvement in Vietnam escalated?
(a) Anyone who disagreed with Kennedy was removed.
(b) Long and open debates brought new ideas to the policies.
(c) Aides gathered around Kennedy's will.
(d) There were many disagreements.

6. Where was the war going badly, at the time when the White House was losing faith in Diem?
(a) Around Saigon.
(b) In Quang Nam.
(c) In Pleiku.
(d) In the Mekong Delta.

7. How big a margin did Kennedy win the presidency by?
(a) 500,000 votes.
(b) 100,000 votes.
(c) 1.5 million votes.
(d) 1,000,000 votes.

8. What does Halberstam say was the result of the Thanksgiving Day Massacre?
(a) Averell Harriman was named Assistant Secretary of State for Far Eastern Affairs.
(b) Kennedy increased the number of troops in Vietnam.
(c) Maxwell Taylor was removed from his position.
(d) Troops were withdrawn from the Mekong Delta.

9. What did the fact-finding mission discover at about the time of the problem with the Buddhist monks?
(a) The U.S. was unprepared for guerilla warfare.
(b) Diem was not on top of the situation.
(c) The North was expanding its recruitment.
(d) Vast corruption.

10. What does Halberstam say Americans were disunited about in the early 1960s?
(a) How to go about fighting Communism.
(b) How to balance the budget.
(c) How to reduce nuclear weapons.
(d) How to establish peace.

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

12. What position did the Kennedy administration take with regard to nuclear disarmament?
(a) Kennedy wanted to reduce the number of nuclear weapons to a reasonable number.
(b) Kennedy wanted to show Kruschev that he was tough.
(c) Kennedy wanted to make sure that the U.S. and Russia had comparable arsenals.
(d) Kennedy wanted to eliminate nuclear weapons altogether.

13. Why didn't Kennedy offer the position of Secretary of State to David Bruce?
(a) Bruce was felt to be too conservative.
(b) Bruce was felt to be too young.
(c) Bruce was felt to be too academic.
(d) Bruce was felt to be too old.

14. What did Kennedy ask Chester Bowles for advice on?
(a) Military analysis.
(b) Budget cuts.
(c) Foreign policy.
(d) Campaigning.

15. Whom did Robert Lovett recommend to Kennedy for Secretary of State?
(a) Chester Bowles.
(b) McGeorge Bundy.
(c) Dean Rusk.
(d) Robert McNamara.

Short Answer Questions

1. Which situation had the biggest effect on the Kennedy administration in 1961?

2. Why does Halberstam say Harkins had a hard time firing one of his people in the Mekong Delta?

3. Why was Chester Bowles assigned to a different position?

4. What does Halberstam say was the result of the Chinese Revolution and the McCarthy period?

5. Why hadn't Roosevelt stopped the French from returning to Indochina after the war, in Halberstam's account?

(see the answer keys)

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