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

Multiple Choice Questions

1. How does Halberstam say Dean Rusk felt about his interview with Kennedy for the Secretary of State job?
(a) He felt he had not been articulate enough.
(b) Not well.
(c) Superbly.
(d) He did not know whether he could serve under Kennedy.

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

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

4. Why did the Americans back down on demands for reform in Vietnam in 1962, in Halberstam's account?
(a) Diem had begun to renege on his promises.
(b) They lost confidence that reforms could be implemented.
(c) Diem could not afford reforms.
(d) Reforms had already been accomplished.

5. On which issue does Halberstam say the military lost its battle with the White House?
(a) The use of napalm.
(b) The use of jets.
(c) The commitment of troops.
(d) Bombing in the north.

6. What did the Geneva Convention decide in Vietnam?
(a) It sanctioned the north for its attacks on the south.
(b) It determined how prisoners of war would be exchanged.
(c) It established a procedure for holding elections.
(d) It divided the country in two, a north and a south.

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

8. How long had Ho Chi Minh's communism associations been known to the U.S., in Halberstam's account?
(a) Since 1931.
(b) Since 1941.
(c) Since 1946.
(d) Since 1954.

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

10. Which of these was NOT a point of disagreement between the White House and the military, in Halberstam's account?
(a) The free fire zones.
(b) The commitment of advisers.
(c) The use of napalm.
(d) The use of jets.

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

12. What position had Robert Lovett been appointed to in 1947?
(a) Secretary of State.
(b) Secretary of Defense.
(c) Secretary of the Interior.
(d) Undersecretary of State.

13. What does Halberstam say the U.S. government had to rely on once it had advisers in Vietnam?
(a) Diplomatic accounts from Vietnam.
(b) Reports from the military.
(c) Strategists in the Pentagon.
(d) Reporters and aid workers.

14. 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 seen that the Cuban people were not opposed to Castro.
(d) They had not supplied enough men and material.

15. Why didn't Kennedy offer the position of Secretary of State to McGeorge Bundy?
(a) Bundy was too old and conservative.
(b) Bundy had a reputation for saying damaging things off the cuff.
(c) Bundy was a Republican and too young.
(d) Bundy did not have the support of the Jews.

Short Answer Questions

1. How did the Kennedy administration see the war in Vietnam?

2. What was Kennedy's position on the Cold War policies of his predecessors?

3. What does Halberstam say happened that threatened the relationship between Diem and the Buddhists?

4. What was the logic behind the U.S.'s actions after the 1961 fact-finding mission?

5. How does Halberstam say McNamara learned about the affairs in Vietnam?

(see the answer keys)

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