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

Multiple Choice Questions

1. What does Halberstam say McNamara learned that he had to do in order to argue against nuclear weapons?
(a) Make a good argument for conventional weapons.
(b) Make emotional appeals to the electorate.
(c) Discredit military analysts in favor of nuclear weapons.
(d) Demonize his opponents.

2. How does Halberstam say Dean Rusk felt in the Kennedy administration?
(a) He felt like the smartest of the bunch.
(b) He felt like the spokesman of the party.
(c) He always felt like an outsider.
(d) He felt like a new kid without enough respect.

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

4. What were Eleanor Roosevelt's feelings about Kennedy?
(a) She did not entirely trust him.
(b) She admired his leadership.
(c) She resented his inexperience.
(d) She distrusted his Catholicism.

5. What did Robert Lovett represent for Kennedy?
(a) A connection with the opposition.
(b) A brilliant theoretical thinker.
(c) A bright new talent.
(d) A link to previous administrations.

6. What did Kennedy represent to Eleanor Roosevelt's followers?
(a) The new breed.
(b) Businessmen.
(c) Old guard.
(d) Foreigners.

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

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

9. Which issue was NOT confronting the nation when the Kennedy administration took office?
(a) Civil rights.
(b) Reconstruction.
(c) China policy.
(d) Missiles.

10. Where does Halberstam say McNamara found people to work under him as Secretary of Defense?
(a) England.
(b) Boeing.
(c) The auto industry.
(d) Academia.

11. Why did Robert Lovett demur about being appointed in the Kennedy administration?
(a) He was newly a father.
(b) He did not like Kennedy.
(c) He had health problems.
(d) He was in financial trouble.

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

13. What was Kennedy in the process of doing at the beginning of the book?
(a) Assembling an administration.
(b) Serving on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.
(c) Winning the election for president.
(d) Campaigning for president.

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

15. When did Kennedy become well known in Washington?
(a) When he first entered politics.
(b) In his race for Senate.
(c) In the 1960 campaign.
(d) During the Cuban Missile Crisis.

Short Answer Questions

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

2. When did Kennedy first send advisers to Vietnam?

3. On which issue does Halberstam say Kennedy compromised with the military?

4. Whose input did the French and Americans ignore about Vietnam, in Halberstam's account?

5. What had McNamara done by the time he took over as Secretary of Defense?

(see the answer keys)

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