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

Multiple Choice Questions

1. Which cabinet member was opposed to the Bay of Pigs invasion?
(a) McGeorge Bundy.
(b) Robert McNamara.
(c) Dean Rusk.
(d) Chester Bowles.

2. How many troops were in Vietnam when Kennedy was assassinated?
(a) 200,000.
(b) 20,000.
(c) 3,000.
(d) 5,000.

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

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

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

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

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

8. What did Chester Bowles think was the most important issue to confront?
(a) Race issues.
(b) Military expansion.
(c) Poverty.
(d) Budget cuts.

9. When Kennedy did not authorize more troops, what does Halberstam say he told the Pentagon?
(a) To develop plans to expand the war to Cambodia.
(b) To plan to redeploy combat troops.
(c) To prepare a larger engagement.
(d) To develop an exit strategy.

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

11. What kind of reports does Halberstam say would come from the head of the U.S. command after his 1962 appointment?
(a) Unrealistic reports.
(b) Reports that were imperial propaganda.
(c) Pragmatic and diplomatic reports.
(d) Highly detailed reports.

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

13. Which problem did NOT arise for the Kennedy administration during 1961?
(a) Financial crisis.
(b) Arms race.
(c) Escalation of problems in Laos.
(d) Bay of Pigs invasion.

14. What does Halberstam say was the result of the Chinese Revolution and the McCarthy period?
(a) The U.S. sought out diplomatic solutions.
(b) The U.S. strengthened trade ties in Europe.
(c) The U.S. took an aggressive stance toward Communism.
(d) The U.S. took pre-emptive action against Communism.

15. What measures does Halberstam say Washington, D.C. took when the soldiers dissented over conditions?
(a) They held town hall meeting where soldiers could air their views.
(b) They arrested any soldiers who spoke against the government.
(c) They held Congressional hearings.
(d) They repressed the dissent.

Short Answer Questions

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

2. What mistake had the Kennedy administration made in the Bay of Pigs invasion?

3. Where did the first confrontation take place in Indochina?

4. Why didn't Kennedy offer the position of Secretary of State to McGeorge Bundy?

5. Whom did Robert Lovett recommend to Kennedy for Secretary of Defense?

(see the answer keys)

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