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This test consists of 5 multiple choice questions, 5 short answer questions, and 10 short essay questions.

Multiple Choice Questions

1. What were Diem and Nhu's politics relative to the Vietnamese population's politics?
(a) Diem and Nhu were more communist than the people.
(b) Diem and Nhu favored market capitalism more than the people did.
(c) Diem and Nhu were more monarchical than Vietnamese typically were.
(d) Diem and Nhu relied on the military to enforce their political will.

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

3. What issue had Kennedy and Dean Rusk had to discuss when Dean Rusk was offered the Secretary of State job?
(a) Rusk's Judaism.
(b) Personal morality.
(c) Family values.
(d) Finances.

4. What had McNamara done by the time he took over as Secretary of Defense?
(a) Reviewed American foreign policy.
(b) Studied and identified the problems at the Pentagon.
(c) Instituted successful reforms at Ford.
(d) Consulted with Kennedy about his goals and methods.

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

Short Answer Questions

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

2. What position did the Kennedy administration take with regard to nuclear disarmament?

3. What did Chester Bowles think was the most important issue to confront?

4. When did the problem with the Buddhist monks begin?

5. What did Robert Lovett represent for Kennedy?

Short Essay Questions

1. What does Halberstam say Kennedy was confronted with at the beginning of "The Best and the Brightest"?

2. What does Halberstam say was McNamara's relationship with Kennedy?

3. What crises confronted the Kennedy administration in 1961?

4. What three plans does Halberstam say the U.S. was considering in Vietnam in 1961?

5. Who was Frederick Nolting, and what was his role in Vietnam?

6. What did Kennedy's representatives report back after their 1961 fact-finding mission?

7. Who was Robert McNamara and what was his role in the formation of Vietnam policy?

8. What was McNamara's stance with regard to nuclear weapons?

9. Why didn't the U.S. gain the loyalty of the Vietnamese peasants?

10. Describe the atmosphere in America when Kennedy took office.

(see the answer keys)

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