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

2. 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 develop an exit strategy.
(d) To prepare a larger engagement.

3. What issue did Joseph McCarthy use to energize voters?
(a) Arms reduction.
(b) Civil rights.
(c) Tax cuts.
(d) Communism conspiracies.

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

5. What family was McGeorge Bundy descended from?
(a) The New York Blisses.
(b) The Roosevelts.
(c) The Rockefellers.
(d) The New England Lowells.

Short Answer Questions

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

2. What were Eleanor Roosevelt's feelings about Kennedy?

3. What does Halberstam say Americans were united about in the early 1960s?

4. What were Diem and Nhu's politics relative to the Vietnamese population's politics?

5. What does Halberstam say was the state of tensions within the White House as involvement in Vietnam escalated?

Short Essay Questions

1. What was the Kennedy administration's stance with regard to Russia?

2. Who was Kennedy, and how did he become well known?

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

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

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

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

7. Who was McGeorge Bundy, and what was his role in the Kennedy administration?

8. How did the fall of China and the Cold War affect the Kennedy administration?

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

10. Describe Vietnam's problems with the Buddhist monks.

(see the answer keys)

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