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This test consists of 5 short answer questions, 10 short essay questions, and 1 (of 3) essay topics.

Short Answer Questions

1. What does Halberstam say McNamara had done while he was at Ford?

2. When did Kennedy become well known in Washington?

3. Why did Robert Lovett demur about being appointed in the Kennedy administration?

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

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

Short Essay Questions

1. Describe the confrontation in Laos.

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

3. What was the American government's relationship with Diem in 1961?

4. Who was Dean Rusk, and what was his role and place in the Kennedy administration?

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

6. What kind of reports does Halberstam say the U.S. got from Vietnam?

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

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

9. How did the White House eventually try to limit the military?

10. What does Halberstam say was Robert McNamara's background before becoming Secretary of Defense?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Using evidence from Halberstam's text, describe how the Vietnam War affected America's relationship with the community of nations--particularly China and Russia, its Communist foes. What did the Vietnam war do for American interests abroad? How did it affect America's reputation and image?

Essay Topic 2

Using the hindsight gained by "The Best and the Brightest", would you say that the war in Vietnam was a local conflict that could have been left to resolve itself, or would you say that if left unaddressed, Vietnam would have been one of the dominoes in a string of nations the Communists took over? Put another way: would the internal tensions in Vietnam have dogged the Communists just as badly as they dogged the Americans and the American-backed South Vietnamese government, if the Vietcong had ever acquired power there?

Essay Topic 3

John F. Kennedy and Barack Obama share certain similarities, insofar as they were both young and charismatic leaders with relatively little experience, but represented a new way of doing things. Compare and contrast the early political careers and elections of these two presidents. How were they temperamentally similar? How did they relate to the old guard? How were their ascensions different?

(see the answer keys)

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