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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. Where does Halberstam say McNamara found people to work under him as Secretary of Defense?

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

3. Whose theories had been used as the basis for expanded militarization in the late 1940s?

4. What does Halberstam say Kennedy had done in response to the meeting with Russians in Vienna?

5. What does Halberstam say was Robert McNamara's role in the White House policy discussions?

Short Essay Questions

1. Why does Halberstam say Chester Bowles' popularity faded?

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

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

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

5. Who was Chester Bowles, and what did Kennedy get by tapping Bowles to be an adviser?

6. What were Americans beginning to say with regard to Diem after the Buddhist monk problems began?

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

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

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

10. What did Lovett and Kennedy discuss during their meeting?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Compare and contrast the strategies of Robert McNamara and General Westmoreland for bombing and search-and-destroy missions. What were the costs and benefits of either approach to the war against the Vietcong? Were they complementary, or did they work at cross-purposes?

Essay Topic 2

Compare and contrast John F. Kennedy and Lyndon Johnson's strategies for handling the war in Vietnam. How did they negotiate the complex mixture of voices within the U.S. government in similar ways? How were they different? How did the changes in conditions in the U.S. and in Vietnam account for Johnson's different strategies?

Essay Topic 3

What lessons did the U.S. learn from the Bay of Pigs invasion, and how were these lessons visible in the planning for military campaigns in Vietnam? Did the Bay of Pigs invasion sour the U.S. war planners on relying on local forces? Did it foster the argument for bombing instead of troops on the ground?

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