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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. How does Halberstam say the U.S. spun the Gulf of Tonkin incident?

2. How does Halberstam say Kennedy was feeling about the war at the beginning of Chapter 15?

3. What does Halberstam say was the military's opinion after the start of Rolling Thunder?

4. What does Halberstam say was the outcome of the report on the bombing attacks?

5. What did the code 34A stand for in the White House?

Short Essay Questions

1. What happened during the Gulf of Tonkin incident?

2. What happened to Diem and Nhu during the coup?

3. Describe what Halberstam calls 'the Bundy trip' to Vietnam.

4. What issues were discussed as there started to be struggles over Vietnam strategy in mid-1965?

5. What does Halberstam say the effect of the Vietnam war on the American people was?

6. What does Halberstam say began to change in early 1964?

7. What was the public story of the Gulf of Tonkin incident, and what was the truth?

8. What does Halberstam say was Johnson's approach to paying for the war?

9. What were the questions people were asking on the issue of bombing the North?

10. What happened during the second Gulf of Tonkin incident?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

What kind of administrative or bureaucratic changes could have helped the war effort in Vietnam? Specifically, how could U.S. commanders have ensured that accurate information flowed unimpeded from troops and analysts in Vietnam to military planners in the U.S.? What factors in the military or political establishment created this problem?

Essay Topic 2

Analyzing the evidence from Halberstam's text, describe the change that took place in American minds as a result of the Vietnam War. Put another way: Compare and contrast the administrations that preceded Kennedy's administration, and the Nixon administration, which followed the Johnson administration. How does Halberstam describe the different cultures that existed before and after the Vietnam war?

Essay Topic 3

Did the Vietnam War mark a change in American ideology? Was the concept of natural rights changed or abandoned? Was Vietnam a war like other wars America had fought, or was it unprecedented? How did the U.S. government's response to the opposition to the war change the nature of citizenship and political activity in America?

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