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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. Who said, "You are in a pretty bad fix, Mr. President" (29)?
(a) General LeMay.
(b) John F. Kennedy.
(c) Robert F. Kennedy.
(d) General Shoup.

2. Who sent messages praising Russia and castigating the U.S.?
(a) Ted Sorensen.
(b) David Ormsby Gore.
(c) Bertrand Russell.
(d) Fidel Castro.

3. What did JFK ask in a letter to Khrushchev after ordering the blockade?
(a) All shipes to turn back.
(b) All missiles to be handed over.
(c) For Khrushchev to observe the quarantine.
(d) For Khrushchev to leave Berlin out of their deliberations.

4. How long before the President's address to the nation did they tell the ambassador of Russia?
(a) Five minutes.
(b) An hour.
(c) One day.
(d) Twelve hours.

5. What did JFK read aloud at a meeting with a Russian representative?
(a) Khrushchev's statement from September 19th.
(b) The Declaration of Independence.
(c) The Bible.
(d) His own statement from September 4th.

Short Answer Questions

1. What does "Ex Comm" stand for?

2. What disturbing news increased the danger of intercepting a Russian ship?

3. When Robert meets with Dobrynin after the blockade is put into effect, what does Dobrynin say the ships will do?

4. Who was concerned about how the U.S. would convince the rest of the world that the blockade was necessary and legal?

5. What did JFK order into the air at all times until the crisis was over?

Short Essay Questions

1. Which countries immediately supported the U.S. in the decision for a blockade? Why did JFK favor a blockade over a surgical air strike?

2. What personal insights does RFK provide about JFK when they are waiting for news about the first ships meant to reach the blockade?

3. Why does JFK bring up the book The Guns of August by Barbara Tuchman?

4. Why does RFK defend Adlai Stevenson's suggestion?

5. What was one argument against a blockade?

6. What distinguishes Thirteen Days as a memoir (besides the subtitle) and not just an autobiography?

7. What did the military and JFK do to respond to the submarine situation?

8. What did Adlai Stevenson suggest was a third option for the President to consider? Why was it rejected?

9. How did the US obtain their information about Russian activity in Cuba?

10. What did Ambassador Dobrynin provide as evidence that USSR would not be a threat to the United States?

(see the answer keys)

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