View a FREE sample

This test consists of 5 multiple choice questions, 5 short answer questions, and 10 short essay questions.

Multiple Choice Questions

1. Which two countries in Africa did JFK seek support from during the missile crisis?
(a) Algeria and Kenya.
(b) Guinea and Senegal.
(c) Canary Islands and South Africa.
(d) Egypt and Ethiopia.

2. Where did JFK say, "Above all, while defending our own vital interests, nuclear powers must avert those confrontations which bring an adversary to the choice of either a humiliating defeat or a nuclear war" (97)?
(a) Cornell University.
(b) American University.
(c) Princeton University.
(d) Harvard University.

3. What animal does Khrushchev compare Russia and the U.S. to when he says they will be exterminated in the case of a war?
(a) Rats.
(b) Hawkes.
(c) Moles.
(d) Doves.

4. Who was George Ball?
(a) Former Ambassador to Cuba.
(b) The Under Secretary of State.
(c) Chief of Staff.
(d) The Secretary of State.

5. Who was JFK communicating with on a daily basis?
(a) U Thant.
(b) Robert.
(c) The OAS.
(d) Khrushechev.

Short Answer Questions

1. What extended metaphor does Khrushchev use to conclude his letter from October 26th?

2. Who said "war is impossible . . . there is no alternative to peace" (104)?

3. According to Robert in "The importance of placing ourselves in the other country's shoes," why was JFK reluctant to attack the missile sites after a U.S. U-2 was shot down?

4. What was the name of the first ship boarded at the blockade?

5. What does the change in attitude from the letter received on the 26th and the letter received on the 27th suggest?

Short Essay Questions

1. In the letter received October 26th, what does Khrushchev claim is the reason he sent weapons to Cuba?

2. When the crisis was over, why did Kennedy not make a statement assigning credit for the success? And why did he instruct all involved not to provide one either?

3. What did the letter received October 23rd from Khrushchev imply about the U.S. and the repercussions the U.S. may expect?

4. After the Soviet's agree to a stand down, JFK makes an analogy between himself and Abraham Lincoln. What does he say and what does it mean?

5. How was the official letter sent by the Soviets on October 27th different from the letter sent October 26th?

6. What is one example Robert provides of a devil's advocate working?

7. Why does Robert claim that "we cannot be an island even if we wished; nor can we successfully separate ourselves from the rest of the world" (94)?

8. Why did JFK choose the Marucla for the first vessel to be boarded?

9. In the letter drafted by Robert and Sorenson in response to Khrushchev's letter received October 26th, what is the "first ingredient" (79) to a peaceful arrangement? Why?

10. While still in communications with Khrushchev, RFK writes that "both 'hawks' and 'doves' sensed that our combination of limited force and diplomatic efforts had been unsuccessful" (64). What do the symbolic terms "hawks" and "doves" stand for?

(see the answer keys)

This section contains 1,251 words (approx. 5 pages at 300 words per page) View a FREE sample