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This test consists of 15 multiple choice questions and 5 short answer questions.

Multiple Choice Questions

1. Which cabinet member was opposed to the Bay of Pigs invasion?
(a) Robert McNamara.
(b) McGeorge Bundy.
(c) Chester Bowles.
(d) Dean Rusk.

2. Which problem did NOT arise for the Kennedy administration during 1961?
(a) Arms race.
(b) Escalation of problems in Laos.
(c) Financial crisis.
(d) Bay of Pigs invasion.

3. What does Halberstam say Americans were united about in the early 1960s?
(a) The need to fight Communism.
(b) The need to grant civil rights.
(c) The need to balance the budget.
(d) The need to establish military supremacy.

4. Why hadn't Roosevelt stopped the French from returning to Indochina after the war, in Halberstam's account?
(a) He did not have the authority to.
(b) He could not get a censure from the United Nations.
(c) He needed France for its support of American monetary policy.
(d) There was no post-war plan to prevent them.

5. What kind of reports does Halberstam say would come from the head of the U.S. command after his 1962 appointment?
(a) Unrealistic reports.
(b) Highly detailed reports.
(c) Reports that were imperial propaganda.
(d) Pragmatic and diplomatic reports.

6. What measures does Halberstam say Washington, D.C. took when the soldiers dissented over conditions?
(a) They arrested any soldiers who spoke against the government.
(b) They held town hall meeting where soldiers could air their views.
(c) They repressed the dissent.
(d) They held Congressional hearings.

7. What issue did Joseph McCarthy use to energize voters?
(a) Communism conspiracies.
(b) Tax cuts.
(c) Civil rights.
(d) Arms reduction.

8. What committee had Kennedy served on in the Senate?
(a) Foreign Relations Committee.
(b) Military Affairs Committee.
(c) Banking and Finance Committee.
(d) Judiciary Committee.

9. Where does Halberstam say McNamara found people to work under him as Secretary of Defense?
(a) Academia.
(b) Boeing.
(c) England.
(d) The auto industry.

10. What did Kennedy represent to Eleanor Roosevelt's followers?
(a) Old guard.
(b) Businessmen.
(c) Foreigners.
(d) The new breed.

11. What were Diem and Nhu's politics relative to the Vietnamese population's politics?
(a) Diem and Nhu were more communist than the people.
(b) Diem and Nhu relied on the military to enforce their political will.
(c) Diem and Nhu favored market capitalism more than the people did.
(d) Diem and Nhu were more monarchical than Vietnamese typically were.

12. What had McNamara done by the time he took over as Secretary of Defense?
(a) Instituted successful reforms at Ford.
(b) Consulted with Kennedy about his goals and methods.
(c) Reviewed American foreign policy.
(d) Studied and identified the problems at the Pentagon.

13. What made McGeorge Bundy an effective administrator?
(a) He did not brook opposition.
(b) He could sense what others were thinking and what they needed.
(c) He listened to others and used their ideas.
(d) He had a rigid sense of principle.

14. Whom did Kennedy ask to be Secretary of State instead of Adlai Stevenson?
(a) Dean Rusk.
(b) Robert McNamara.
(c) McGeorge Bundy.
(d) Chester Bowles.

15. Why didn't Kennedy offer the position of Secretary of State to McGeorge Bundy?
(a) Bundy was too old and conservative.
(b) Bundy had a reputation for saying damaging things off the cuff.
(c) Bundy was a Republican and too young.
(d) Bundy did not have the support of the Jews.

Short Answer Questions

1. What events does Halberstam say affected American perceptions of its global priorities?

2. How did Kennedy's followers feel about Chester Bowles' ideas?

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

4. What issue had Kennedy and Dean Rusk had to discuss when Dean Rusk was offered the Secretary of State job?

5. What was Kennedy in the process of doing at the beginning of the book?

(see the answer keys)

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