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

Multiple Choice Questions

1. Why didn't Kennedy offer the position of Secretary of State to David Bruce?
(a) Bruce was felt to be too conservative.
(b) Bruce was felt to be too old.
(c) Bruce was felt to be too academic.
(d) Bruce was felt to be too young.

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

3. When did Kennedy first send advisers to Vietnam?
(a) June 1963.
(b) October 1961.
(c) February 1962.
(d) May 1962.

4. When Kennedy did not authorize more troops, what does Halberstam say he told the Pentagon?
(a) To prepare a larger engagement.
(b) To develop an exit strategy.
(c) To plan to redeploy combat troops.
(d) To develop plans to expand the war to Cambodia.

5. What does Halberstam say McNamara learned that he had to do in order to argue against nuclear weapons?
(a) Make emotional appeals to the electorate.
(b) Make a good argument for conventional weapons.
(c) Discredit military analysts in favor of nuclear weapons.
(d) Demonize his opponents.

6. What position had Robert Lovett been appointed to in 1947?
(a) Undersecretary of State.
(b) Secretary of Defense.
(c) Secretary of the Interior.
(d) Secretary of State.

7. Which issue was NOT confronting the nation when the Kennedy administration took office?
(a) China policy.
(b) Civil rights.
(c) Reconstruction.
(d) Missiles.

8. Which of these was NOT a point of disagreement between the White House and the military, in Halberstam's account?
(a) The use of napalm.
(b) The commitment of advisers.
(c) The use of jets.
(d) The free fire zones.

9. Whom did Robert Lovett recommend to Kennedy for Secretary of Defense?
(a) McGeorge Bundy.
(b) Dean Rusk.
(c) Robert McNamara.
(d) Chester Bowles.

10. Who was named to head the U.S. command in Saigon in January 1962?
(a) Maxwell Taylor.
(b) Chester Bowles.
(c) Paul Harkins.
(d) Robert McNamara.

11. On which issue does Halberstam say Kennedy compromised with the military?
(a) The use of jets.
(b) Bombing in the north.
(c) Free fire zones.
(d) The use of napalm.

12. What did the fact-finding mission discover at about the time of the problem with the Buddhist monks?
(a) Vast corruption.
(b) The U.S. was unprepared for guerilla warfare.
(c) Diem was not on top of the situation.
(d) The North was expanding its recruitment.

13. What rule does Halberstam say Kennedy was following in trying to appoint a Secretary of State?
(a) Someone who didn't look back at bad decisions, but plowed ahead.
(b) Someone who had not made many mistakes or offended too many people.
(c) Someone who had learned from his mistakes and had diplomatic experience.
(d) Someone who had a strong intuition.

14. How did the Kennedy administration see the war in Vietnam?
(a) As a war against Communism.
(b) As a gift to Asian allies.
(c) As a diversion from domestic problems.
(d) As a boon to the military contractors.

15. What does Halberstam say McNamara tried to do with his fact-finding missions to Vietnam?
(a) Provide a forum for dissenting soldiers.
(b) Publish the truth.
(c) Protect the President.
(d) Conceal the deteriorating conditions.

Short Answer Questions

1. What did the Geneva Convention decide in Vietnam?

2. Why hadn't Roosevelt stopped the French from returning to Indochina after the war, in Halberstam's account?

3. Why didn't Kennedy formulate a China policy, in Halberstam's account?

4. Why does Halberstam say Harkins had a hard time firing one of his people in the Mekong Delta?

5. Whom had Eleanor Roosevelt wanted Kennedy to appoint as Secretary of State?

(see the answer keys)

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