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

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

3. Why was Chester Bowles assigned to a different position?
(a) He had been caught saying embarrassing things on an open mic.
(b) He had quarreled with Bobby Kennedy over who was in charge in Kennedy's absence.
(c) He had disgraced himself by having an affair with one of his pages.
(d) He had leaked confidential information to the press.

4. Whose theories had been used as the basis for expanded militarization in the late 1940s?
(a) George Kennan's.
(b) McGeorge Bundy's.
(c) Robert McNamara's.
(d) Chester Bowles'.

5. What did the Geneva Convention decide in Vietnam?
(a) It sanctioned the north for its attacks on the south.
(b) It determined how prisoners of war would be exchanged.
(c) It divided the country in two, a north and a south.
(d) It established a procedure for holding elections.

Short Answer Questions

1. Whom did Kennedy ask to be Secretary of State instead of Adlai Stevenson?

2. What position did the Kennedy administration take with regard to nuclear disarmament?

3. What was the recommendation that came out of the fact-finding mission of 1961?

4. What family was McGeorge Bundy descended from?

5. Which problem did NOT arise for the Kennedy administration during 1961?

Short Essay Questions

1. What was the Kennedy administration's image with the American people?

2. What did Lovett and Kennedy discuss during their meeting?

3. Who was Frederick Nolting, and what was his role in Vietnam?

4. Who was Dean Rusk, and what was his role and place in the Kennedy administration?

5. What was the Kennedy administration's stance with regard to Russia?

6. What does Halberstam say was Robert McNamara's background before becoming Secretary of Defense?

7. What kind of reports does Halberstam say the U.S. got from Vietnam?

8. Who was Chester Bowles, and what did Kennedy get by tapping Bowles to be an adviser?

9. Who was McGeorge Bundy, and what was his role in the Kennedy administration?

10. What three plans does Halberstam say the U.S. was considering in Vietnam in 1961?

(see the answer keys)

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