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This test consists of 5 short answer questions, 10 short essay questions, and 1 (of 3) essay topics.

Short Answer Questions

1. When did Kennedy become well known in Washington?

2. What position had Robert Lovett been appointed to in 1947?

3. What does Halberstam say Kennedy had done in response to the meeting with Russians in Vienna?

4. How does Halberstam say Lyndon Johnson felt in the Kennedy administration?

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

Short Essay Questions

1. Whom did Kennedy consider for the position of Secretary of State?

2. Why does Halberstam say Chester Bowles' popularity faded?

3. Describe the confrontation in Laos.

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

5. How did the situation in Vietnam unfold?

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

7. What crises confronted the Kennedy administration in 1961?

8. How did the fall of China and the Cold War affect the Kennedy administration?

9. Describe the atmosphere in America when Kennedy took office.

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

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

How does the containment of the 1960s differ from the preemptive foreign policy of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. How has American foreign policy changed since the 1960s?

Essay Topic 2

John F. Kennedy and Barack Obama share certain similarities, insofar as they were both young and charismatic leaders with relatively little experience, but represented a new way of doing things. Compare and contrast the early political careers and elections of these two presidents. How were they temperamentally similar? How did they relate to the old guard? How were their ascensions different?

Essay Topic 3

Compare and contrast the conditions that led to the coup against Diem and the credibility gap in America. Was the U.S. ripe for a coup the same way that the Diem regime was considered ripe for a coup? What forces were arguing for regime change in America? Why were they ultimately unsuccessful? (Was regime change ultimately what protesters in the U.S. wanted?)

(see the answer keys)

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