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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. What did JFK order into the air at all times until the crisis was over?

2. Who told Ambassador Dobrynin about the President's intended speech?

3. What position did John McCloy one hold?

4. Who presented the United States case to the United Nations?

5. What was one recommendation from the military action plan?

Short Essay Questions

1. When was Congress told, and how did Congress react to the news of the Cuban Missile Crisis?

2. Which countries immediately supported the U.S. in the decision for a blockade? Why did JFK favor a blockade over a surgical air strike?

3. How did JFK feel about the reaction from Congress when he informed them about the crisis and his plans?

4. What did Ambassador Dobrynin provide as evidence that USSR would not be a threat to the United States?

5. What personal insights does RFK provide about JFK when they are waiting for news about the first ships meant to reach the blockade?

6. Why did the Intelligence Community not believe Cuba was a threat to the United States?

7. What did the military and JFK do to respond to the submarine situation?

8. How did RFK feel about his fellow members of in Ex Comm?

9. Why does JFK bring up the book The Guns of August by Barbara Tuchman?

10. Why is the "great danger and risk in all of this . . . a miscalculation -- a mistake in judgment" (49)?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

The Munich Agreement/Conference has influenced political decisions for many years since its occurrence. In an essay, describe what happened in Munich and compare and contrast this with the Cuban Missile Crisis. Is the Munich Agreement/Conference still relevant today? How so?

Essay Topic 2

In an essay compare the "hawks" and "doves" from Thirteen Days. What does the symbol mean? Who was a hawk? A dove? How do the symbols help to illustrate their differences?

Essay Topic 3

Cultural allusions are made to Munich and Pearl Harbor. In an essay, identify which of these events most closely resembles the Cuban Missile Crisis. Give details to support your assertions.

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