Upon taking office, President John Kennedy met the challenges of the Cold War by:
A)  Ordering a buildup of nuclear weapons, modernizing conventional forces, and developing counterinsurgency capabilities.
B)  Withdrawing from American defense commitments such as the Southeast Asian Treaty Organization (SEATO).
C)  Opening relations with the People's Republic of China.
D)  Pursuing Detente with Soviet leader Nikita Khrushchev.
E)  All of the above.
ANSWER: A

Throughout his tenure in office, Kennedy:
A)  Eagerly took up the burden in Vietnam.
B)  Chose a cautious middle course that expanded America's role in Vietnam but kept it limited.
C)  Swung wildly from a desire to shed America of its Vietnam commitment to an insistence on deploying massive numbers of troops to that nation.
D)  Pursued a negotiated solution in South Vietnam.
E)  All of the above.
ANSWER: B

After receiving the Taylor-Rostow report, Kennedy opted to:
A)  Deploy the "logistical task force" General Taylor had first proposed.
B)  Expand the Laos negotiations to include Vietnam.
C)  Begin regular bombing attacks against North Vietnam.
D)  Publicly announce that his administration was washing its hands of South Vietnam.
E)  Approve a limited commitment of aid and advisers.
ANSWER: E

At the battle of Ap Bac in January 1963, South Vietnamese forces:
A)  Used their advanced weapons and mobility to decisively defeat a well-armed NLF battalion.
B)  Suffered a crushing defeat at the hands of a better-equipped Viet Cong force.
C)  Failed to destroy a Viet Cong unit despite overwhelming air and artillery support and a ten-to-one superiority in men.
D)  Occupied a deserted village that the guerrillas had long since abandoned.
E)  Impressed their American advisors with their great bravery under fire.
ANSWER: C

The strategic hamlet program:
A)  Succeeded in protecting the villagers of South Vietnam from attacks by Chinese insurgents.
B)  Was skillfully implemented by the Diem government.
C)  Turned the tide in the struggle for the control of rural South Vietnam.
D)  Proved to be a poorly implemented effort that failed either to incorporate meaningful land reform or to provide sufficient security for village residents.
E)  Greatly interfered with the NLF's efforts to infiltrate rural villages.
ANSWER:  D

Following the May 8, 1963, incident in Hue, Buddhist monks and their supporters protested the Diem government by:
A)  Staging highly publicized self immolations and mass protests.
B)  Waging guerrilla war.
C)  Openly allying with the Viet Cong.
D)  Assassinating high officials and burning down government buildings.
E)  All of the above.
ANSWER: A

In the fall of 1963 the Buddhist crisis and the emerging rift with the Diem government led the Kennedy Administration to:
A)  Give serious consideration to ending America's commitment to South Vietnam.
B)  Drift toward backing coup in South Vietnam despite sharp divisions among top policymakers.
C)  Open direct negations with Hanoi aimed at finding a diplomatic solution to the crisis in South Vietnam.
D)  Support enthusiastically a French neutralization proposal for South Vietnam.
E)  Contemplate a massive American invasion of North Vietnam.
ANSWER: B

With his top advisers sharply divided in October 1963 between those who continued to support Diem and those who advocated his removal, Kennedy:
A)  Sided strongly with Diem supporters such as General Paul Harkins.
B)  Unequivocally backed those who sought Diem's removal from power.
C)  Ignored Vietnam in disgust.
D)  Pursued a truly even-handed compromise policy.
E)  Followed a compromise policy that left matters in Ambassador Lodge's hands and thereby ensured U.S. support for a coup d'etat against Diem.
ANSWER: E

In the aftermath of the November 1, 1963 coup d'etat, Diem and Nhu:
A)  Left South Vietnam for exile under a promise of safe conduct.
B)  Were brutally murdered in the back of an armored personnel carrier.
C)  Fled from South Vietnam with the help of sympathetic American officials such as Ambassador Lodge.
D)  Committed accidental suicide.
E)  Escaped into the jungles of South Vietnam to join the National Liberation Front.
ANSWER: B

During his time as president, John F. Kennedy:
A)  Reduced America's commitment to South Vietnam.
B)  Neither increased nor reduced substantially America's commitment to South Vietnam.
C)  Set in motion a plan for a complete withdrawal from South Vietnam.
D)  Increased America's commitment to South Vietnam dramatically and bequeathed to Lyndon Johnson a problem far more dangerous than the one he had inherited.
E)  Bravely pursued a neutralist solution to the problem of South Vietnam at great political cost.
ANSWER: D