Vietnam has a centuries-old tradition of resisting foreign domination. Who among the following led early efforts to win independence from China?
A. The Trung Sisters.
B. Tran Hung Dao.
C. Trieu Au.
D. All of the above.
ANSWER: D

During World War II, Ho Chi Minh and his Vietminh organization developed the strategy that would eventually force the French out of Vietnam. It included:
A. Emphasizing the Vietminh's commitment to Communism and social revolution.
B. Tapping Vietnamese nationalism, promising independence, and pledging democratic reforms.
C. Fighting other nationalist groups.
D. Collaborating with the Japanese.
E. All of the above.
ANSWER: B

This organization helped Ho Chi Minh wage guerrilla war against the Japanese during World War II:
A. The Office of Strategic Services (OSS).
B. The Central Intelligence Agency (CIA).
C. The KGB.
D. The Chinese Nationalist government.
E. The British Secret Service.
ANSWER: A

The French government sought to reassert its authority in Indochina following World War II for which of the following reasons:
A. Control of Indochina would restore France's faltering prestige.
B. Indochina possessed valuable oil reserves.
C. The French government feared that Vietnam would fall into anarchy in the absence of French rule.
D. Continued French control of Indochina would prevent the USSR from dominating Southeast Asia.
E. All of the above.
ANSWER: A

In the late 1940s, Truman Administration policymakers abandoned America's earlier opposition to continued French control of Indochina because:
A. They viewed the colonial system as the best way to assist developing regions.
B. They wanted to maintain good relations with Paris in order to ensure that France would continue to help contain Soviet power in Europe.
C. Ongoing French control facilitated American economic penetration of Vietnam.
D. France promised to grant independence to Vietnam by 1950.
E. All of the above.
ANSWER: B

American officials determined that they could not support Ho Chi Minh for the following reason:
A. His close ties with Chinese Nationalist leader Chiang Kai-shek.
B. His steadfast refusal to promise tax-free monopolies for U.S. imports.
C. His deeply held Communist beliefs.
D. His refusal to accept American military aid in 1947.
ANSWER: C

In 1950, this leader agreed to send military advisors to assist the Vietminh guerrillas:
A. Joseph Stalin.
B. Jawaharlal Nehru.
C. Chiang Kai-shek.
D. Mao Zedong.
E. Josep Tito.
ANSWER: D

In 1950, the Truman Administration shifted from pro-French neutrality to outright support for Paris in its war with the Vietminh because of:
A. Heightened Cold War fears in the wake of the Soviet Union's detonation of an atomic bomb in 1949.
B. The Communists' victory in the Chinese civil war.
C. The strong realization that the loss of further territory to Communism would come at a steep domestic political price.
D. The belief that the fall of Indochina to Communism would force resource-starved Japan into the Communist Bloc.
E. All of the above.
ANSWER: E

The Domino Theory held that:
A. The fall of Indochina to Communism would rapidly lead to Communist domination of all of Southeast Asia.
B. Southeast Asian nations would stand up to Communism like a wall of dominos.
C. The fall of Indochina to Communism would have little impact on other nations in the region.
D. All of the above.
ANSWER: A

The Bao Dai government that France established in 1950 was notable because:
A. It was Vietnam's first truly independent, post-colonial government.
B. American officials unequivocally supported it.
C. It was a puppet government designed to obscure continued direct French control of Vietnam.
D. It was a compromise solution that enjoyed the strong support of Ho Chi Minh
E. All of the above.
ANSWER: B

As did their predecessors in the Truman Administration, top officials in the Eisenhower Administration viewed Ho Chi Minh as:
A. An instrument of the international Communist movement.
B. A brilliant political philosopher.
C. A well-meaning but misguided man.
D. A strong nationalist leader who also happened to be a Communist.
E. Vietnam's George Washington.
ANSWER: A

 

General Vo Nguyen Giap's Vietminh troops won a decisive victory over French forces in 1954 at:
A. Saigon.
B. Ap Bac.
C. Hanoi.
D. Dien Bien Phu.
E. Khe Sanh.
ANSWER: D

Congressional leaders conditioned their approval of U.S. intervention to save the French garrison at Dien Bien Phu on:
A. A willingness to accompany action with meaningful negotiations.
B. An Administration promise to intervene with large numbers of American ground troops.
C. Prior commitments from allies such as Great Britain to support intervention.
D. Nuclear attacks on Communist Chinese troops.
E. All of the above.
ANSWER: A

At an April 7, 1954 news conference, President Eisenhower argued that the U.S. needed to prevent the fall of Vietnam to Communism because:
A. A Communist victory in Vietnam would result in other nation's falling to Communism like a "row of dominoes."
B. Victory in Vietnam would permit the Vietminh to launch large-scale conventional attacks against neighboring non-Communist states such as Thailand and Cambodia.
C. The inclusion of Vietnam's awesome industrial base in the Communist Bloc would tip the global balance of power in Moscow's favor.
D. European security depended on continued access to Vietnam's markets.
ANSWER: A
 

The Geneva Accords of 1954 included all of the following EXCEPT:
A. A temporary partition of Vietnam at the seventeenth parallel for the regrouping of military forces.
B. Reunification elections scheduled for the summer of 1956.
C. Stipulations that neither North Vietnam nor South Vietnam would join a military alliance.
D. Assurances from Ho Chi Minh that he would abandon Communism in exchange for American recognition.
E. The establishment of a Communist state in North Vietnam.
ANSWER: B

In light of the decisive Vietminh victory at Dien Bien Phu the day before it started, the Geneva Conference was:
A. A serious diplomatic defeat for the United States.
B. A great victory for France in its quest to restore its colonial empire.
C. A qualified success for the U.S.
D. A decisive triumph for the Vietminh.
ANSWER: A

Following the Geneva Conference, President Eisenhower and Secretary of State John Foster Dulles concluded that America would succeed in containing Communism in Indochina where France had failed because:
A. American troops were better equipped than their French counterparts.
B. The U.S. was trying to foster nationalism in Vietnam whereas the French had sought to perpetuate colonialism.
C. American nuclear superiority would permit Washington to dictate terms to Ho Chi Minh.
D. American economic aid could buy off the Vietnamese Communists.
ANSWER: C



From 1955-1961, the vast majority of American assistance to South Vietnam went toward:
A. Establishing a viable, democratic government based on majority rule.
B. Creating a strong army to counter North Vietnam's powerful military.
C. Spreading American values among South Vietnam's impoverished peasants.
D. Building a modern industrial economy.
ANSWER: C

 

Diem used his political philosophy-"personalism"-to:
A. Bring together Vietnam's many diverse ethnic groups.
B. Build popular support for democratic values.
C. Justify absolute state control and his belief that the ruling elite should determine the general welfare.
D. Rationalize opening a dialog with Ho Chi Minh.
ANSWER: C

The "reeducation centers" that Diem established in the late 1950s:
A. Imprisoned thousands of Communists and non-Communists, and helped fuel steadily increasing discontent in South Vietnam.
B. Affected only a handful of people.
C. Won the loyalty of "stay-behind" Communists through free education and the extension of rural aid.
D. Were the centerpiece of Diem's effort to achieve full literacy in South Vietnam by 1965.
ANSWER: A

Despite South Vietnam's vulnerability, Hanoi chose not to pursue reunification in the late 1950s because:
A. Periodic border skirmishes with China compelled North Vietnam to station most of its troops on its northern border.
B. Hanoi feared that America would respond to any aggression with nuclear weapons.
C. Ho Chi Minh believed that Vietnam should only be reunified by peaceful means.
D. Hanoi faced daunting postwar reconstruction and nation-building problems including popular resistance to its program of land reform.
E. All of the above.
ANSWER: D

 

Diem's "agroville" program proved to be:
A. A stunning success that rallied the peasants to the government and thereby eroded support for the National Liberation Front (NLF).
B. A complete flop that bred widespread resentment among peasants angry at being removed from their homes and separated from the sacred burial grounds of their ancestors.
C. A well-funded but poorly administered program that produced mixed results.
D. Popular with South Vietnam's rural people, but a failure because of insufficient government support.
E. More successful politically than economically.
ANSWER: B



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

 

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 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

 

President Johnson refused to grant a Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) request for direct American air and ground operations in early 1964 because:
A. He felt that direct American participation in the conflict would lead the South Vietnamese to let the United States fight the war for them.
B. He had little enthusiasm for getting involved in a land war in Asia.
C. Such a course would threaten his ambitious social agenda.
D. American participation in Vietnam would result in hostile propaganda throughout the world.
E. All of the above.
ANSWER: E

 

President Johnson used the Tonkin Gulf incident to:
A. Press for a complete reappraisal of America's Vietnam policy.
B. Begin a sustained bombing campaign against North Vietnam.
C. Bring alleged North Vietnamese aggression to the attention of the United Nations.
D. Win Congressional approval of a resolution authorizing him to use American forces in Vietnam.
ANSWER: D
 

LBJ's decision in July 1965 to commit American troops to offensive operations and to expand the air war constituted:
A. A minor escalation of American involvement in Vietnam.
B. A limited step based on the assumption that no further escalation would be necessary.
C. A cunningly devised ploy to divide Hanoi and Beijing.
D. An open-ended commitment that cleared the way for the U.S. to take the lead in fighting the war.
ANSWER: D


The United States' approach to fighting the Vietnam War:
A. Brilliantly related American military power to the central task of building an effective South Vietnamese government.
B. Was consciously designed to inflict the maximum number of civilian deaths possible.
C. Was never appropriate for the war because the U.S. merely assumed that applying its superior military power would achieve victory.
D. Was more political than military in nature.
E. Greatly overestimated North Vietnam's military strength.
ANSWER: C
 

The principle index the United States used to chart success in Vietnam was:
A. The movement of the front line and the capture of key geographical objectives.
B. A sophisticated measurement of the proportion of South Vietnamese peasants who were loyal to the Saigon government.
C. The strength and stability of the South Vietnamese government.
D. The "body count."
E. All of the above.
ANSWER: D
 

With the Americanization of the war in 1965, the Army of the Republic of Vietnam (ARVN):
A. Became more dependent than ever on the U.S.
B. Underwent a period of intensive retooling from which it emerged stronger than ever.
C. Was divided into small units that were then integrated into the American command under a system pioneered during the Korean War.
D. Shrank dramatically in size to become a highly mobile, elite striking force.
E. Undertook a series of spoiler attacks into North Vietnam that threw the enemy off balance.
ANSWER: A

For which of the following reasons did Ho Chi Minh, a confirmed Communist, seek United States support in 1945?
A. He did not trust the Soviet Union
B. He was a pragmatist, principally preoccupied with Vietnam's salvation, and he would accept help where he could get it.
C. He knew that he would be turned down by the Americans, and then he could appeal more convincingly to the Soviets.
D. He had no hope of United States aid, but others in his administration urged him to appeal to the Americans.
ANSWER: B
 

Which of the following was one of the important reasons why the United States military effort in South Vietnam was unsuccessful?
A. The United States attempted to fight a conventional war against a guerrilla force that avoided large battles.
B. The United States measures only attracted the support of the peasant masses and failed to gain the support of the local elites.
C. Counterinsurgency could not have been adapted to the terrain in Vietnam.
D. Counterinsurgency was unpopular politically in the United States.
ANSWER: A

In early 1964, which of the following best describes the Vietnamese Communists' position in South Vietnam?
A. They were weakened by the strategic hamlet program.
B. They were stronger in the cities than the South Vietnamese.
C. They controlled approximately 40% of the countryside.
D. Their military successes outweighed their political successes.
ANSWER: C

When the United States took charge of the war, a major impact on Vietnamese society was a dramatic
A. reduction in religious intolerance
B. expansion of political democracy
C. influx of money and technology
D. improvement in education
ANSWER: C