Midterm Exam

Study Questions for Midterm Examination

The midterm will consist of four parts. 

Part I will be an identification question, worth 20 points. You will be given a list of eight potential terms, and you will choose four to write a short essay that explains their historical significance and the way that they connect with each other. These terms will all bear a thematic and/or temporal connection with each other. Please refer to the terms presented in boxes at the beginning of each lecture for a list of potential IDs. These slides have all been posted on Canvas in the “Modules” section. Plan to spend about 15 minutes on this question.

Part II will be a map question.  It will be worth 10 points and should take five minutes to complete.

Part III will be a short essay question on Graham Greene’s novel, The Quiet American, worth 20 points. You should provide specific information to support your argument.  Plan to spend about 15 minutes on this question.              

Part IV will be a long essay question. Two questions will be listed, of which you will choose ONE to answer. It will be worth 50 points and should consume 35-40 minutes of your time. In answering the question, be sure to provide specific, relevant information to support your argument, utilizing the assigned primary and secondary sources where appropriate. In preparing for this portion of the exam, it may be helpful for you to study the following broad topics.

1. The emergence of Communism as a dominant force in Vietnamese anticolonial movement in 1930s.
2. The Franco-Vietminh War and the reasons for France’s defeat.
3. The process by which Vietnam came to be seen by successive U.S. administrations as vital concern, and how U.S. policy evolved in the Eisenhower, Kennedy and Johnson administrations, up to mid 1965.
4. The relationship between the National Liberation Front in the South and the Communist government in Hanoi in the North.
5. Lyndon Johnson’s decision to Americanize the war in 1965, and what options he did or did not have.