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This quiz consists of 5 multiple choice and 5 short answer questions through Chapter 9, Democracy, Chapter 10, Americans.

Multiple Choice Questions

1. What is Mencken's belief about crime?
(a) Crime is primarily a product of capitalist society.
(b) Crime is impossible in aristocratic circles.
(c) Crime is primarily a legal invention.
(d) Crime is primarily a social invention.

2. What is Mencken's belief about the concept of sin?
(a) Sin is real, and exists all around us.
(b) Sin is just another word for good deed; it's all relative.
(c) Sin is a made-up term, and does not really exist.
(d) Sin is the reason why children are born.

3. What subject does Mencken begin his volume with?
(a) The horrors of the carnival.
(b) The automobile.
(c) The nature of man.
(d) The mysteries of women.

4. What is Mencken's opinion of original Christians?
(a) The historical record is so poor that Mencken cannot form an opinion.
(b) They were patriots, akin to the Founding Fathers.
(c) They were vulgar cads without imagination.
(d) They were "men's men" and should be looked upon as examples.

5. What is the fundamental flaw of the democratic style of government?
(a) The people are not competent to govern themselves.
(b) There are simply too many intelligent people to decide between.
(c) Over time, democracy resembles monarchy.
(d) Voting systems can never be 100% accurate.

Short Answer Questions

1. Before democracy came to be, what did people believe this system of government to be?

2. How does Mencken characterize a woman's level of civility?

3. How does Mencken feel about the overall capacity for virtue in the human race?

4. What is the purpose of monogamy, according to Mencken?

5. Which is NOT one of the qualities of Anglo-Saxons Mencken points to in Chapter 10?

(see the answer key)

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