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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. Who is hurt the most when a government tries to prohibit its people from reading a work the government disapproves of?

2. What term refers to a property that does not need to be maintained by the owner?

3. What is Paine's opinion of the dispossession of property?

4. How many books did Burke publish after the Rights of Man was released?

5. How well were Paine's views on religion known when Age of Reason was written?

Short Essay Questions

1. What example of an uncivilized society does Paine use in Agrarian Justice?

2. What are Paine's thoughts on the Immaculate Conception and the Resurrection?

3. What is Paine's writing style throughout Common Sense and his other collected works, and how will Paine be remembered?

4. What does Paine believe is the general focus of any effective constitution?

5. How does Paine handle the responses to the Rights of Man by Burke and others?

6. Why does Paine believe that mystery and Miracles are incompatible with religion?

7. What opinion does Paine have of people who believe and follow Christianity?

8. What bold prediction does Paine make about the future of the monarchy and why?

9. What are Paine's religious views when writing Age of Reason?

10. How does Paine feel about the bad laws that exist and whether to follow them?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

In the Rights of Man, Part II, Paine elaborates on the role of government and whether a society can function without one. Explain what Paine believes the central responsibilities of government are, the tactics it uses to increase the control it has over its citizens, and why Paine believes that a society can exist in the absence of government. Include how America self-imposed its own laws during the beginning of the American Revolution as an example and describe what the key ingredients were in its success.

Essay Topic 2

Paine writes about Agrarian Justice and the distribution of land in America.

1) Describe Paine's initial theory of how land should be given to people and why he believes it is impractical.

2) Explain how Paine considers land cultivation versus dispossession.

3) Analyze Paine's concluding plan for compensating people who he thinks have been cheated of their rightful inheritance.

Essay Topic 3

Analyze the differences between democracy and representation using several examples from the Rights of Man, Part II. Be sure to include Paine's main points on each concept of government, which one he believes to be more effective, and why.

(see the answer keys)

This section contains 949 words (approx. 4 pages at 300 words per page) View a FREE sample