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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. In "President Grant", what former president do people compare Grant to?

2. What almost killed Henry Adams when he was eight?

3. After volunteering to present Lyell's principles to people in the United States, how does Henry Adams come to feel about Darwinsim?

4. What English company builds Ironclad rams?

5. What happens during the Adams' trip to Italy?

Short Essay Questions

1. Why is Charles Sumner a hero to Henry Adams?

2. What does Henry Adams try to achieve in his working life in "President Grant"?

3. What are the four main influences Henry Adams describes in the first chapter, "Quincy"?

4. Why does Henry Adams receive little education in "Treason"?

5. According to Henry Adams, what type of American should not even think of English society?

6. At the end of "Political Morality", why is Henry Adams left confused about Russell and Palmerston?

7. What makes the building of ironclad rams in England controversial?

8. What makes Henry Adams feel that no art authority knows more than he does?

9. In "The Grammar of Science", why does Henry Adams explore varying scientific views and what is the result?

10. In "Vis Inertiae", why does Henry Adams take an interest in inertia?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

How did Russia influence Henry Adams' development of his theory of the 20th century? Describe at least three specifics about Russia that guided Henry Adams' thoughts and explain the rationality of each.

Essay Topic 2

Select four women that played a role in Henry Adams' life. How did he describe these women? How did he feel about them? What value did Henry Adams place on women? How did women impact Adams' theories of life and history?

Essay Topic 3

Henry Adams' Dynamic Theory of History was his most complete theory. How does the Dynamic Theory of History encompass all of Adams' ideas? What ideas in the Dynamic Theory of History seem contradictory with Adams' ideas? Trace how Adams' life experiences influenced the creation of this theory. What made the Dynamic Theory of History applicable to life and what made it unrealistic?

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