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This test consists of 15 multiple choice questions and 5 short answer questions.

Multiple Choice Questions

1. Why does Williams think that Burr did not get along with Alexander Hamilton and Thomas Jefferson?
(a) They did not approve of Burr's affairs with women.
(b) They had not gotten along since the first time they had met.
(c) They favored a stronger central government than he did.
(d) They campaigned against Burr when he ran for office.

2. What does Williams say that Africans came enslaved from Africa for?
(a) Hope.
(b) Agriculture.
(c) Nothing.
(d) Racism.

3. What do you think that Williams means when he says that Lincoln's assassination shows the "brutalizing desolation of life in America up to that time"?
(a) Williams is referring to the fact that few Americans lived to reach old age during Lincoln's day.
(b) Williams is referring to the desolate landscape that was left after many cities were burned during the Civil War.
(c) Williams is referring to the personal depression of many Americans during the Civil War.
(d) Williams is referring to the violence of American life.

4. Why does Lincoln borrow a neighbor's baby?
(a) To find out more about what the children of America need.
(b) To comfort him after the death of a loved one.
(c) To pace with while he is thinking.
(d) To use in a play that is being put on at the local school.

5. What category of people does Williams say that Houston fits into?
(a) Those who tread water their entire lives.
(b) Those who come up from under.
(c) Those who go under and then drown.
(d) Those who never struggle or try to succeed.

6. Who is the narrator for the first part of "Poor Richard"?
(a) William Carlos Williams.
(b) An average American.
(c) An American Indian.
(d) Benjamin Franklin.

7. What does the narrator say was the place where Washington most liked to be?
(a) In the capital.
(b) Home.
(c) Exploring the frontier.
(d) In the field with his troops.

8. What does the narrator say about Washington's attitude toward the presidency?
(a) He felt his terms of office were a failure.
(b) He craved power.
(c) He regretted not having a Parliament.
(d) He felt it was his duty to serve.

9. Why does Williams say that it is "water from a spring" to talk to M?
(a) Because M uses such original language.
(b) Because M lives near a spring.
(c) Because M likes the rain in the spring.
(d) Because M is always so cheerful.

10. Why does John Paul Jones write to Benjamin Franklin in "Battle Between the Bon Homme Richard and the Serapis"?
(a) To explain the circumstances leading up to the loss of a ship.
(b) To explain the outcome of a recent battle.
(c) To explain how ships could be better maintained so that they are more resistant to fires.
(d) To explain why he feels that naval policy should be changed.

11. When does Houston defeat Santa Ana?
(a) During World War I.
(b) During the battle for Texan independence.
(c) During the Civil War.
(d) During the Revolutionary War.

12. What warning does Williams give the reader about history at the beginning of "The Virtue of History"?
(a) History never tells the truth.
(b) History is written by the victors.
(c) History never lies.
(d) History is often bound by prejudice.

13. How can Boone's attitude toward Indians best be described?
(a) Admiring.
(b) Competitive.
(c) Contemptuous.
(d) Paternalistic.

14. What does the narrator's interlocutor, Valyry Larbaud, admire about the Puritans?
(a) Their resourcefulness.
(b) Their tolerance of other religions.
(c) Their firm vigor.
(d) Their intellectual ability.

15. What does Williams say that many American crimes are caused by?
(a) Passion and anger.
(b) Spiritual starvation.
(c) Cultural hatred.
(d) Religious intolerance.

Short Answer Questions

1. What does William Carlos Williams say is the most important thing to remember about people who are descended from Africans who were brought to the Americas in slavery?

2. How does Jones feel about the battle?

3. Why does the narrator admire Pere Rasles?

4. What does Poe call Longfellow?

5. What makes Daniel Boone different from other settlers, according to the narrator?

(see the answer keys)

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