View a FREE sample

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

Multiple Choice Questions

1. Who does Lincoln say he owes everything he is or ever will be to?
(a) His devoted wife.
(b) His angel mother.
(c) His faithful housekeeper.
(d) His loving sister.

2. What adjective does the narrator use to describe Boone's character?
(a) Brave.
(b) Strong.
(c) Temperamental.
(d) Mild.

3. What reason does the narrator give for believing that Americans have trouble understanding their own national character?
(a) Americans only like to think about the future.
(b) Americans do not like to admit that they have origins and a history.
(c) Americans think that all Americans are Native Americans.
(d) Americans do not have any character left, only emptiness.

4. What does Houston do after he resigns as Governor of Tennessee?
(a) He decides to go back to school.
(b) He settled down on a homestead and built a house.
(c) He goes West to explore.
(d) He joins the Indians who had been relocated to Arkansas.

5. How does Williams say that intense emotions affect our perceptions of things?
(a) They make everything confusing.
(b) They make everything harder.
(c) They make everything larger.
(d) They make everything better.

6. Who does the narrator say was the only American ever to see General Washington in a towering rage?
(a) Aaron Burr.
(b) General Lee.
(c) Thomas Jefferson.
(d) Benjamin Franklin.

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

8. Why does Franklin recommend against trying to make money in America through manufacturing?
(a) There are no cities in America in which to build manufacturing plants.
(b) America does not have enough raw materials to do well at manufacturing any items of commercial value.
(c) Few ships travel to America, so manufacturers could not market their goods to foreign ports.
(d) To do well in manufacturing, you need large numbers of poor people who are willing to work for low wages.

9. How does Jones feel about the battle?
(a) He says that it is exciting.
(b) He says that it is necessary.
(c) He says that it is beautiful.
(d) He says that it is horrifying.

10. What characteristic does Boone have to have in order to live the kind of life that he lived?
(a) An appreciation for solitude.
(b) Drive to develop land for investment purposes.
(c) Desire to earn money.
(d) Lack of concern for his own safety.

11. What does Williams say that Lincoln finds no relief from?
(a) Bewilderment.
(b) Loneliness.
(c) Debt.
(d) Madness.

12. What does Williams compare the various incidents of Lincoln's life to?
(a) Ridges of a sculpture that should be made of Lincoln.
(b) Instruments playing in an orchestra.
(c) Lines in a carefully crafted poem.
(d) Dancers doing a series of intricately choreographed steps.

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

14. How does the narrator describe George Washington's character at the beginning of "George Washington"?
(a) He says that Washington was a good man.
(b) He says that Washington rarely told the truth.
(c) He says that Washington was ambitious.
(d) He says that Washington was corrupted by power.

15. Why does Houston resign as Governor of Tennessee?
(a) He wants to join the Army.
(b) He wants to move further to the West.
(c) His new wife leaves him after three months.
(d) He misses living with the Indians.

Short Answer Questions

1. What moral weakness does the narrator comment on in Washington?

2. What happens to the barge that is towing John Paul Jones' ship?

3. What does Williams say that Americans think they will lose if they were ever to serve another person?

4. What characteristic drives Franklin's curiosity, according to one of the narrators of "Poor Richard"?

5. Who raises Sam Houston during the early years of his life?

(see the answer keys)

This section contains 721 words (approx. 3 pages at 300 words per page) View a FREE sample