View a FREE sample

This test consists of 5 short answer questions, 10 short essay questions, and 1 (of 3) essay topics.

Short Answer Questions

1. Compared to previous Revolutions, what did Paine think future Revolutions would be like?

2. Which event did Paine refer to in Of the Origin of the Present Old Governments as he discussed the formation of the English government?

3. Which alliance did Paine suggest should take place in Ways and Means of Improving the Conditions of Europe?

4. In Paine's opinion, when did a society need government even less?

5. How many houses of Congress were part of the Constitution that was ratified at the constitutional convention?

Short Essay Questions

1. What was Paine's opinion of George Washington?

2. How did Paine describe the elderly and the children in Europe?

3. Which taxes and regulations did Paine think should be reduced or abolished in England?

4. How did Paine respond to objections about Rights of Man?

5. How did Paine define the old governments and the new governments in Chapter 3?

6. How and why were the committees of America formed before the Declaration of Independence?

7. How did Paine discuss social order in Chapter 1?

8. How did Paine end Rights of Man with the optimism of the coming Revolutions and Republics?

9. What did Paine write about the origins of government in Chapter 2?

10. How did Paine describe Republicanism as a response to Burke at the end of Chapter 3?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Paine provided a detailed analysis of the Declaration of the Rights of Man and of Citizens.

1) Describe the main articles of the Declaration of the Rights of Man and of Citizens and their purpose.

2) Explain which articles best represented Paine's positions and why.

3) Analyze the influence that the articles had in the forming of the laws in France.

Essay Topic 2

The Conclusion of Part One summarized Paine's positions while presenting his idea of the two influences of mankind.

1) Describe the two influences of mankind, reason and ignorance, and their place in society.

2) Explain which types of government were influenced by reason and which ones were influenced by ignorance.

3) Analyze the difference in previous Revolutions and the present Revolutions of Paine's time with regard to their effects on the Republics.

Essay Topic 3

A main position that Paine took in Of Society and Civilization was that a society could function with little or no government.

1) Describe early America before the American Revolution and the reasons why it maintained itself without a formal government.

2) Explain the characteristics that Paine outlined for how a country could be maintained by society without government.

3) Analyze Paine's opinions of government's role in society and whether he thought there could be a government without society.

(see the answer keys)

This section contains 864 words (approx. 3 pages at 300 words per page) View a FREE sample