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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. What is the name of the manager that is described as the most powerful man in Johnstown?

2. Who conducts an investigation years after the flood on the whereabouts and activities of the railroad employees in the flood?

3. At what time was there to be a parade in Johnstown that had to be canceled due to the weather?

4. What height is the water that Seibert observes coming over the top of the dam near the end of Chapter 3?

5. What does the book say the embankment on the river was built up of?

Short Essay Questions

1. How is the founding of Johnstown described?

2. What does John G. Parke do when he is awakened for the second time at 6:30 a.m.?

3. How are the hundreds of families in the streets of Johnstown just after the water begins to rise described?

4. What are the four critical changes John Fulton discovers must be made regarding Ruff's men's findings at the end of Chapter 2?

5. How does Benjamin Ruff repair the dam after it first floods in 1862?

6. What is Johnstown like in 1889 in terms of amenities?

7. What happens after Lake Conemaugh empties in 36-45 minutes?

8. What reasons does the author say allowed the water to flow freely down the mountains in Johnstown?

9. Describe what Hess and Liggett do after becoming stranded in Mineral Point.

10. How is the South Fork dam described at the beginning of Chapter 2?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Examine the role of religion during the crisis. What role did religion play in the lives of the townsfolk of Johnstown? What might have been the author's purpose in including religious discussion in the text?

Essay Topic 2

Examine the author's use of perspective in the book. What methods did he use to tell this story? Was his use of perspective successful?

Essay Topic 3

Examine the role of the Hungarians' portrayal in the book. What reason did the author have for including these depictions in the book? What is telling of the townsfolk's treatment of the Hungarians after the flood?

(see the answer keys)

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