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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. Before the war, Holmes considered _________ to be the center of intellectual thinking, like his father before him.

2. One member of the Metaphysical Club was Chauncy Wright also known as the local ____________.

3. _________ had more spindles of cotton than all of the eleven states of the South put together.

4. William James spent a great deal of time and energy on being indecisive, but he was able to use it to create the idea of _________.

5. _________ was a Vermont Transcendentalist born in 1859 and was close to being socialist in viewpoint.

Short Essay Questions

1. How did Dr. Samuel Cartwright help to integrate polygenism in the South?

2. Why did Ernest Holmes join the army in the first place, according to the book?

3. Why did Charles Pierce decide he wanted to found the Metaphysical Club in 1872?

4. What was Webster's argument in terms of the legal battle between the two Darmouths which arose?

5. What did Agassiz want to prove about the fish that James caught while traveling in Brazil?

6. Though John Dewey was often considered to be a liberal, what were some of his true views?

7. Define Charles Darwin's idea of natural selection in conjunction with the theory of evolution.

8. Why did Marsh dislike the idea of liberal individualism when it was created by Locke?

9. What did Quetlet use the method of least squares for when he was doing his own research?

10. Why were many of Henry's writings published for the public to see in books and in newspapers?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

The disagreement with the idea of creationism and evolution began early on in educational discourse.

Part 1: Why do you think people clung so tightly to the story of creation?

Part 2: In what ways might creationism and evolutionary theory work together?

Part 3: Do you side with evolutionary thinkers or creationism thinkers? Why?

Essay Topic 2

In some cases of these great thinkers of the book, the relationship between the father and son influenced the discoveries and the ideas.

Part 1: Why do you think the father figure has so much influence over the son?

Part 2: Why do you think these great thinkers were at odds with their fathers in many cases?

Part 3: What might have happened had the fathers and sons gotten along better? Why?

Essay Topic 3

It is curious that the main characters in this story are men and that the great thoughts of America seem to come only from men.

Part 1: Why do you think this book focused on the ideas of men rather than including more women thinkers?

Part 2: Why do you think women were unable to become a part of the Metaphysical Club?

Part 3: Do you think the author believes women did not contribute anything of value at this time? Why or why not?

(see the answer keys)

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