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This quiz consists of 5 multiple choice and 5 short answer questions through 24-28.

Multiple Choice Questions

1. Which was NOT one of the reasons why a Christian wouldn't man cheat on his wife, according to "The Libertine"?
(a) He was too fatigued by all the Christian rules he must follow.
(b) He had a conscience to tell him no.
(c) He didn't have the courage.
(d) He didn't have the money to support a mistress.

2. Why might the Anglo-Saxon race have entered into the Spanish-American war, according to Mencken?
(a) It was a war they were sure to win.
(b) They were courageous and foolhardy.
(c) The war protected vital interests in the Caribbean.
(d) They knew they could seize the Spanish crown.

3. In "Pater Patriae," which was NOT one of the reasons Mencken admired George Washington?
(a) He could cuss up a storm.
(b) He was tough-living, and whiskey-drinking.
(c) He put his trust and authority in intellectuals and lawyers.
(d) He was not convinced of the wisdom of common people.

4. What was Mencken's criticism for Lincoln's Gettysburg Address?
(a) It was more about logistics and policy than stirring rhetoric.
(b) It was full of racist remarks and innuendo.
(c) It was a slap in the face to Southern Democrats.
(d) It was more poetry than logic.

5. What famous speech did Ralph Waldo Emerson deliver in 1837?
(a) The Pride of European Intellectualism.
(b) The American Scholar.
(c) The Awfulness of War.
(d) The Merits of Monogamy.

Short Answer Questions

1. In "The National Letters," what was the cause of all the "diseases" which afflict America?

2. According to Mencken, the intellectual tradition of Whitman and Emerson had been transferred to which man?

3. What, according to Mencken, is "The Incomparable Buzz-Saw"?

4. According to Mencken, why was Samuel Johnson unique as an artist?

5. According to Mencken, how did members of the lower class respond to Wilson?

(see the answer key)

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