1. According to Mencken, why was Samuel Johnson unique as an artist?
(a) He never turned against his country, unlike all artists.
(b) He has a particularly thrilling prose style.
(c) He always gave to charity, and artists are infamous misers.
(d) He never cared about his own fame or legacy.

2. What did Mencken think about Lincoln's issuing of the Emancipation Proclamation?
(a) Lincoln was doing the bidding of "Black Republicans" by releasing the proclamation.
(b) Lincoln issued the proclamation in a desperate and emotionally-troubled state.
(c) Lincoln was tricked into issuing the proclamation by business interests.
(d) Lincoln delayed releasing the proclamation until a politically-favorable time.

3. What did Mencken think about Woodrow Wilson's biography of George Washington?
(a) "Woodrow Wilson couldn't shine George Washington's shoes."
(b) He was relieved that someone finally showed George Washington for who he really was.
(c) It was poorly written and factually inaccurate.
(d) The biography had such a small print run as to be insignificant.

4. What was the subject of the first Mencken-written article that was ever published?
(a) A high-society party.
(b) The gold standard.
(c) A horse robbery.
(d) Political discontent in Europe.

5. Why does the typical man have a poor conception of beauty?
(a) The entire world, with very few exceptions, is hideously ugly.
(b) Make-up is made with a chemical that confuses the brain.
(c) Even mirrors are manufactured to lie about a woman's beauty.
(d) Even a man's enemy will tell him his wife is pretty.