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This quiz consists of 5 multiple choice and 5 short answer questions through 40-44.

Multiple Choice Questions

1. What did Mencken satirize in "Quid Est Veritas"?
(a) Those who insisted Latin was not a dead language.
(b) Aristocrats.
(c) Country doctors.
(d) Organized religion.

2. What must modern religions do to "escape absurdity"?
(a) They must disband immediately.
(b) They must allow gay marriage.
(c) They should encourage a much more relaxed church service.
(d) They should accept a small element of agnosticism.

3. Which of the following might Mencken say about Calvin Coolidge?
(a) Coolidge was deeply flawed, precisely because of his Presbyterian upbringing.
(b) Coolidge was a practical agnostic.
(c) Coolidge was as energetic a man as ever graced the White House.
(d) Coolidge pulled himself up from the most meager of upbringings.

4. Which was one of the architectural styles Mencken mentioned as part of the "new architecture"?
(a) Victorian.
(b) American colonial.
(c) Cubism.
(d) Modernism.

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

Short Answer Questions

1. What did Gene the magistrate do with respect to an old man in his court accused of wife beating?

2. Which was NOT one of the reasons why a Christian wouldn't man cheat on his wife, according to "The Libertine"?

3. What was Mencken's phrase for religious fundamentalism?

4. What was the source of Oliver Wendell Holmes' allure?

5. Who was FDR's chief opponent in the Democratic Convention of 1932?

(see the answer key)

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