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

Multiple Choice Questions

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

2. Why did Mencken curse those who translated the Bible into English?
(a) They made a host of grammatical errors.
(b) They misinterpreted the principles of Jesus Christ.
(c) They made many factual errors.
(d) They made the prose overly flowery and beautiful.

3. In "Star-Spangled Man," Mencken argued that who, besides soldiers, should get medals?
(a) Anyone hostile to the United States.
(b) Murderers, thieves, and rapists.
(c) Writers and intellectuals.
(d) Dock workers and tugboat captains.

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

5. What was Mencken's nickname for Chesapeake Bay?
(a) The protein factory.
(b) Crab central.
(c) The big blue.
(d) Home of the yummy lobsters.

Short Answer Questions

1. Why shouldn't men trust other men?

2. How did Mencken describe the music of Chopin?

3. What was the flaw of FDR's opponent in the Democratic National Convention of 1932?

4. What was Mencken's general opinion of religion at the end of "Holy Writ"?

5. Mencken provided what colorful phrase to describe a woman's body?

(see the answer key)

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