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This quiz consists of 5 multiple choice and 5 short answer questions through 15-18.

Multiple Choice Questions

1. What dominated Puritanism, according to Mencken in "The National Letters"?
(a) The simple necessities of food, clothing, and shelter.
(b) Fear, and the suspicion of art.
(c) Religious tomfoolery.
(d) Free-thinking men of purpose.

2. Which is NOT one of the reasons winters were difficult in 1880s Baltimore?
(a) Cellars could flood.
(b) Snow caused many roofs to cave in.
(c) Water pipes could burst.
(d) The cold was severe, and furnaces did not help much.

3. According to Mencken, the intellectual tradition of Whitman and Emerson had been transferred to which man?
(a) William Jennings Bryan.
(b) Van Wyck Brooks.
(c) Theodore Dreiser.
(d) Jose Miguel Gomez.

4. According to "The Skeptic," what do women always bear?
(a) The burden of caring for families.
(b) A strong sense of household finances.
(c) The strength of their religious convictions.
(d) A healthy mistrust of their husbands.

5. According to "Quid Est Veritas?," what kind of religion professes to know God exactly and completely?
(a) Primitive religions.
(b) Admirable religions.
(c) American religions.
(d) Perfect religions.

Short Answer Questions

1. What human flaw does democracy depend upon, according to Mencken?

2. Who was the president of Cuba when Mencken visited the country in "Gore in the Caribees"?

3. What criticism did Mencken have for the effect of the Emancipation Proclamation?

4. In "The Baltimore of the Eighties," why does Mencken's mother lament about a trip to the market?

5. What kind of presence did Henry Cabot Lodge have, according to Mencken?

(see the answer key)

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