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This test consists of 5 multiple choice questions, 5 short answer questions, and 10 short essay questions.

Multiple Choice Questions

1. In what way did Mencken mock General John Pershing?
(a) Mencken brought to light the existence of Pershing's mistress.
(b) Mencken mocked Pershing for a recent bumbling speech.
(c) Mencken felt the vast amount of medals pinned to Pershing's uniform makes the man look ridiculous.
(d) Mencken made fun of a recent photograph of Pershing wrapped in an American flag.

2. Who was the president of Cuba when Mencken visited the country in "Gore in the Caribees"?
(a) Leonhard.
(b) Jose Miguel.
(c) Menocal.
(d) Teodorio.

3. Which was one of Mencken's criticisms for Woodrow Wilson?
(a) He was stuffy and puritanical.
(b) He took the presidential office by voter fraud and corruption.
(c) He had the gall to pardon Eugene Debs.
(d) He had "never looked a common man in the eye."

4. In "Recollections of Notable Cops," why does Mencken find the idea of a police academy remarkable?
(a) Cops in Mencken's younger days were not educated.
(b) Academies usually teach useless skills; police academies teach useful skills.
(c) Mencken states that police academies are contrary to the ideals of democracy.
(d) Mencken regards policemen as corrupt, vicious brutes.

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

Short Answer Questions

1. What does Mencken make synonymous with democracy in "A Blind Spot"?

2. Who is the editor of this volume?

3. Which is NOT one of the reasons winters were difficult in 1880s Baltimore?

4. According to Mencken, what kind of books did Theodore Dreiser produce?

5. What was the "last straw" that forced Mencken to quit the organization in #16?

Short Essay Questions

1. What criticisms did Mencken level at General John Pershing?

2. Why are "handsome men" suspicious, according to "The Lure of Beauty"?

3. What questions did Mencken raise about the contemporary understanding of Abraham Lincoln?

4. Why did Mencken criticize Woodrow Wilson?

5. What was Mencken's remedy for curing the ills of modern religions?

6. What was the nature of Mencken's first-ever printed article?

7. According to Mencken, Theodore Dreiser had what emotional effect on the reader?

8. According to Mencken, why would a Christian man not cheat on his wife, according to "The Libertine"?

9. Why was 1880s Baltimore such a loud town?

10. What was the nature of Mencken's first memory, as described in "Introduction to the Universe"?

(see the answer keys)

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