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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. What was NOT a feature of chiropractors, according to "Chiropractic"?
(a) They did no good, and may in fact cause harm.
(b) They were retired baseball players or piano movers.
(c) They were quacks.
(d) They had a good deal of anatomical knowledge.

2. What did Mencken conclude in his examination of rulings in "Mr. Justice Holmes"?
(a) Justice Holmes rendered fantastically bizarre rulings, and should be impeached.
(b) Justice Holmes ruled too often in favor of the powers that be, rather than the people.
(c) Mencken slyly suggests Holmes should tuck chickens under his arms because of his chicken-like cowardice.
(d) Justice Holmes ruled too often for rabble-rousers, and not often enough for the aristocracy.

3. What was Calvin Coolidge's chief trait, according to Mencken?
(a) "Self-induced narcolepsy."
(b) "A hide as tough as a rhinoceros, and a horn to match."
(c) "A great appetite for jams and jellies."
(d) "A terrific ability to arrive at the wrong place, but at the right time."

4. Which of the following describes an Anglo-Saxon soldier, according to Mencken?
(a) A tendency to be able to bore the enemy to death with a long speech.
(b) A strong sense of tactics as well as strategy.
(c) A cowardice and ready willingness to desert.
(d) A remarkable physical constitution.

5. Why, according to Mencken, do virtuous people end up sinning the worst?
(a) Virtuous people give of themselves so much, they are empty inside.
(b) Virtuous people do difficult work, and this work drives them insane.
(c) To be "virtuous" is a lie: the virtuous are among the most sinful among us.
(d) The virtuous don't know how to handle sin, and thus get carried away.

Short Answer Questions

1. According to "Exeunt Omnes," Mencken was disappointed with the amount of books dedicated to which subject?

2. How had Wallace behaved in "The Wallace Paranoia"?

3. Who was Mencken with at a Bach concert in Pennsylvania when he decided to get some liquor?

4. Which of the following did NOT happen during "The Hills of Zion"?

5. How would Mencken respond to the notion that William Jennings Bryan was an earnest man?

Short Essay Questions

1. How did Mencken distinguish between plutocracy and aristocracy in "A Glance Ahead"?

2. How did Mencken--with tongue firmly in cheek--try to justify a man's murdering of his wife in "A Good Man Gone Wrong"?

3. What was the nature of film actor Valentino's problem, as related in "Valentino"?

4. What caused Mencken to question the American psyche in "The Libido for the Ugly"?

5. What examples did Mencken provide to support his judgment of Anglo-Saxons?

6. What were the general features of Anglo-Saxons, according to Mencken in "The Anglo-Saxon"?

7. For what reasons did Mencken admire Grover Cleveland?

8. What aspect of death interested Mencken the most?

9. What opinion was rendered about William Jennings Bryan in "In Memoriam: W.J.B."?

10. According to "The Wallace Paranoia," what did candidate Henry Wallace do during the convention of the Progressive Party?

(see the answer keys)

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