Quiz for American Voices: Three Interpretations of Social Darwinism

Question

1. Theodore Dreiser used the story about the squid and the lobster in his novel about Frank Cowperwood as a symbol for which of the following concepts?

A.
B.
C.
D.
Correct. The answer is a. Dreiser used the story about the squid and the lobster as the basis for Cowperwood’s understanding of nature. Cowperwood observed the event and extrapolated from it the idea that it was natural for living creatures to live off of one another with the stronger taking advantage of the weaker.
Incorrect. The answer is a. Dreiser used the story about the squid and the lobster as the basis for Cowperwood’s understanding of nature. Cowperwood observed the event and extrapolated from it the idea that it was natural for living creatures to live off of one another with the stronger taking advantage of the weaker.

Question

2. The excerpt from Theodore Dreiser’s novel suggests that Cowperwood came to the view that he should be a banker because of his

A.
B.
C.
D.
Correct. The answer is c. Dreiser’s story suggests that it was Cowperwood’s experiences as the son of a banker that made him decide he should be a banker. In other words, it was not his nature that led him to banking, but his environment.
Incorrect. The answer is c. Dreiser’s story suggests that it was Cowperwood’s experiences as the son of a banker that made him decide he should be a banker. In other words, it was not his nature that led him to banking, but his environment.

Question

3. In which of the following ways did Lyman Abbot conceive of Christianity in this excerpt?

A.
B.
C.
D.
Correct. The answer is d. Lyman Abbott did not see Christianity as a state of being or as a means to an end. Abbott conceived of Christianity as a phenomenon that was subject to evolution just like other plants and animals.
Incorrect. The answer is d. Lyman Abbott did not see Christianity as a state of being or as a means to an end. Abbott conceived of Christianity as a phenomenon that was subject to evolution just like other plants and animals.

Question

4. According to Lester Frank Ward, what makes men different from animals?

A.
B.
C.
D.
Correct. The answer is c. Ward argued that people were different from animals because their intelligence allowed them “successfully to resist the law of nature.”
Incorrect. The answer is c. Ward argued that people were different from animals because their intelligence allowed them “successfully to resist the law of nature.”

Question

5. Which of the following individuals would have been most likely to agree with Lester Frank Ward’s position on Social Darwinism?

A.
B.
C.
D.
Correct. The answer is b. Ward’s critique of Social Darwinism also promoted the importance of social reform and the protection of the weak in order to bring about progress in American society. As another social reformer, Frances Willard argued not only for temperance in order to protect abused wives and children, but also for social solutions to the industrial problems of hunger, poverty, and unemployment. Ward and Willard both believed in the need for social reform to address the problems of inequality and injustice.
Incorrect. The answer is b. Ward’s critique of Social Darwinism also promoted the importance of social reform and the protection of the weak in order to bring about progress in American society. As another social reformer, Frances Willard argued not only for temperance in order to protect abused wives and children, but also for social solutions to the industrial problems of hunger, poverty, and unemployment. Ward and Willard both believed in the need for social reform to address the problems of inequality and injustice.