12. Q. Of what character was a large part of the books and pamphlets written during the revolutionary period? A. It was necessarily of temporary interest, and of little value as literature.
13. Q. In what particular did George Washington excel as a writer? A. As a letter writer.
14. Q. What are some of the most noted productions of Thomas Jefferson? A. Notes on Virginia, his Correspondence, and the Declaration of Independence.
15. Q. What was the Federalist? A. It was a collection of essays published periodically, and arguing in favor of the Constitution of the United States adopted in 1789, and was the concerted work of Alexander Hamilton, James Madison and John Jay.
16. Q. What work of Thomas Paine has always had a wide circulation chiefly among the lower classes? A. The Age of Reason. It advocates a pure deism, but its method of criticism and temper of attack are now generally repudiated by more scholarly writers of the same school.
17. Q. Who was the first American poet to attain eminence? A. Philip Freneau, a Huguenot by descent and a New Yorker by birth.
18. Q. Who was the first American novelist and what was his first work? A. Charles Brockden Brown, and his first work called “Wieland” was printed in 1798.
19. Q. For what are the histories written during the last century chiefly useful? A. As authorities for later writers.
20. Q. Who were two biographical writers of the last century? A. William Wirt, who wrote a readable life of Patrick Henry, and Chief Justice John Marshall, who prepared a standard life of Washington.
21. Q. What was incident to the beginning of the present century being marked by a considerable controversial excitement among the New England clergy? A. The spread of Unitarian views in and around Boston.