Have Progressive politics made us smarter than we WERE over 100 years ago? Lets go back to 1895 and take an exit exam

Conservative's...not progressive  "how retarded is that"...

OK...lets accept this "premise."...if we are MOVING Forward....as progressives have manhandled...err mandated via identity politics; 

does it NOT follow....that the Students of today...even you daddy/mommy and their daddy/mommy your grandparents, would it NOT stand to reason, logic and deduction...

That we would be SMARTER today than "yesterday?"

Lets go back to yesterday...lets retrieve a 8th grade TEST and see how College graduates OF TODAY would flunk a test from the 8th grade back in the cave man days...when everyone was DUMBER than they are today..

1895 Eighth Grade Final Exam

Salina, Kansas, USA 1895
Can you pass this exam?

This is the eighth-grade Final Exam for 1895 from Salina, Kansas, USA. It was taken from the original document on file at the Smokey Valley Genealogical Society and Library in Salina, KS and reprinted by the Salina Journal.

Grammar (Time: one hour)

    Give nine rules for the use of Capital Letters.
    Name the Parts of Speech and define those that have no modifications.
    Define Verse, Stanza and Paragraph.
    What are the Principal Parts of a verb? Give Principal Parts of do, lie, lay and run.
    Define Case, Illustrate each Case.
    What is Punctuation? Give rules for principal marks of Punctuation.
    Write a composition of about 150 words and show therein that you understand the practical use of the rules of grammar.

Arithmetic (Time: 1.25 hours)

    Name and define the Fundamental Rules of Arithmetic.
    A wagon box is 2 ft. deep, 10 feet long, and 3 ft. wide. How many bushels of wheat will it hold?
    If a load of wheat weighs 3942 lbs., what is it worth at 50 cts. per bu., deducting 1050 lbs. for tare?
    District No. 33 has a valuation of $35,000. What is the necessary levy to carry on a school seven months at $50 per month, and have $104 for incidentals?
    Find cost of 6720 lbs. coal at $6.00 per ton.
    Find the interest of $512.60 for 8 months and 18 days at 7 percent.
    What is the cost of 40 boards 12 inches wide and 16 ft. long at $20 per m?
    Find bank discount on $300 for 90 days (no grace) at 10 percent.
    What is the cost of a square farm at $15 per acre, the distance around which is 640 rods?
    Write a Bank Check, a Promissory Note, and a Receipt.

U.S. History (Time: 45 minutes)

    Give the epochs into which U.S. History is divided.
    Give an account of the discovery of America by Columbus.
    Relate the causes and results of the Revolutionary War.
    Show the territorial growth of the United States.
    Tell what you can of the history of Kansas.
    Describe three of the most prominent battles of the Rebellion.
    Who were the following: Morse, Whitney, Fulton, Bell, Lincoln, Penn, and Howe?
    Name events connected with the following dates: 1607 1620 1800 1849 1865

Orthography (Time: one hour)

    What is meant by the following: Alphabet, phonetic, orthography, etymology, syllabication?
    What are elementary sounds? How classified?
    What are the following, and give examples of each: Trigraph, subvocals, diphthong, cognate letters, linguals?
    Give four substitutes for caret 'u'.
    Give two rules for spelling words with final 'e'. Name two exceptions under each rule.
    Give two uses of silent letters in spelling. Illustrate each.

    Define the following prefixes and use in connection with a word: Bi, dis, mis, pre, semi, post, non, inter, mono, super.
    Mark diacritically and divide into syllables the following, and name the sign that indicates the sound: Card, ball, mercy, sir, odd, cell, rise, blood, fare, last.
    Use the following correctly in sentences: Cite, site, sight, fane, fain, feign, vane, vain, vein, raze, raise, rays.
    Write 10 words frequently mispronounced and indicate pronunciation by use of diacritical marks and by syllabication.

Geography (Time: one hour)

    What is climate? Upon what does climate depend?
    How do you account for the extremes of climate in Kansas?
    Of what use are rivers? Of what use is the ocean?
    Describe the mountains of North America.
    Name and describe the following: Monrovia, Odessa, Denver, Manitoba, Hecla, Yukon, St. Helena, Juan Fermandez, Aspinwall and Orinoco.
    Name and locate the principal trade centers of the U.S.
    Name all the republics of Europe and give capital of each.
    Why is the Atlantic Coast colder than the Pacific in the same latitude?
    Describe the process by which the water of the ocean returns to the sources of rivers.
    Describe the movements of the earth. Give inclination of the earth.

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