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The consolidation of the Bronx into New York City proceeded in two stages. In 1873, the state legislature annexed Kingsbridge, West Farms and Morrisania to New York, effective in 1874; the three towns were abolished in the process. In 1895, three years before New York's consolidation with Brooklyn, Queens and Staten Island, the whole of the territory east of the Bronx River, including the Town of Westchester (which had voted in 1894 against consolidation) and portions of Eastchester and Pelham, were annexed to the city. City Island, a nautical community, voted to join the city in 1896. 5

['QSN When did New York City annex Kingsbridge? ANS 1873', 'QSN When did New York City annex West Farms? ANS 1873', 'QSN When did New York City annex Morrisania? ANS 1873', 'QSN When did New York City annex part of Pelham? ANS 1895', 'QSN When did New York City annex part of Eastchester? ANS 1895']

The history of the Bronx during the 20th century may be divided into four periods: a boom period during 1900–29, with a population growth by a factor of six from 200,000 in 1900 to 1.3 million in 1930. The Great Depression and post World War II years saw a slowing of growth leading into an eventual decline. The mid to late century were hard times, as the Bronx declined 1950–85 from a predominantly moderate-income to a predominantly lower-income area with high rates of violent crime and poverty. The Bronx has experienced an economic and developmental resurgence starting in the late 1980s that continues into today. 5

["QSN When was the Bronx's boom period? ANS 1900–29", "QSN What was the Bronx's population in 1900? ANS 200,000", "QSN What was the Bronx's population in 1929? ANS 1.3 million", "QSN When did the Bronx's income declined? ANS 1950–85", "QSN When did the Bronx's economy regrow? ANS starting in the late 1980s"]

The Bronx underwent rapid urban growth after World War I. Extensions of the New York City Subway contributed to the increase in population as thousands of immigrants came to the Bronx, resulting in a major boom in residential construction. Among these groups, many Irish Americans, Italian Americans and especially Jewish Americans settled here. In addition, French, German, Polish and other immigrants moved into the borough. The Jewish population also increased notably during this time. In 1937, according to Jewish organizations, 592,185 Jews lived in The Bronx (43.9% of the borough's population), while only 54,000 Jews lived in the borough in 2011. Many synagogues still stand in the Bronx, but most have been converted to other uses. 5

['QSN How many Jews lived in the Bronx in 1937? ANS 592,185', 'QSN How many Jews lived in the Bronx in 2011? ANS 54,000', "QSN What led to the Bronx's population growth? ANS Extensions of the New York City Subway", 'QSN What immigrant groups were the most prevalent in the Bronx? ANS Irish Americans, Italian Americans and especially Jewish Americans', 'QSN How much of the Bronx was Jewish in 1937? ANS 43.9%']

Yet another may have been a reduction in the real-estate listings and property-related financial services (such as mortgage loans or insurance policies) offered in some areas of the Bronx — a process known as redlining. Others have suggested a "planned shrinkage" of municipal services, such as fire-fighting. There was also much debate as to whether rent control laws had made it less profitable (or more costly) for landlords to maintain existing buildings with their existing tenants than to abandon or destroy those buildings. 3

['QSN What is redlining? ANS a reduction in the real-estate listings and property-related financial services (such as mortgage loans or insurance policies) offered in some areas', 'QSN What might have encouraged landlords to abandon or destroy buildings? ANS rent control laws', 'QSN What example city service was cut back on in the Bronx? ANS fire-fighting']

In the 1970s, the Bronx was plagued by a wave of arson. The burning of buildings was predominantly in the poorest communities, like the South Bronx. The most common explanation of what occurred was that landlords decided to burn their low property-value buildings and take the insurance money as it was more lucrative to get insurance money than to refurbish or sell a building in a severely distressed area. The Bronx became identified with a high rate of poverty and unemployment, which was mainly a persistent problem in the South Bronx. 3

['QSN What crime was common in the Bronx in the 1970s? ANS arson', 'QSN Why did some landlords burn their own buildings? ANS it was more lucrative to get insurance money than to refurbish or sell a building in a severely distressed area', 'QSN Where were poverty and unemployment the worst in the Bronx? ANS South Bronx']

Since the late 1980s, significant development has occurred in the Bronx, first stimulated by the city's "Ten-Year Housing Plan" and community members working to rebuild the social, economic and environmental infrastructure by creating affordable housing. Groups affiliated with churches in the South Bronx erected the Nehemiah Homes with about 1,000 units. The grass roots organization Nos Quedamos' endeavor known as Melrose Commons began to rebuild areas in the South Bronx. The IRT White Plains Road Line (2 5 trains) began to show an increase in riders. Chains such as Marshalls, Staples, and Target opened stores in the Bronx. More bank branches opened in the Bronx as a whole (rising from 106 in 1997 to 149 in 2007), although not primarily in poor or minority neighborhoods, while the Bronx still has fewer branches per person than other boroughs. 5

['QSN What city plan helped redevelop the Bronx? ANS "Ten-Year Housing Plan"', 'QSN How many units are in the Nehemiah Homes? ANS about 1,000', 'QSN Who built the Nehemiah Homes? ANS Groups affiliated with churches in the South Bronx', 'QSN Who led the Melrose Commons project? ANS Nos Quedamos', 'QSN How many bank branches were in the Bronx by 2007? ANS 149']

In 1997, the Bronx was designated an All America City by the National Civic League, acknowledging its comeback from the decline of the mid-century. In 2006, The New York Times reported that "construction cranes have become the borough's new visual metaphor, replacing the window decals of the 1980s in which pictures of potted plants and drawn curtains were placed in the windows of abandoned buildings." The borough has experienced substantial new building construction since 2002. Between 2002 and June 2007, 33,687 new units of housing were built or were under way and $4.8 billion has been invested in new housing. In the first six months of 2007 alone total investment in new residential development was $965 million and 5,187 residential units were scheduled to be completed. Much of the new development is springing up in formerly vacant lots across the South Bronx. 5

['QSN What award did the Bronx receive in 1997? ANS All America City', 'QSN Who gave the Bronx an award in 1997? ANS the National Civic League', 'QSN How were window decals used in the Bronx in the 1980s? ANS pictures of potted plants and drawn curtains were placed in the windows of abandoned buildings', 'QSN How many housing units were built in the Bronx in 2002-2007? ANS 33,687', 'QSN How much was invested in housing in the Bronx in 2002-2007? ANS $4.8 billion']

Several boutique and chain hotels have opened in recent years in the South Bronx; in addition, a La Quinta Inn that has been proposed for the Mott Haven waterfront. The Kingsbridge Armory, often cited as the largest armory in the world, is scheduled for redevelopment as the Kingsbridge National Ice Center. Under consideration for future development is the construction of a platform over the New York City Subway's Concourse Yard adjacent to Lehman College. The construction would permit approximately 2,000,000 square feet (190,000 m2) of development and would cost US$350–500 million. 5

['QSN What is Kingsbridge Armory being turned into? ANS Kingsbridge National Ice Center', 'QSN What was the largest armory in the world? ANS Kingsbridge Armory', 'QSN Where is a La Quinta being built in the Bronx? ANS the Mott Haven waterfront', 'QSN How much would a Concourse Yard platform cost? ANS US$350–500 million', 'QSN How much development space would a Concourse Yard platform provide? ANS 2,000,000 square feet']

The Bronx is almost entirely situated on the North American mainland. The Hudson River separates the Bronx on the west from Alpine, Tenafly and Englewood Cliffs in Bergen County, New Jersey; the Harlem River separates it from the island of Manhattan to the southwest; the East River separates it from Queens to the southeast; and to the east, Long Island Sound separates it from Nassau County in western Long Island. Directly north of the Bronx are (from west to east) the adjoining Westchester County communities of Yonkers, Mount Vernon, Pelham Manor and New Rochelle. (There is also a short southern land boundary with Marble Hill in the Borough of Manhattan, over the filled-in former course of the Spuyten Duyvil Creek. Marble Hill's postal ZIP code, telephonic Area Code and fire service, however, are shared with the Bronx and not Manhattan.) 5

["QSN What's on the other side of the Hudson from the Bronx? ANS Alpine, Tenafly and Englewood Cliffs", 'QSN What county is Tenafly in? ANS Bergen County', 'QSN What state is Alpine in? ANS New Jersey', "QSN What's on the other side of the Harlem River from the Bronx? ANS Manhattan", "QSN What's on the other side of the East River from the Bronx? ANS Queens"]

The Bronx's highest elevation at 280 feet (85 m) is in the northwest corner, west of Van Cortlandt Park and in the Chapel Farm area near the Riverdale Country School. The opposite (southeastern) side of the Bronx has four large low peninsulas or "necks" of low-lying land that jut into the waters of the East River and were once salt marsh: Hunt's Point, Clason's Point, Screvin's Neck and Throg's Neck. Further up the coastline, Rodman's Neck lies between Pelham Bay Park in the northeast and City Island. The Bronx's irregular shoreline extends for 75 square miles (194 km2). 5

["QSN Where is the Bronx's highest point? ANS in the northwest corner, west of Van Cortlandt Park and in the Chapel Farm area near the Riverdale Country School", 'QSN What part of the Bronx formerly a salt marsh? ANS southeastern', "QSN What are the Bronx's four low peninsulas? ANS Hunt's Point, Clason's Point, Screvin's Neck and Throg's Neck", "QSN What is Rodman's Neck between? ANS Pelham Bay Park in the northeast and City Island", "QSN How long is the Bronx's shoreline? ANS 75 square miles"]

The northern side of the borough includes the largest park in New York City—Pelham Bay Park, which includes Orchard Beach—and the fourth largest, Van Cortlandt Park, which is west of Woodlawn Cemetery and borders Yonkers. Also in the northern Bronx, Wave Hill, the former estate of George W. Perkins—known for a historic house, gardens, changing site-specific art installations and concerts—overlooks the New Jersey Palisades from a promontory on the Hudson in Riverdale. Nearer the borough's center, and along the Bronx River, is Bronx Park; its northern end houses the New York Botanical Gardens, which preserve the last patch of the original hemlock forest that once covered the entire county, and its southern end the Bronx Zoo, the largest urban zoological gardens in the United States. Just south of Van Cortlandt Park is the Jerome Park Reservoir, surrounded by 2 miles (3 km) of stone walls and bordering several small parks in the Bedford Park neighborhood; the reservoir was built in the 1890s on the site of the former Jerome Park Racetrack. Further south is Crotona Park, home to a 3.3-acre (1.3 ha) lake, 28 species of trees, and a large swimming pool. The land for these parks, and many others, was bought by New York City in 1888, while land was still open and inexpensive, in anticipation of future needs and future pressures for development. 5

['QSN When did NYC buy land for its parks? ANS 1888', 'QSN How many types of trees are in Crotona Park? ANS 28', "QSN How large is Crotona Park's lake? ANS 3.3-acre", 'QSN When was the Jerome Park Reservoir built? ANS in the 1890s', 'QSN What do the NY Botanical Gardens preserve? ANS the last patch of the original hemlock forest that once covered the entire county']

East of the Bronx River, the borough is relatively flat and includes four large low peninsulas, or 'necks,' of low-lying land which jut into the waters of the East River and were once saltmarsh: Hunts Point, Clason's Point, Screvin's Neck (Castle Hill Point) and Throgs Neck. The East Bronx has older tenement buildings, low income public housing complexes, and multifamily homes, as well as single family homes. It includes New York City's largest park: Pelham Bay Park along the Westchester-Bronx border. 4

["QSN What is Screvin's Neck also called? ANS Castle Hill Point", 'QSN In what river does the Bronx have 4 peninsulas? ANS East River', "QSN What is NYC's largest park? ANS Pelham Bay Park", 'QSN Where is Pelham Bay Park? ANS along the Westchester-Bronx border']

The western parts of the Bronx are hillier and are dominated by a series of parallel ridges, running south to north. The West Bronx has older apartment buildings, low income public housing complexes, multifamily homes in its lower income areas as well as larger single family homes in more affluent areas such as Riverdale and Fieldston. It includes New York City's fourth largest park: Van Cortlandt Park along the Westchester-Bronx border. The Grand Concourse, a wide boulevard, runs through it, north to south. 5

['QSN What parts of the Bronx have more hills? ANS western', 'QSN What parts of West Bronx are more affluent? ANS Riverdale and Fieldston.', "QSN What is NYC's 4th-largest park? ANS Van Cortlandt Park", 'QSN Where is Van Cortlandt Park? ANS along the Westchester-Bronx border', 'QSN What is the Grand Concourse? ANS a wide boulevard']

Like other neighborhoods in New York City, the South Bronx has no official boundaries. The name has been used to represent poverty in the Bronx and applied to progressively more northern places so that by the 2000s Fordham Road was often used as a northern limit. The Bronx River more consistently forms an eastern boundary. The South Bronx has many high-density apartment buildings, low income public housing complexes, and multi-unit homes. The South Bronx is home to the Bronx County Courthouse, Borough Hall, and other government buildings, as well as Yankee Stadium. The Cross Bronx Expressway bisects it, east to west. The South Bronx has some of the poorest neighborhoods in the country, as well as very high crime areas. 5

["QSN Why has the supposed size of the 'South Bronx' grown? ANS The name has been used to represent poverty in the Bronx and applied to progressively more northern places", 'QSN When was Fordham Road being used as the limit of the South Bronx area? ANS by the 2000s', 'QSN Which river is the eastern edge of the South Bronx? ANS The Bronx River', 'QSN Which stadium is in the South Bronx? ANS Yankee Stadium', 'QSN Which direction does the Cross Bronx Expressway run through the South Bronx? ANS east to west']

There are three primary shopping centers in the Bronx: The Hub, Gateway Center and Southern Boulevard. The Hub–Third Avenue Business Improvement District (B.I.D.), in The Hub, is the retail heart of the South Bronx, located where four roads converge: East 149th Street, Willis, Melrose and Third Avenues. It is primarily located inside the neighborhood of Melrose but also lines the northern border of Mott Haven. The Hub has been called "the Broadway of the Bronx", being likened to the real Broadway in Manhattan and the northwestern Bronx. It is the site of both maximum traffic and architectural density. In configuration, it resembles a miniature Times Square, a spatial "bow-tie" created by the geometry of the street. The Hub is part of Bronx Community Board 1. 5

['QSN What in the Bronx has been compared to Broadway? ANS The Hub', 'QSN What is the main retail area of the South Bronx? ANS The Hub–Third Avenue Business Improvement District', 'QSN Which streets demarcate The Hub BID? ANS East 149th Street, Willis, Melrose and Third Avenues', 'QSN What is The Hub\'s nickname? ANS "the Broadway of the Bronx"', 'QSN What shape is The Hub? ANS bow-tie']

The Gateway Center at Bronx Terminal Market, in the West Bronx, is a shopping center that encompasses less than one million square feet of retail space, built on a 17 acres (7 ha) site that formerly held the Bronx Terminal Market, a wholesale fruit and vegetable market as well as the former Bronx House of Detention, south of Yankee Stadium. The $500 million shopping center, which was completed in 2009, saw the construction of new buildings and two smaller buildings, one new and the other a renovation of an existing building that was part of the original market. The two main buildings are linked by a six-level garage for 2,600 cars. The center has earned itself a LEED "Silver" designation in its design. 4

['QSN How much land was the Gateway Center at Bronx Terminal Market built on? ANS 17 acres', 'QSN How much did the Gateway Center at Bronx Terminal Market cost? ANS $500 million', "QSN How many floors does the Gateway Center at Bronx Terminal Market's parking garage have? ANS six", "QSN How many cars can the Gateway Center at Bronx Terminal Market's parking garage hold? ANS 2,600"]

The Bronx street grid is irregular. Like the northernmost part of upper Manhattan, the West Bronx's hilly terrain leaves a relatively free-style street grid. Much of the West Bronx's street numbering carries over from upper Manhattan, but does not match it exactly; East 132nd Street is the lowest numbered street in the Bronx. This dates from the mid-19th century when the southwestern area of Westchester County west of the Bronx River, was incorporated into New York City and known as the Northside. 4

["QSN What part of Manhattan are the West Bronx's streets similar to? ANS northernmost part of upper Manhattan", 'QSN What is the lowest street number seen in the Bronx? ANS 132nd', 'QSN What was the Bronx called in the mid-19th century? ANS the Northside', 'QSN When was the Bronx added to NYC? ANS the mid-19th century']

According to the 2010 Census, 53.5% of Bronx's population was of Hispanic, Latino, or Spanish origin (they may be of any race); 30.1% non-Hispanic Black or African American, 10.9% of the population was non-Hispanic White, 3.4% non-Hispanic Asian, 0.6% from some other race (non-Hispanic) and 1.2% of two or more races (non-Hispanic). The U.S. Census considers the Bronx to be the most diverse area in the country. There is an 89.7 percent chance that any two residents, chosen at random, would be of different race or ethnicity. 5

["QSN How much of the Bronx's population is Hispanic? ANS 53.5%", "QSN How much of the Bronx's population is non-Hispanic White? ANS 10.9%", "QSN How much of the Bronx's population is non-Hispanic Black? ANS 30.1%", "QSN How much of the Bronx's population is non-Hispanic Asian? ANS 3.4%", "QSN How much of the Bronx's population is non-Hispanic multiracial? ANS 1.2%"]

As of 2010, 46.29% (584,463) of Bronx residents aged five and older spoke Spanish at home, while 44.02% (555,767) spoke English, 2.48% (31,361) African languages, 0.91% (11,455) French, 0.90% (11,355) Italian, 0.87% (10,946) various Indic languages, 0.70% (8,836) other Indo-European languages, and Chinese was spoken at home by 0.50% (6,610) of the population over the age of five. In total, 55.98% (706,783) of the Bronx's population age five and older spoke a language at home other than English. A Garifuna-speaking community from Honduras and Guatemala also makes the Bronx its home. 5

['QSN How much of the Bronx speaks Spanish at home? ANS 46.29%', 'QSN How much of the Bronx speaks English at home? ANS 44.02%', 'QSN How much of the Bronx speaks African languages at home? ANS 2.48%', 'QSN How much of the Bronx speaks French at home? ANS 0.91%', 'QSN How much of the Bronx speaks Chinese at home? ANS 0.50%']

According to the 2009 American Community Survey, White Americans of both Hispanic and non-Hispanic origin represented over one-fifth (22.9%) of the Bronx's population. However, non-Hispanic whites formed under one-eighth (12.1%) of the population, down from 34.4% in 1980. Out of all five boroughs, the Bronx has the lowest number and percentage of white residents. 320,640 whites called the Bronx home, of which 168,570 were non-Hispanic whites. The majority of the non-Hispanic European American population is of Italian and Irish descent. People of Italian descent numbered over 55,000 individuals and made up 3.9% of the population. People of Irish descent numbered over 43,500 individuals and made up 3.1% of the population. German Americans and Polish Americans made up 1.4% and 0.8% of the population respectively. 5

['QSN How much of the Bronx is white (including Hispanic) as of 2009? ANS 22.9%', 'QSN How much of the Bronx was non-Hispanic white as of 1980? ANS 12.1%', 'QSN How much of the Bronx was non-Hispanic white as of 2009? ANS 34.4%', 'QSN How many white people live in the Bronx? ANS 320,640', 'QSN How many non-Hispanic white people live in the Bronx? ANS 168,570']

At the 2009 American Community Survey, Black Americans made the second largest group in the Bronx after Hispanics and Latinos. Blacks of both Hispanic and non-Hispanic origin represented over one-third (35.4%) of the Bronx's population. Blacks of non-Hispanic origin made up 30.8% of the population. Over 495,200 blacks resided in the borough, of which 430,600 were non-Hispanic blacks. Over 61,000 people identified themselves as "Sub-Saharan African" in the survey, making up 4.4% of the population. 5

["QSN How much of the Bronx's population is black (including Hispanic)? ANS 35.4%", "QSN How much of the Bronx's population is black (not including Hispanic)? ANS 30.8%", 'QSN How many Bronx residents called themselves "Sub-Saharan African" in 2009? ANS Over 61,000', 'QSN What percent of Bronx residents called themselves "Sub-Saharan African" in 2009? ANS 4.4%', 'QSN How many people in the Bronx are black (not including Hispanic)? ANS 430,600']

In 2009, Hispanic and Latino Americans represented 52.0% of the Bronx's population. Puerto Ricans represented 23.2% of the borough's population. Over 72,500 Mexicans lived in the Bronx, and they formed 5.2% of the population. Cubans numbered over 9,640 members and formed 0.7% of the population. In addition, over 319,000 people were of various Hispanic and Latino groups, such as Dominican, Salvadoran, and so on. These groups collectively represented 22.9% of the population. At the 2010 Census, 53.5% of Bronx's population was of Hispanic, Latino, or Spanish origin (they may be of any race). Asian Americans are a small but sizable minority in the borough. Roughly 49,600 Asians make up 3.6% of the population. Roughly 13,600 Indians call the Bronx home, along with 9,800 Chinese, 6,540 Filipinos, 2,260 Vietnamese, 2,010 Koreans, and 1,100 Japanese. 5

['QSN What percent of the Bronx is Hispanic and Latino Americans? ANS 52.0%', 'QSN What percent of the Bronx is Puerto Rican? ANS 23.2%', 'QSN What percent of the Bronx is Mexican? ANS 5.2%', 'QSN What percent of the Bronx is Cuban? ANS 0.7%', 'QSN What percent of the Bronx is Asian? ANS 3.6%']

Multiracial Americans are also a sizable minority in the Bronx. People of multiracial heritage number over 41,800 individuals and represent 3.0% of the population. People of mixed Caucasian and African American heritage number over 6,850 members and form 0.5% of the population. People of mixed Caucasian and Native American heritage number over 2,450 members and form 0.2% of the population. People of mixed Caucasian and Asian heritage number over 880 members and form 0.1% of the population. People of mixed African American and Native American heritage number over 1,220 members and form 0.1% of the population. 5

['QSN How many multiracial people live in the Bronx? ANS over 41,800', 'QSN What percent of the Bronx has mixed Caucasian and African American heritage? ANS 0.5%', 'QSN What percent of the Bronx is multiracial? ANS 3.0%', 'QSN What percent of the Bronx has mixed Caucasian and Asian heritage? ANS 0.1%', 'QSN What percent of the Bronx has mixed Caucasian and Native American heritage? ANS 0.2%']

The office of Borough President was created in the consolidation of 1898 to balance centralization with local authority. Each borough president had a powerful administrative role derived from having a vote on the New York City Board of Estimate, which was responsible for creating and approving the city's budget and proposals for land use. In 1989 the Supreme Court of the United States declared the Board of Estimate unconstitutional on the grounds that Brooklyn, the most populous borough, had no greater effective representation on the Board than Staten Island, the least populous borough, a violation of the Fourteenth Amendment's Equal Protection Clause pursuant to the high court's 1964 "one man, one vote" decision. 5

["QSN When was the 'one man, one vote' decision? ANS 1964", 'QSN Which amendment contains the Equal Protection Clause? ANS Fourteenth', 'QSN When were Borough Presidents created? ANS 1898', 'QSN When was the Board of Estimate found unconstitutional? ANS 1989', 'QSN Why was the Board of Estimate found unconstitutional? ANS Brooklyn, the most populous borough, had no greater effective representation on the Board than Staten Island, the least populous borough']

Until March 1, 2009, the Borough President of the Bronx was Adolfo Carrión Jr., elected as a Democrat in 2001 and 2005 before retiring early to direct the White House Office of Urban Affairs Policy. His successor, Democratic New York State Assembly member Rubén Díaz, Jr., who won a special election on April 21, 2009 by a vote of 86.3% (29,420) on the "Bronx Unity" line to 13.3% (4,646) for the Republican district leader Anthony Ribustello on the "People First" line, became Borough President on May 1. 5

['QSN When did Carrion Jr. retire as Borough President? ANS March 1, 2009', 'QSN When was Carrion Jr. first elected Borough President? ANS 2001', 'QSN When was Carrion Jr. re-elected Borough President? ANS 2005', 'QSN Who succeeded Carrion Jr.? ANS Rubén Díaz, Jr.', 'QSN When was Diaz Jr. elected? ANS April 21, 2009']

In the Presidential primary elections of February 5, 2008, Sen. Clinton won 61.2% of the Bronx's 148,636 Democratic votes against 37.8% for Barack Obama and 1.0% for the other four candidates combined (John Edwards, Dennis Kucinich, Bill Richardson and Joe Biden). On the same day, John McCain won 54.4% of the borough's 5,643 Republican votes, Mitt Romney 20.8%, Mike Huckabee 8.2%, Ron Paul 7.4%, Rudy Giuliani 5.6%, and the other candidates (Fred Thompson, Duncan Hunter and Alan Keyes) 3.6% between them. 5

['QSN In the 2008 primary, how much of the Bronx vote did Clinton get? ANS 61.2%', 'QSN In the 2008 primary, how much of the Bronx vote did Obama get? ANS 37.8%', 'QSN In the 2008 primary, how much of the Bronx vote did McCain get? ANS 54.4%', 'QSN In the 2008 primary, how much of the Bronx vote did Huckabee get? ANS 8.2%', 'QSN In the 2008 primary, how much of the Bronx vote did Romney get? ANS 20.8%']

Since then, the Bronx has always supported the Democratic Party's nominee for President, starting with a vote of 2-1 for the unsuccessful Al Smith in 1928, followed by four 2-1 votes for the successful Franklin D. Roosevelt. (Both had been Governors of New York, but Republican former Gov. Thomas E. Dewey won only 28% of the Bronx's vote in 1948 against 55% for Pres. Harry Truman, the winning Democrat, and 17% for Henry A. Wallace of the Progressives. It was only 32 years earlier, by contrast, that another Republican former Governor who narrowly lost the Presidency, Charles Evans Hughes, had won 42.6% of the Bronx's 1916 vote against Democratic President Woodrow Wilson's 49.8% and Socialist candidate Allan Benson's 7.3%.) 5

['QSN Who did the Bronx support for President in 1928? ANS Al Smith', "QSN How much of the Bronx's vote in 1916 did Hughes get? ANS 42.6%", "QSN How much of the Bronx's vote in 1916 did Wilson get? ANS 42.6%", "QSN How much of the Bronx's vote in 1916 did Benson get? ANS 7.3%", "QSN How much of the Bronx's vote in 1948 did Truman get? ANS 55%"]

The Bronx has often shown striking differences from other boroughs in elections for Mayor. The only Republican to carry the Bronx since 1914 was Fiorello La Guardia in 1933, 1937 and 1941 (and in the latter two elections, only because his 30-32% vote on the American Labor Party line was added to 22-23% as a Republican). The Bronx was thus the only borough not carried by the successful Republican re-election campaigns of Mayors Rudolph Giuliani in 1997 and Michael Bloomberg in 2005. The anti-war Socialist campaign of Morris Hillquit in the 1917 mayoral election won over 31% of the Bronx's vote, putting him second and well ahead of the 20% won by the incumbent pro-war Fusion Mayor John P. Mitchel, who came in second (ahead of Hillquit) everywhere else and outpolled Hillquit city-wide by 23.2% to 21.7%. 5

['QSN Who was the only Republican Mayor candidate to win the Bronx since 1914? ANS Fiorello La Guardia', 'QSN Who did the Bronx vote against for mayor in 1997? ANS Rudolph Giuliani', 'QSN Who did the Bronx vote against for mayor in 2005? ANS Michael Bloomberg', 'QSN What party was Hillquit? ANS Socialist', 'QSN How much of the Bronx vote did Hillquit get in 1917? ANS over 31%']

Education in the Bronx is provided by a large number of public and private institutions, many of which draw students who live beyond the Bronx. The New York City Department of Education manages public noncharter schools in the borough. In 2000, public schools enrolled nearly 280,000 of the Bronx's residents over 3 years old (out of 333,100 enrolled in all pre-college schools). There are also several public charter schools. Private schools range from élite independent schools to religiously affiliated schools run by the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of New York and Jewish organizations. 4

['QSN How many students attended the Bronx public noncharter schools as of 2000? ANS nearly 280,000', 'QSN How many students attended the Bronx public and private schools as of 2000? ANS 333,100', 'QSN Which religious organizations run private schools in the Bronx? ANS the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of New York and Jewish organizations', "QSN Which entity runs the Bronx's public noncharter schools? ANS The New York City Department of Education"]

Educational attainment: In 2000, according to the U.S. Census, out of the nearly 800,000 people in the Bronx who were then at least 25 years old, 62.3% had graduated from high school and 14.6% held a bachelor's or higher college degree. These percentages were lower than those for New York's other boroughs, which ranged from 68.8% (Brooklyn) to 82.6% (Staten Island) for high school graduates over 24, and from 21.8% (Brooklyn) to 49.4% (Manhattan) for college graduates. (The respective state and national percentages were [NY] 79.1% & 27.4% and [US] 80.4% & 24.4%.) 5

['QSN What percent of the Bronx population has a high school diploma, as of 2000? ANS 62.3%', 'QSN What percent of the Bronx population has a university degree, as of 2000? ANS 14.6%', 'QSN What percent of the Brooklyn population has a high school diploma, as of 2000? ANS 68.8%', 'QSN What percent of the Staten Island population has a high school diploma, as of 2000? ANS 82.6%', 'QSN What percent of the Manhattan population has a university degree, as of 2000? ANS 49.4%']

Many public high schools are located in the borough including the elite Bronx High School of Science, Celia Cruz Bronx High School of Music, DeWitt Clinton High School, High School for Violin and Dance, Bronx Leadership Academy 2, Bronx International High School, the School for Excellence, the Morris Academy for Collaborative Study, Wings Academy for young adults, The Bronx School for Law, Government and Justice, Validus Preparatory Academy, The Eagle Academy For Young Men, Bronx Expeditionary Learning High School, Bronx Academy of Letters, Herbert H. Lehman High School and High School of American Studies. The Bronx is also home to three of New York City's most prestigious private, secular schools: Fieldston, Horace Mann, and Riverdale Country School. 5

["QSN Which of NYC's prestigious nonreligious private schools are in the Bronx? ANS Fieldston, Horace Mann, and Riverdale Country School", 'QSN Where is the Validus Prepatory Academy? ANS The Bronx', 'QSN Where is the High School for Violin and Dance? ANS The Bronx', 'QSN Where is the School for Excellence? ANS The Bronx', 'QSN Where is the DeWitt Clinton High School? ANS The Bronx']

In the 1990s, New York City began closing the large, public high schools in the Bronx and replacing them with small high schools. Among the reasons cited for the changes were poor graduation rates and concerns about safety. Schools that have been closed or reduced in size include John F. Kennedy, James Monroe, Taft, Theodore Roosevelt, Adlai Stevenson, Evander Childs, Christopher Columbus, Morris, Walton, and South Bronx High Schools. More recently the City has started phasing out large middle schools, also replacing them with smaller schools. 3

['QSN When did NYC begin splitting up the large Bronx high schools? ANS 1990s', 'QSN Which Bronx schools have been closed or made smaller? ANS John F. Kennedy, James Monroe, Taft, Theodore Roosevelt, Adlai Stevenson, Evander Childs, Christopher Columbus, Morris, Walton, and South Bronx High Schools', 'QSN What type of schools is NYC now working on shrinking? ANS large middle schools']

The Bronx's evolution from a hot bed of Latin jazz to an incubator of hip hop was the subject of an award-winning documentary, produced by City Lore and broadcast on PBS in 2006, "From Mambo to Hip Hop: A South Bronx Tale". Hip Hop first emerged in the South Bronx in the early 1970s. The New York Times has identified 1520 Sedgwick Avenue "an otherwise unremarkable high-rise just north of the Cross Bronx Expressway and hard along the Major Deegan Expressway" as a starting point, where DJ Kool Herc presided over parties in the community room. 5

["QSN When did a PBS documentary air about the Bronx's music history? ANS 2006", 'QSN What PBS documentary covered the Bronx\'s music history? ANS "From Mambo to Hip Hop: A South Bronx Tale"', 'QSN Where did DJ Kool Herc hold parties? ANS 1520 Sedgwick Avenue', "QSN Who produced 'From Mambo To Hip Hop'? ANS City Lore", 'QSN Where is 1520 Sedgwick? ANS just north of the Cross Bronx Expressway and hard along the Major Deegan Expressway']

Beginning with the advent of beat match DJing, in which Bronx DJs (Disc Jockeys) including Grandmaster Flash, Afrika Bambaataa and DJ Kool Herc extended the breaks of funk records, a major new musical genre emerged that sought to isolate the percussion breaks of hit funk, disco and soul songs. As hip hop's popularity grew, performers began speaking ("rapping") in sync with the beats, and became known as MCs or emcees. The Herculoids, made up of Herc, Coke La Rock, and DJ Clark Kent, were the earliest to gain major fame. The Bronx is referred to in hip-hop slang as "The Boogie Down Bronx", or just "The Boogie Down". This was hip-hop pioneer KRS-One's inspiration for his thought provoking group BDP, or Boogie Down Productions, which included DJ Scott La Rock. Newer hip hop artists from the Bronx include Big Pun, Lord Toriq and Peter Gunz, Camp Lo, Swizz Beatz, Drag-On, Fat Joe, Terror Squad and Corey Gunz. 5

['QSN Who were the Herculoids? ANS Herc, Coke La Rock, and DJ Clark Kent', "QSN What is 'The Boogie Down'? ANS The Bronx", 'QSN Where is Big Pun from? ANS the Bronx', 'QSN What types of music did hip hop emerge from? ANS funk, disco and soul', 'QSN Who started BDP? ANS KRS-One']

The Bronx is the home of the New York Yankees of Major League Baseball. The original Yankee Stadium opened in 1923 on 161st Street and River Avenue, a year that saw the Yankees bring home their first of 27 World Series Championships. With the famous facade, the short right field porch and Monument Park, Yankee Stadium has been home to many of baseball's greatest players including Babe Ruth, Lou Gehrig, Joe DiMaggio, Whitey Ford, Yogi Berra, Mickey Mantle, Reggie Jackson, Derek Jeter and Mariano Rivera. 5

['QSN When did the first Yankee Stadium open? ANS 1923', 'QSN Where was the first Yankee Stadium? ANS on 161st Street and River Avenue', 'QSN How many times have the Yankees won the World Series? ANS 27', 'QSN Which historic great players have played at Yankee Stadium? ANS Babe Ruth, Lou Gehrig, Joe DiMaggio, Whitey Ford, Yogi Berra, Mickey Mantle, Reggie Jackson, Derek Jeter and Mariano Rivera', 'QSN What league are the NY Yankees in? ANS Major League Baseball']

The Bronx is home to several Off-Off-Broadway theaters, many staging new works by immigrant playwrights from Latin America and Africa. The Pregones Theater, which produces Latin American work, opened a new 130-seat theater in 2005 on Walton Avenue in the South Bronx. Some artists from elsewhere in New York City have begun to converge on the area, and housing prices have nearly quadrupled in the area since 2002. However rising prices directly correlate to a housing shortage across the city and the entire metro area. 5

["QSN Where are many of the Bronx's playwrights from? ANS Latin America and Africa", "QSN How many seats does the Pregones' new theater have? ANS 130", 'QSN What does the Pregones specialize in? ANS Latin American work', "QSN When did the Pregones' new theater open? ANS 2005", "QSN Where is the Pregones' new theater? ANS on Walton Avenue in the South Bronx"]

The Bronx Museum of the Arts, founded in 1971, exhibits 20th century and contemporary art through its central museum space and 11,000 square feet (1,000 m2) of galleries. Many of its exhibitions are on themes of special interest to the Bronx. Its permanent collection features more than 800 works of art, primarily by artists from Africa, Asia and Latin America, including paintings, photographs, prints, drawings, and mixed media. The museum was temporarily closed in 2006 while it underwent a major expansion designed by the architectural firm Arquitectonica. 5

['QSN What types of art does the Bronx Museum of the Arts focus on? ANS 20th century and contemporary art', "QSN How large are the Bronx Museum of the Arts' galleries? ANS 11,000 square feet", 'QSN When did the Bronx Museum of the Arts open? ANS 1971', "QSN How many works are in the Bronx Museum of the Arts' permanent collection? ANS more than 800", "QSN Who designed the Bronx Museum of the Arts' 2006 expansion? ANS Arquitectonica"]

The Bronx has also become home to a peculiar poetic tribute, in the form of the Heinrich Heine Memorial, better known as the Lorelei Fountain from one of Heine's best-known works (1838). After Heine's German birthplace of Düsseldorf had rejected, allegedly for anti-Semitic motives, a centennial monument to the radical German-Jewish poet (1797–1856), his incensed German-American admirers, including Carl Schurz, started a movement to place one instead in Midtown Manhattan, at Fifth Avenue and 59th Street. However, this intention was thwarted by a combination of ethnic antagonism, aesthetic controversy and political struggles over the institutional control of public art. 5

['QSN When was the Lorelei Fountain written about? ANS 1838', 'QSN Where was Heinrich Heine born? ANS Düsseldorf', 'QSN When was Heine born? ANS 1797', 'QSN When did Heine die? ANS 1856', 'QSN What ethnicity is Carl Schurz? ANS German-American']

In 1899, the memorial, by the Berlin sculptor Ernst Gustav Herter (1846–1917), finally came to rest, although subject to repeated vandalism, in the Bronx, at 164th Street and the Grand Concourse, or Joyce Kilmer Park near today's Yankee Stadium. (In 1999, it was moved to 161st Street and the Concourse.) In 2007, Christopher Gray of The New York Times described it as "a writhing composition in white Tyrolean marble depicting Lorelei, the mythical German figure, surrounded by mermaids, dolphins and seashells." 5

['QSN When did Herter die? ANS 1917', 'QSN When was Herter born? ANS 1846', "QSN What was Herter's career? ANS sculptor", "QSN Where was Herter's Heine memorial placed in 1899? ANS 164th Street and the Grand Concourse, or Joyce Kilmer Park", "QSN Where was Herter's Heine memorial moved in 1999? ANS 161st Street and the Concourse"]

The peninsular borough's maritime heritage is acknowledged in several ways.The City Island Historical Society and Nautical Museum occupies a former public school designed by the New York City school system's turn-of-the-last-century master architect C. B. J. Snyder. The state's Maritime College in Fort Schuyler (on the southeastern shore) houses the Maritime Industry Museum. In addition, the Harlem River is reemerging as "Scullers' Row" due in large part to the efforts of the Bronx River Restoration Project, a joint public-private endeavor of the city's parks department. Canoeing and kayaking on the borough's namesake river have been promoted by the Bronx River Alliance. The river is also straddled by the New York Botanical Gardens, its neighbor, the Bronx Zoo, and a little further south, on the west shore, Bronx River Art Center. 5

["QSN Who designed the City Island Historical Society and Nautical Museum's building? ANS C. B. J. Snyder", 'QSN Where is the NY Maritime College? ANS Fort Schuyler', "QSN What was the City Island Historical Society and Nautical Museum's building originally? ANS a former public school", "QSN What is 'Scullers' Row'? ANS the Harlem River", 'QSN Which river is near the New York Botanical Gardens? ANS Bronx River']

The Bronx has several local newspapers, including The Bronx News, Parkchester News, City News, The Riverdale Press, Riverdale Review, The Bronx Times Reporter, Inner City Press (which now has more of a focus on national issues) and Co-Op City Times. Four non-profit news outlets, Norwood News, Mount Hope Monitor, Mott Haven Herald and The Hunts Point Express serve the borough's poorer communities. The editor and co-publisher of The Riverdale Press, Bernard Stein, won the Pulitzer Prize for Editorial Writing for his editorials about Bronx and New York City issues in 1998. (Stein graduated from the Bronx High School of Science in 1959.) 5

['QSN What does the Inner City Press now focus on? ANS national issues', "QSN Who is the Riverdale Press's editor? ANS Bernard Stein", 'QSN Why did Stein win a Pulitzer? ANS for his editorials about Bronx and New York City issues', 'QSN When did Stein win a Pulitzer? ANS 1998', 'QSN Where did Stein graduate from? ANS the Bronx High School of Science']

The City of New York has an official television station run by the NYC Media Group and broadcasting from Bronx Community College, and Cablevision operates News 12 The Bronx, both of which feature programming based in the Bronx. Co-op City was the first area in the Bronx, and the first in New York beyond Manhattan, to have its own cable television provider. The local public-access television station BronxNet originates from Herbert H. Lehman College, the borough's only four year CUNY school, and provides government-access television (GATV) public affairs programming in addition to programming produced by Bronx residents. 3

['QSN What channel in the Bronx does Cablevision run? ANS News 12 The Bronx', 'QSN Where is the official city TV station broadcast from? ANS Bronx Community College', "QSN What is the Bronx's only 4-year CUNY college? ANS Herbert H. Lehman College"]

Mid-20th century movies set in the Bronx portrayed densely settled, working-class, urban culture. Hollywood films such as From This Day Forward (1946), set in Highbridge, occasionally delved into Bronx life. Paddy Chayefsky's Academy Award-winning Marty was the most notable examination of working class Bronx life was also explored by Chayefsky in his 1956 film The Catered Affair, and in the 1993 Robert De Niro/Chazz Palminteri film, A Bronx Tale, Spike Lee's 1999 movie Summer of Sam, centered in an Italian-American Bronx community, 1994's I Like It Like That that takes place in the predominantly Puerto Rican neighborhood of the South Bronx, and Doughboys, the story of two Italian-American brothers in danger of losing their bakery thanks to one brother's gambling debts. 5

["QSN When was 'From This Day Forward' released? ANS 1946", "QSN Where was 'From This Day Forward' set? ANS Highbridge", "QSN When was 'The Catered Affair' released? ANS 1956", "QSN What did 'The Catered Affair' explore? ANS working class Bronx life", "QSN What was 'Summer of Sam' about? ANS an Italian-American Bronx community"]

Starting in the 1970s, the Bronx often symbolized violence, decay, and urban ruin. The wave of arson in the South Bronx in the 1960s and 1970s inspired the observation that "The Bronx is burning": in 1974 it was the title of both a New York Times editorial and a BBC documentary film. The line entered the pop-consciousness with Game Two of the 1977 World Series, when a fire broke out near Yankee Stadium as the team was playing the Los Angeles Dodgers. Numerous fires had previously broken out in the Bronx prior to this fire. As the fire was captured on live television, announcer Howard Cosell is wrongly remembered to have said something like, "There it is, ladies and gentlemen: the Bronx is burning". Historians of New York City frequently point to Cosell's remark as an acknowledgement of both the city and the borough's decline. A new feature-length documentary film by Edwin Pagan called Bronx Burning is in production in 2006, chronicling what led up to the numerous arson-for-insurance fraud fires of the 1970s in the borough. 5

['QSN Where was arson a big problem in the Bronx? ANS the South Bronx', 'QSN When was the phrase "The Bronx is burning" first widespread? ANS 1974', 'QSN Who made a documentary called "The Bronx is burning"? ANS BBC', 'QSN Who published an editorial called "The Bronx is burning"? ANS New York Times', "QSN Who made a film called 'Bronx Burning'? ANS Edwin Pagan"]

Bronx gang life was depicted in the 1974 novel The Wanderers by Bronx native Richard Price and the 1979 movie of the same name. They are set in the heart of the Bronx, showing apartment life and the then-landmark Krums ice cream parlor. In the 1979 film The Warriors, the eponymous gang go to a meeting in Van Cortlandt Park in the Bronx, and have to fight their way out of the borough and get back to Coney Island in Brooklyn. A Bronx Tale (1993) depicts gang activities in the Belmont "Little Italy" section of the Bronx. The 2005 video game adaptation features levels called Pelham, Tremont, and "Gunhill" (a play off the name Gun Hill Road). This theme lends itself to the title of The Bronx Is Burning, an eight-part ESPN TV mini-series (2007) about the New York Yankees' drive to winning baseball's 1977 World Series. The TV series emphasizes the boisterous nature of the team, led by manager Billy Martin, catcher Thurman Munson and outfielder Reggie Jackson, as well as the malaise of the Bronx and New York City in general during that time, such as the blackout, the city's serious financial woes and near bankruptcy, the arson for insurance payments, and the election of Ed Koch as mayor. 8

["QSN When was 'The Warriors' movie released? ANS 1979", "QSN When was 'The Wanderers' published? ANS 1974", "QSN When was 'A Bronx Tale' released? ANS 1993", "QSN When was 'The Wanderers' movie released? ANS 1979", "QSN When was 'The Wanderers' published? ANS 1974", "QSN When was 'The Wanderers' movie released? ANS 1979", "QSN When was 'The Warriors' movie released? ANS 1979", "QSN When was 'A Bronx Tale' released? ANS 1993"]

The 1981 film Fort Apache, The Bronx is another film that used the Bronx's gritty image for its storyline. The movie's title is from the nickname for the 41st Police Precinct in the South Bronx which was nicknamed "Fort Apache". Also from 1981 is the horror film Wolfen making use of the rubble of the Bronx as a home for werewolf type creatures. Knights of the South Bronx, a true story of a teacher who worked with disadvantaged children, is another film also set in the Bronx released in 2005. The Bronx was the setting for the 1983 film Fuga dal Bronx, also known as Bronx Warriors 2 and Escape 2000, an Italian B-movie best known for its appearance on the television series Mystery Science Theatre 3000. The plot revolves around a sinister construction corporation's plans to depopulate, destroy and redevelop the Bronx, and a band of rebels who are out to expose the corporation's murderous ways and save their homes. The film is memorable for its almost incessant use of the phrase, "Leave the Bronx!" Many of the movie's scenes were filmed in Queens, substituting as the Bronx. Rumble in the Bronx was a 1995 Jackie Chan kung-fu film, another which popularised the Bronx to international audiences. Last Bronx, a 1996 Sega game played on the bad reputation of the Bronx to lend its name to an alternate version of post-Japanese bubble Tokyo, where crime and gang warfare is rampant. 3

["QSN When was 'Fort Apache' released? ANS 1981", "QSN When was 'Fuga dal Bronx' released? ANS 2005", "QSN What origin was 'Escape 2000'? ANS Italian"]

Bronx native Nancy Savoca's 1989 comedy, True Love, explores two Italian-American Bronx sweethearts in the days before their wedding. The film, which debuted Annabella Sciorra and Ron Eldard as the betrothed couple, won the Grand Jury Prize at that year's Sundance Film Festival. The CBS television sitcom Becker, 1998–2004, was more ambiguous. The show starred Ted Danson as Dr. John Becker, a doctor who operated a small practice and was constantly annoyed by his patients, co-workers, friends, and practically everything and everybody else in his world. It showed his everyday life as a doctor working in a small clinic in the Bronx. 3

["QSN When was 'True Love' released? ANS 1989", "QSN What genre was 'True Love'? ANS comedy", "QSN Who starred in 'True Love'? ANS Annabella Sciorra and Ron Eldard"]

Penny Marshall's 1990 film Awakenings, which was nominated for several Oscars, is based on neurologist Oliver Sacks' 1973 account of his psychiatric patients at Beth Abraham Hospital in the Bronx who were paralyzed by a form of encephalitis but briefly responded to the drug L-dopa. Robin Williams played the physician; Robert De Niro was one of the patients who emerged from a catatonic (frozen) state. The home of Williams' character was shot not far from Sacks' actual City Island residence. A 1973 Yorkshire Television documentary and "A Kind of Alaska", a 1985 play by Harold Pinter, were also based on Sacks' book. 5

['QSN When did "Awakenings" come out? ANS 1990', "QSN Whose real story is 'Awakenings' based on? ANS Oliver Sacks", "QSN What is Sacks' career? ANS neurologist", "QSN When was 'A Kind of Alaska' performed? ANS 1985", "QSN Who wrote 'A Kind of Alaska'? ANS Harold Pinter"]

The Bronx has been featured significantly in fiction literature. All of the characters in Herman Wouk's City Boy: The Adventures of Herbie Bookbinder (1948) live in the Bronx, and about half of the action is set there. Kate Simon's Bronx Primitive: Portraits of a Childhood is directly autobiographical, a warm account of a Polish-Jewish girl in an immigrant family growing up before World War II, and living near Arthur Avenue and Tremont Avenue. In Jacob M. Appel's short story, "The Grand Concourse" (2007), a woman who grew up in the iconic Lewis Morris Building returns to the Morrisania neighborhood with her adult daughter. Similarly, in Avery Corman's book The Old Neighborhood (1980), an upper-middle class white protagonist returns to his birth neighborhood (Fordham Road and the Grand Concourse), and learns that even though the folks are poor, Hispanic and African-American, they are good people. 5

["QSN When was 'City Boy: The Adventures of Herbie Bookbinder' published? ANS 1948", "QSN How much of 'City Boy: The Adventures of Herbie Bookbinder' is set in the Bronx? ANS about half", "QSN Who wrote 'City Boy: The Adventures of Herbie Bookbinder'? ANS Herman Wouk", "QSN When was 'The Grand Concourse' published? ANS 2007", "QSN Who wrote 'The Grand Concourse'? ANS Jacob M. Appel"]

By contrast, Tom Wolfe's Bonfire of the Vanities (1987) portrays a wealthy, white protagonist, Sherman McCoy, getting lost off the Major Deegan Expressway in the South Bronx and having an altercation with locals. A substantial piece of the last part of the book is set in the resulting riotous trial at the Bronx County Courthouse. However, times change, and in 2007, the New York Times reported that "the Bronx neighborhoods near the site of Sherman's accident are now dotted with townhouses and apartments." In the same article, the Reverend Al Sharpton (whose fictional analogue in the novel is "Reverend Bacon") asserts that "twenty years later, the cynicism of The Bonfire of the Vanities is as out of style as Tom Wolfe's wardrobe." 5

["QSN Who wrote 'Bonfire of the Vanities'? ANS Tom Wolfe", "QSN When was 'Bonfire of the Vanities' published? ANS 1987", "QSN Who was the main character of 'Bonfire of the Vanities'? ANS Sherman McCoy", 'QSN What race was Sherman McCoy? ANS white', 'QSN Where did McCoy get lost? ANS off the Major Deegan Expressway in the South Bronx']

Humanism is a philosophical and ethical stance that emphasizes the value and agency of human beings, individually and collectively, and generally prefers critical thinking and evidence (rationalism, empiricism) over acceptance of dogma or superstition. The meaning of the term humanism has fluctuated according to the successive intellectual movements which have identified with it. Generally, however, humanism refers to a perspective that affirms some notion of human freedom and progress. In modern times, humanist movements are typically aligned with secularism, and today humanism typically refers to a non-theistic life stance centred on human agency and looking to science rather than revelation from a supernatural source to understand the world. 5

['QSN What can be seen as of essential importance to a practiced of humanism? ANS human beings', 'QSN What is a common tenant of humanism? ANS freedom and progress', 'QSN What can be credited for the changes in the definition of humanism? ANS intellectual movements', 'QSN These days humanism could be viewed as a form of what? ANS secularism', 'QSN Instead of turning to a spiritual or divine source practicers of humanism turn to what? ANS science']

Gellius says that in his day humanitas is commonly used as a synonym for philanthropy – or kindness and benevolence toward one's fellow human being. Gellius maintains that this common usage is wrong, and that model writers of Latin, such as Cicero and others, used the word only to mean what we might call "humane" or "polite" learning, or the Greek equivalent Paideia. Gellius became a favorite author in the Italian Renaissance, and, in fifteenth-century Italy, teachers and scholars of philosophy, poetry, and rhetoric were called and called themselves "humanists". Modern scholars, however, point out that Cicero (106 – 43 BCE), who was most responsible for defining and popularizing the term humanitas, in fact frequently used the word in both senses, as did his near contemporaries. For Cicero, a lawyer, what most distinguished humans from brutes was speech, which, allied to reason, could (and should) enable them to settle disputes and live together in concord and harmony under the rule of law. Thus humanitas included two meanings from the outset and these continue in the modern derivative, humanism, which even today can refer to both humanitarian benevolence and to scholarship. 5

['QSN What was humanism once considered the same as? ANS philanthropy', 'QSN Who has disagreed with this connotation of the word? ANS Gellius', 'QSN In which period did Gellius gain fame? ANS Italian Renaissance', 'QSN Who is credited with clarifying and making the term humanitas commonplace? ANS Cicero', 'QSN What is the characteristic that most separates humans from animals? ANS speech']

During the French Revolution, and soon after, in Germany (by the Left Hegelians), humanism began to refer to an ethical philosophy centered on humankind, without attention to the transcendent or supernatural. The designation Religious Humanism refers to organized groups that sprang up during the late-nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. It is similar to Protestantism, although centered on human needs, interests, and abilities rather than the supernatural. In the Anglophone world, such modern, organized forms of humanism, which are rooted in the 18th-century Enlightenment, have to a considerable extent more or less detached themselves from the historic connection of humanism with classical learning and the liberal arts. 4

['QSN At the time of the French Revolution what previous focus of humanism was removed? ANS supernatural', 'QSN Protestantism differs from Humanism in its focus is on what? ANS supernatural', 'QSN What do current tenants humanism have their origins in? ANS 18th-century Enlightenment', 'QSN What was a name for humanism believers who emerged in the late 19th and early 20th centuries? ANS Religious Humanism']

In 1808 Bavarian educational commissioner Friedrich Immanuel Niethammer coined the term Humanismus to describe the new classical curriculum he planned to offer in German secondary schools, and by 1836 the word "humanism" had been absorbed into the English language in this sense. The coinage gained universal acceptance in 1856, when German historian and philologist Georg Voigt used humanism to describe Renaissance humanism, the movement that flourished in the Italian Renaissance to revive classical learning, a use which won wide acceptance among historians in many nations, especially Italy. 4

['QSN In what year did the term humanism gain yet another layer of meaning? ANS 1808', 'QSN Who can be credited with assisting the word humanism with finding a home in the English language? ANS Friedrich Immanuel Niethammer', 'QSN Who was responsible for yet another definition of the philosophy in 1856? ANS Georg Voigt', 'QSN What nation was highly receptive to the new definition of this concept? ANS Italy']

But in the mid-18th century, during the French Enlightenment, a more ideological use of the term had come into use. In 1765, the author of an anonymous article in a French Enlightenment periodical spoke of "The general love of humanity ... a virtue hitherto quite nameless among us, and which we will venture to call 'humanism', for the time has come to create a word for such a beautiful and necessary thing". The latter part of the 18th and the early 19th centuries saw the creation of numerous grass-roots "philanthropic" and benevolent societies dedicated to human betterment and the spreading of knowledge (some Christian, some not). After the French Revolution, the idea that human virtue could be created by human reason alone independently from traditional religious institutions, attributed by opponents of the Revolution to Enlightenment philosophes such as Rousseau, was violently attacked by influential religious and political conservatives, such as Edmund Burke and Joseph de Maistre, as a deification or idolatry of humanity. Humanism began to acquire a negative sense. The Oxford English Dictionary records the use of the word "humanism" by an English clergyman in 1812 to indicate those who believe in the "mere humanity" (as opposed to the divine nature) of Christ, i.e., Unitarians and Deists. In this polarised atmosphere, in which established ecclesiastical bodies tended to circle the wagons and reflexively oppose political and social reforms like extending the franchise, universal schooling, and the like, liberal reformers and radicals embraced the idea of Humanism as an alternative religion of humanity. The anarchist Proudhon (best known for declaring that "property is theft") used the word "humanism" to describe a "culte, déification de l’humanité" ("worship, deification of humanity") and Ernest Renan in L’avenir de la science: pensées de 1848 ("The Future of Knowledge: Thoughts on 1848") (1848–49), states: "It is my deep conviction that pure humanism will be the religion of the future, that is, the cult of all that pertains to humanity—all of life, sanctified and raised to the level of a moral value." 4

['QSN During which period was the philosophy of humanism next updated? ANS French Enlightenment', 'QSN What was the criticism of Humanism made by conservatives of the time? ANS idolatry of humanity', 'QSN Who continued to support the belief system despite its critics? ANS liberal reformers and radicals', 'QSN Who felt that humanism would surely be a major "religion" today? ANS Ernest Renan']

At about the same time, the word "humanism" as a philosophy centred on humankind (as opposed to institutionalised religion) was also being used in Germany by the so-called Left Hegelians, Arnold Ruge, and Karl Marx, who were critical of the close involvement of the church in the repressive German government. There has been a persistent confusion between the several uses of the terms: philanthropic humanists look to what they consider their antecedents in critical thinking and human-centered philosophy among the Greek philosophers and the great figures of Renaissance history; and scholarly humanists stress the linguistic and cultural disciplines needed to understand and interpret these philosophers and artists. 4

['QSN What was the main difference between humanism and the religions of the time? ANS centred on humankind', 'QSN What well known socialist adopted the usage of this term in Germany? ANS Karl Marx', 'QSN Who did benevolent believers in humanism turn to for ideas about the philosophy? ANS Greek philosophers', 'QSN Where did the learned believers place their focus? ANS linguistic and cultural disciplines']

Another instance of ancient humanism as an organised system of thought is found in the Gathas of Zarathustra, composed between 1,000 BCE – 600 BCE in Greater Iran. Zarathustra's philosophy in the Gathas lays out a conception of humankind as thinking beings dignified with choice and agency according to the intellect which each receives from Ahura Mazda (God in the form of supreme wisdom). The idea of Ahura Mazda as a non-intervening deistic divine God/Grand Architect of the universe tied with a unique eschatology and ethical system implying that each person is held morally responsible for their choices, made freely in this present life, in the afterlife. The importance placed on thought, action, responsibility, and a non-intervening creator was appealed to by, and inspired a number of, Enlightenment humanist thinkers in Europe such as Voltaire and Montesquieu. 4

['QSN Which ancient text provides an example of the humanist way of thinking? ANS Gathas of Zarathustra', 'QSN When was this writing penned? ANS 1,000 BCE – 600 BCE', 'QSN When was this writing penned? ANS afterlife', 'QSN What well know scholar was inspired by Humanism? ANS Voltaire']

In China, Yellow Emperor is regarded as the humanistic primogenitor.[citation needed] Sage kings such as Yao and Shun are humanistic figures as recorded.[citation needed] King Wu of Zhou has the famous saying: "Humanity is the Ling (efficacious essence) of the world (among all)." Among them Duke of Zhou, respected as a founder of Rujia (Confucianism), is especially prominent and pioneering in humanistic thought. His words were recorded in the Book of History as follows (translation):[citation needed] 4

['QSN Who was known as being a founder of humanism thought in China? ANS Yellow Emperor', 'QSN What early adopter and developer of is associated with Confucianism? ANS Duke of Zhou', 'QSN What early adopter and developer of is associated with Confucianism? ANS Book of History', 'QSN Who is known for the thought that humanity is the most important thing in the world? ANS Wu of Zhou']

In the 6th century BCE, Taoist teacher Lao Tzu espoused a series of naturalistic concepts with some elements of humanistic philosophy. The Silver Rule of Confucianism from Analects XV.24, is an example of ethical philosophy based on human values rather than the supernatural. Humanistic thought is also contained in other Confucian classics, e.g., as recorded in Zuo Zhuan, Ji Liang says, "People is the zhu (master, lord, dominance, owner or origin) of gods. So, to sage kings, people first, gods second"; Neishi Guo says, "Gods, clever, righteous and wholehearted, comply with human." Taoist and Confucian secularism contain elements of moral thought devoid of religious authority or deism however they only partly resembled our modern concept of secularism. 4

['QSN When were humanism beliefs mixed with another philosophy by a Taoist thinker? ANS 6th century BCE', 'QSN What is an example of Humanism based philosophy that focused on ethics? ANS Silver Rule of Confucianism', 'QSN Who can be credited with saying essentially humans are the gods of gods? ANS Ji Liang', 'QSN Where could you read this information? ANS Zuo Zhuan']

6th-century BCE pre-Socratic Greek philosophers Thales of Miletus and Xenophanes of Colophon were the first in the region to attempt to explain the world in terms of human reason rather than myth and tradition, thus can be said to be the first Greek humanists. Thales questioned the notion of anthropomorphic gods and Xenophanes refused to recognise the gods of his time and reserved the divine for the principle of unity in the universe. These Ionian Greeks were the first thinkers to assert that nature is available to be studied separately from the supernatural realm. Anaxagoras brought philosophy and the spirit of rational inquiry from Ionia to Athens. Pericles, the leader of Athens during the period of its greatest glory was an admirer of Anaxagoras. Other influential pre-Socratics or rational philosophers include Protagoras (like Anaxagoras a friend of Pericles), known for his famous dictum "man is the measure of all things" and Democritus, who proposed that matter was composed of atoms. Little of the written work of these early philosophers survives and they are known mainly from fragments and quotations in other writers, principally Plato and Aristotle. The historian Thucydides, noted for his scientific and rational approach to history, is also much admired by later humanists. In the 3rd century BCE, Epicurus became known for his concise phrasing of the problem of evil, lack of belief in the afterlife, and human-centred approaches to achieving eudaimonia. He was also the first Greek philosopher to admit women to his school as a rule. 4

['QSN Who was one of the first Greeks to adopt a humanistic outlook? ANS Thales of Miletus', 'QSN Where did this type of thinking next travel to? ANS Athens', 'QSN Who first introduced the idea that matter is made of atoms? ANS Democritus', 'QSN Who was the first person to provide education opportunities to females? ANS Epicurus']

Renaissance humanism was an intellectual movement in Europe of the later Middle Ages and the Early Modern period. The 19th-century German historian Georg Voigt (1827–91) identified Petrarch as the first Renaissance humanist. Paul Johnson agrees that Petrarch was "the first to put into words the notion that the centuries between the fall of Rome and the present had been the age of Darkness". According to Petrarch, what was needed to remedy this situation was the careful study and imitation of the great classical authors. For Petrarch and Boccaccio, the greatest master was Cicero, whose prose became the model for both learned (Latin) and vernacular (Italian) prose. 4

['QSN When did the first wave of Humanism reach Europe? ANS Middle Ages and the Early Modern period', 'QSN Who was thought to be the original believer of humanism in of the Renaissance period? ANS Petrarch', 'QSN The study and following of classical writers was said to be a solution to what issue? ANS Cicero', 'QSN The study and following of classical writers was said to be a solution to what issue? ANS age of Darkness']

In the high Renaissance, in fact, there was a hope that more direct knowledge of the wisdom of antiquity, including the writings of the Church fathers, the earliest known Greek texts of the Christian Gospels, and in some cases even the Jewish Kabbalah, would initiate a harmonious new era of universal agreement. With this end in view, Renaissance Church authorities afforded humanists what in retrospect appears a remarkable degree of freedom of thought. One humanist, the Greek Orthodox Platonist Gemistus Pletho (1355–1452), based in Mystras, Greece (but in contact with humanists in Florence, Venice, and Rome) taught a Christianised version of pagan polytheism. 4

['QSN What is one religious text that was thought to eventually lead to a peace between all? ANS the Jewish Kabbalah', 'QSN Who gave followers of Humanism the ability to think out of bounds? ANS Renaissance Church authorities', 'QSN Who gave followers of Humanism the ability to think out of bounds? ANS era of universal agreement', 'QSN What cities may have influenced the beliefs of Gemistus Pleto? ANS Florence, Venice, and Rome']

The humanists' close study of Latin literary texts soon enabled them to discern historical differences in the writing styles of different periods. By analogy with what they saw as decline of Latin, they applied the principle of ad fontes, or back to the sources, across broad areas of learning, seeking out manuscripts of Patristic literature as well as pagan authors. In 1439, while employed in Naples at the court of Alfonso V of Aragon (at the time engaged in a dispute with the Papal States) the humanist Lorenzo Valla used stylistic textual analysis, now called philology, to prove that the Donation of Constantine, which purported to confer temporal powers on the Pope of Rome, was an 8th-century forgery. For the next 70 years, however, neither Valla nor any of his contemporaries thought to apply the techniques of philology to other controversial manuscripts in this way. Instead, after the fall of the Byzantine Empire to the Turks in 1453, which brought a flood of Greek Orthodox refugees to Italy, humanist scholars increasingly turned to the study of Neoplatonism and Hermeticism, hoping to bridge the differences between the Greek and Roman Churches, and even between Christianity itself and the non-Christian world. The refugees brought with them Greek manuscripts, not only of Plato and Aristotle, but also of the Christian Gospels, previously unavailable in the Latin West. 5

['QSN How were humanist able to identify the development of humanist thought? ANS Latin literary texts', 'QSN What was included in this quest for knowledge of the belief system? ANS Patristic literature', 'QSN If your were unsure of the authenticity of an ancient text how could you verify it? ANS philology', 'QSN What caused a large migration of Greek refuges in the 1450s? ANS Byzantine Empire', 'QSN What caused a large migration of Greek refuges in the 1450s? ANS Greek manuscripts']

After 1517, when the new invention of printing made these texts widely available, the Dutch humanist Erasmus, who had studied Greek at the Venetian printing house of Aldus Manutius, began a philological analysis of the Gospels in the spirit of Valla, comparing the Greek originals with their Latin translations with a view to correcting errors and discrepancies in the latter. Erasmus, along with the French humanist Jacques Lefèvre d'Étaples, began issuing new translations, laying the groundwork for the Protestant Reformation. Henceforth Renaissance humanism, particularly in the German North, became concerned with religion, while Italian and French humanism concentrated increasingly on scholarship and philology addressed to a narrow audience of specialists, studiously avoiding topics that might offend despotic rulers or which might be seen as corrosive of faith. After the Reformation, critical examination of the Bible did not resume until the advent of the so-called Higher criticism of the 19th-century German Tübingen school. 4

['QSN When are these texts first able to reach a large amount of people? ANS 1517', 'QSN When are these texts first able to reach a large amount of people? ANS Erasmus', "QSN Erasmus can be said to have lit the match that sparked a radical change in thinking in his era along with who? ANS Lefèvre d'Étaples", 'QSN What text still remained without the type of thorough review that others texts had received by the 18th century? ANS the Bible']

The words of the comic playwright P. Terentius Afer reverberated across the Roman world of the mid-2nd century BCE and beyond. Terence, an African and a former slave, was well placed to preach the message of universalism, of the essential unity of the human race, that had come down in philosophical form from the Greeks, but needed the pragmatic muscles of Rome in order to become a practical reality. The influence of Terence's felicitous phrase on Roman thinking about human rights can hardly be overestimated. Two hundred years later Seneca ended his seminal exposition of the unity of humankind with a clarion-call: 5

['QSN What author had a great impact in Rome? ANS P. Terentius Afer', 'QSN Who was able to spread the idea of equality among all through his words? ANS Terence', 'QSN From where did this school of thought emerge? ANS the Greeks', 'QSN Who again issued the same type of challenge centuries later ANS Seneca', 'QSN What was the name of the main belief Terence offered ANS universalism']

Better acquaintance with Greek and Roman technical writings also influenced the development of European science (see the history of science in the Renaissance). This was despite what A. C. Crombie (viewing the Renaissance in the 19th-century manner as a chapter in the heroic March of Progress) calls "a backwards-looking admiration for antiquity", in which Platonism stood in opposition to the Aristotelian concentration on the observable properties of the physical world. But Renaissance humanists, who considered themselves as restoring the glory and nobility of antiquity, had no interest in scientific innovation. However, by the mid-to-late 16th century, even the universities, though still dominated by Scholasticism, began to demand that Aristotle be read in accurate texts edited according to the principles of Renaissance philology, thus setting the stage for Galileo's quarrels with the outmoded habits of Scholasticism. 4

['QSN Who felt that looking to these ancient documents for new ideas was not the way to mover forward? ANS A. C. Crombie', 'QSN Closer examination of what information allowed for further progress in scientific knowledge? ANS technical writings', 'QSN What group was neutral about this issue as they felt the subject unimportant? ANS Renaissance humanists', 'QSN When did even the scholars and professors began to at least end to examine the works of Aristotle? ANS 16th century,']

Just as artist and inventor Leonardo da Vinci – partaking of the zeitgeist though not himself a humanist – advocated study of human anatomy, nature, and weather to enrich Renaissance works of art, so Spanish-born humanist Juan Luis Vives (c. 1493–1540) advocated observation, craft, and practical techniques to improve the formal teaching of Aristotelian philosophy at the universities, helping to free them from the grip of Medieval Scholasticism. Thus, the stage was set for the adoption of an approach to natural philosophy, based on empirical observations and experimentation of the physical universe, making possible the advent of the age of scientific inquiry that followed the Renaissance. 4

['QSN Who felt that the further examination and knowledge of studies in the arena of humanism could further art? ANS Leonardo da Vinci', 'QSN Who helped to further the movement away from Scholasticism of the time? ANS Juan Luis Vives', 'QSN Where did this initiate? ANS universities', 'QSN What type of philosophy was essential to this forwarding of thought? ANS Aristotelian']

Early humanists saw no conflict between reason and their Christian faith (see Christian Humanism). They inveighed against the abuses of the Church, but not against the Church itself, much less against religion. For them, the word "secular" carried no connotations of disbelief – that would come later, in the nineteenth century. In the Renaissance to be secular meant simply to be in the world rather than in a monastery. Petrarch frequently admitted that his brother Gherardo's life as a Carthusian monk was superior to his own (although Petrarch himself was in Minor Orders and was employed by the Church all his life). He hoped that he could do some good by winning earthly glory and praising virtue, inferior though that might be to a life devoted solely to prayer. By embracing a non-theistic philosophic base, however, the methods of the humanists, combined with their eloquence, would ultimately have a corrosive effect on established authority. 4

['QSN Who was able to reconcile their religious beliefs with those of humanism? ANS Early humanists', 'QSN What phrase that has come to be associated with a lack of faith was not seen as an issue for Christians? ANS secular', 'QSN During what time period did secular have a more neutral connotation? ANS Renaissance', 'QSN Petrarch felt that although he tried to do his own form of good whose life may have more meaning? ANS Gherardo']

Eliot and her circle, who included her companion George Henry Lewes (the biographer of Goethe) and the abolitionist and social theorist Harriet Martineau, were much influenced by the positivism of Auguste Comte, whom Martineau had translated. Comte had proposed an atheistic culte founded on human principles – a secular Religion of Humanity (which worshiped the dead, since most humans who have ever lived are dead), complete with holidays and liturgy, modeled on the rituals of what was seen as a discredited and dilapidated Catholicism. Although Comte's English followers, like Eliot and Martineau, for the most part rejected the full gloomy panoply of his system, they liked the idea of a religion of humanity. Comte's austere vision of the universe, his injunction to "vivre pour altrui" ("live for others", from which comes the word "altruism"), and his idealisation of women inform the works of Victorian novelists and poets from George Eliot and Matthew Arnold to Thomas Hardy. 4

['QSN What abolitionist was greatly affected by the writings of Comte? ANS Harriet Martineau', 'QSN What type of idea did he pose which was focused on facets of humanism? ANS atheistic', "QSN What main idea did the English believers of Comte's philosophy take from his writings? ANS religion of humanity", 'QSN What currently used word was based in ideas from this philosopher? ANS altruism']

Active in the early 1920s, F.C.S. Schiller labelled his work "humanism" but for Schiller the term referred to the pragmatist philosophy he shared with William James. In 1929, Charles Francis Potter founded the First Humanist Society of New York whose advisory board included Julian Huxley, John Dewey, Albert Einstein and Thomas Mann. Potter was a minister from the Unitarian tradition and in 1930 he and his wife, Clara Cook Potter, published Humanism: A New Religion. Throughout the 1930s, Potter was an advocate of such liberal causes as, women’s rights, access to birth control, "civil divorce laws", and an end to capital punishment. 4

['QSN What 19th century author associated his works with humanism? ANS F.C.S. Schiller', 'QSN When was the first public group for Humanist founded? ANS 1929', 'QSN Who created this group? ANS Charles Francis Potter', 'QSN When did Charles Potter and Clara Potter publish their first writings on Humanism? ANS 1930']

Humanistic psychology is a psychological perspective which rose to prominence in the mid-20th century in response to Sigmund Freud's psychoanalytic theory and B. F. Skinner's Behaviorism. The approach emphasizes an individual's inherent drive towards self-actualization and creativity. Psychologists Carl Rogers and Abraham Maslow introduced a positive, humanistic psychology in response to what they viewed as the overly pessimistic view of psychoanalysis in the early 1960s. Other sources include the philosophies of existentialism and phenomenology. 4

['QSN Who wotked with Carl Rogers on humanistic phycology? ANS Abraham Maslow', 'QSN What is human phycology? ANS psychological perspective', 'QSN In what century did humanistic phycology rise in prominence? ANS 20th century', 'QSN They introduced it in response to what? ANS psychoanalysis']

Raymond B. Bragg, the associate editor of The New Humanist, sought to consolidate the input of Leon Milton Birkhead, Charles Francis Potter, and several members of the Western Unitarian Conference. Bragg asked Roy Wood Sellars to draft a document based on this information which resulted in the publication of the Humanist Manifesto in 1933. Potter's book and the Manifesto became the cornerstones of modern humanism, the latter declaring a new religion by saying, "any religion that can hope to be a synthesising and dynamic force for today must be shaped for the needs of this age. To establish such a religion is a major necessity of the present." It then presented 15 theses of humanism as foundational principles for this new religion. 4

['QSN What groups thoughts did he seek to include? ANS Western Unitarian Conference', 'QSN Who became responsible in part for the editing of The New Humanist? ANS Raymond B. Bragg,', 'QSN How many cornerstones of this new way of thinking or religion were presented> ANS 15', 'QSN What was the name of the material that was produced from this groups and the opinions of others? ANS Humanist Manifesto']

Renaissance humanism was an activity of cultural and educational reform engaged in by civic and ecclesiastical chancellors, book collectors, educators, and writers, who by the late fifteenth century began to be referred to as umanisti – "humanists". It developed during the fourteenth and the beginning of the fifteenth centuries, and was a response to the challenge of scholastic university education, which was then dominated by Aristotelian philosophy and logic. Scholasticism focused on preparing men to be doctors, lawyers or professional theologians, and was taught from approved textbooks in logic, natural philosophy, medicine, law and theology. There were important centres of humanism at Florence, Naples, Rome, Venice, Mantua, Ferrara, and Urbino. 4

['QSN What was the main action of humanism during the Renaissance> ANS cultural and educational reform', 'QSN When did a new term for those who followed Humanism emerge? ANS late fifteenth century', 'QSN Where was one main concentration of Humanism? ANS Naples', 'QSN What was the new term for believers of Humanism philosophy? ANS umanisti']

Humanists reacted against this utilitarian approach and the narrow pedantry associated with it. They sought to create a citizenry (frequently including women) able to speak and write with eloquence and clarity and thus capable of engaging the civic life of their communities and persuading others to virtuous and prudent actions. This was to be accomplished through the study of the studia humanitatis, today known as the humanities: grammar, rhetoric, history, poetry and moral philosophy. As a program to revive the cultural – and particularly the literary – legacy and moral philosophy of classical antiquity, Humanism was a pervasive cultural mode and not the program of a few isolated geniuses like Rabelais or Erasmus as is still sometimes popularly believed. 4

['QSN What was it about the utilitatian beliefs that humanism believers did not like? ANS narrow pedantry', 'QSN What group that had been to this point neglected was included in this thought? ANS women', 'QSN What foundation of study allowed for the accomplishment of the goal of a scholarly people? ANS humanities', 'QSN Was the humanism of the time limited to scholars? ANS pervasive cultural mode']

Contemporary humanism entails a qualified optimism about the capacity of people, but it does not involve believing that human nature is purely good or that all people can live up to the Humanist ideals without help. If anything, there is recognition that living up to one's potential is hard work and requires the help of others. The ultimate goal is human flourishing; making life better for all humans, and as the most conscious species, also promoting concern for the welfare of other sentient beings and the planet as a whole. The focus is on doing good and living well in the here and now, and leaving the world a better place for those who come after. In 1925, the English mathematician and philosopher Alfred North Whitehead cautioned: "The prophecy of Francis Bacon has now been fulfilled; and man, who at times dreamt of himself as a little lower than the angels, has submitted to become the servant and the minister of nature. It still remains to be seen whether the same actor can play both parts". 4

['QSN What is contemporary humanism optimistic about? ANS capacity of people', 'QSN What is the main goal of humanism optimistic? ANS human flourishing', 'QSN What is human flourishing? ANS making life better', 'QSN What doesnt conetemporary humanism believe about human nature? ANS purely good']

Religious humanism is an integration of humanist ethical philosophy with religious rituals and beliefs that centre on human needs, interests, and abilities. Though practitioners of religious humanism did not officially organise under the name of "humanism" until the late 19th and early 20th centuries, non-theistic religions paired with human-centred ethical philosophy have a long history. The Cult of Reason (French: Culte de la Raison) was a religion based on deism devised during the French Revolution by Jacques Hébert, Pierre Gaspard Chaumette and their supporters. In 1793 during the French Revolution, the cathedral Notre Dame de Paris was turned into a "Temple to Reason" and for a time Lady Liberty replaced the Virgin Mary on several altars. In the 1850s, Auguste Comte, the Father of Sociology, founded Positivism, a "religion of humanity". One of the earliest forerunners of contemporary chartered humanist organisations was the Humanistic Religious Association formed in 1853 in London. This early group was democratically organised, with male and female members participating in the election of the leadership and promoted knowledge of the sciences, philosophy, and the arts. The Ethical Culture movement was founded in 1876. The movement's founder, Felix Adler, a former member of the Free Religious Association, conceived of Ethical Culture as a new religion that would retain the ethical message at the heart of all religions. Ethical Culture was religious in the sense of playing a defining role in people's lives and addressing issues of ultimate concern. 4

['QSN What was included in religious humanism that was similiar to other religion? ANS religious rituals', 'QSN When did practicers of religious humanism form under the name Humanism? ANS 19th and early 20th centuries', 'QSN Who founded a religion whose cornerstone was deism? ANS Jacques Hébert', 'QSN During what time was a religious state replaced in the Notre Dame cathedral with a symbol of Humanism? ANS 1793']

Polemics about humanism have sometimes assumed paradoxical twists and turns. Early 20th century critics such as Ezra Pound, T. E. Hulme, and T. S. Eliot considered humanism to be sentimental "slop" (Hulme)[citation needed] or "an old bitch gone in the teeth" (Pound) and wanted to go back to a more manly, authoritarian society such as (they believed) existed in the Middle Ages. Postmodern critics who are self-described anti-humanists, such as Jean-François Lyotard and Michel Foucault, have asserted that humanism posits an overarching and excessively abstract notion of humanity or universal human nature, which can then be used as a pretext for imperialism and domination of those deemed somehow less than human. "Humanism fabricates the human as much as it fabricates the nonhuman animal", suggests Timothy Laurie, turning the human into what he calls "a placeholder for a range of attributes that have been considered most virtuous among humans (e.g. rationality, altruism), rather than most commonplace (e.g. hunger, anger)". Nevertheless, philosopher Kate Soper notes that by faulting humanism for falling short of its own benevolent ideals, anti-humanism thus frequently "secretes a humanist rhetoric". 4

['QSN Who was one early naysayer of Humanism? ANS Ezra Pound', 'QSN What was the main reason they disagreed with the beliefs? ANS sentimental', 'QSN Who stated Humanism creates of people placeholder? ANS Timothy Laurie', 'QSN Who stated that this argument was in fact support of Humanism? ANS Kate Soper']

In his book, Humanism (1997), Tony Davies calls these critics "humanist anti-humanists". Critics of antihumanism, most notably Jürgen Habermas, counter that while antihumanists may highlight humanism's failure to fulfil its emancipatory ideal, they do not offer an alternative emancipatory project of their own. Others, like the German philosopher Heidegger considered themselves humanists on the model of the ancient Greeks, but thought humanism applied only to the German "race" and specifically to the Nazis and thus, in Davies' words, were anti-humanist humanists. Such a reading of Heidegger's thought is itself deeply controversial; Heidegger includes his own views and critique of Humanism in Letter On Humanism. Davies acknowledges that after the horrific experiences of the wars of the 20th century "it should no longer be possible to formulate phrases like 'the destiny of man' or the 'triumph of human reason' without an instant consciousness of the folly and brutality they drag behind them". For "it is almost impossible to think of a crime that has not been committed in the name of human reason". Yet, he continues, "it would be unwise to simply abandon the ground occupied by the historical humanisms. For one thing humanism remains on many occasions the only available alternative to bigotry and persecution. The freedom to speak and write, to organise and campaign in defence of individual or collective interests, to protest and disobey: all these can only be articulated in humanist terms." 4

['QSN In what year was the book humanism published? ANS 1997', 'QSN In what century was the horrific wars? ANS 20th century', 'QSN What is the only alternative to bigotry and persecution on many occasions? ANS humanism', 'QSN Who wrote the book humanism? ANS Tony Davies']

The ad fontes principle also had many applications. The re-discovery of ancient manuscripts brought a more profound and accurate knowledge of ancient philosophical schools such as Epicureanism, and Neoplatonism, whose Pagan wisdom the humanists, like the Church fathers of old, tended, at least initially, to consider as deriving from divine revelation and thus adaptable to a life of Christian virtue. The line from a drama of Terence, Homo sum, humani nihil a me alienum puto (or with nil for nihil), meaning "I am a human being, I think nothing human alien to me", known since antiquity through the endorsement of Saint Augustine, gained renewed currency as epitomising the humanist attitude. The statement, in a play modeled or borrowed from a (now lost) Greek comedy by Menander, may have originated in a lighthearted vein – as a comic rationale for an old man's meddling – but it quickly became a proverb and throughout the ages was quoted with a deeper meaning, by Cicero and Saint Augustine, to name a few, and most notably by Seneca. Richard Bauman writes: 4

['QSN Who quoted the line of Terence most notably? ANS Seneca', 'QSN What allowed for a deeper understanding and personal exploration of older philosophers theories? ANS ancient manuscripts', 'QSN Who was the most influential supporter of the ideals of Terence? ANS Saint Augustine', 'QSN Who were the Humanists in agreement with about using these manuscripts in their quests for pure Christian living? ANS Church fathers']

Davies identifies Paine's The Age of Reason as "the link between the two major narratives of what Jean-François Lyotard calls the narrative of legitimation": the rationalism of the 18th-century Philosophes and the radical, historically based German 19th-century Biblical criticism of the Hegelians David Friedrich Strauss and Ludwig Feuerbach. "The first is political, largely French in inspiration, and projects 'humanity as the hero of liberty'. The second is philosophical, German, seeks the totality and autonomy of knowledge, and stresses understanding rather than freedom as the key to human fulfilment and emancipation. The two themes converged and competed in complex ways in the 19th century and beyond, and between them set the boundaries of its various humanisms. Homo homini deus est ("The human being is a god to humanity" or "god is nothing [other than] the human being to himself"), Feuerbach had written. 4

['QSN What writing was considered a bridge between two other major writings? ANS The Age of Reason', 'QSN Which century was the first writing from? ANS 18th-century', 'QSN Who states imply that humans are their own Gods? ANS Feuerbach', 'QSN What was the origin of the second writing? ANS German']

Earth was initially molten due to extreme volcanism and frequent collisions with other bodies. Eventually, the outer layer of the planet cooled to form a solid crust when water began accumulating in the atmosphere. The Moon formed soon afterwards, possibly as the result of a Mars-sized object with about 10% of the Earth's mass impacting the planet in a glancing blow. Some of this object's mass merged with the Earth, significantly altering its internal composition, and a portion was ejected into space. Some of the material survived to form an orbiting moon. Outgassing and volcanic activity produced the primordial atmosphere. Condensing water vapor, augmented by ice delivered from comets, produced the oceans. 9

['QSN The initial state of earth was what? ANS molten', 'QSN What formed on the outside of the earth after it cooled? ANS a solid crust', "QSN How does the mass of the moon compare to earth? ANS about 10% of the Earth's mass", 'QSN What created a primordial atmosphere on earth? ANS Outgassing and volcanic activity', 'QSN Ice from what source helped to create earths oceans? ANS comets', 'QSN Powerful volcanism contributed to cause early earth to be in what state? ANS molten', 'QSN What occurred in the atmosphere of the earth after the crust was formed? ANS water began accumulating', 'QSN What size of object may have created the moon? ANS Mars', 'QSN When water was creating the oceans what was happening to atmospheric water vapor? ANS Condensing']

The Earth of the early Archean (4,000 to 2,500 million years ago) may have had a different tectonic style. During this time, the Earth's crust cooled enough that rocks and continental plates began to form. Some scientists think because the Earth was hotter, that plate tectonic activity was more vigorous than it is today, resulting in a much greater rate of recycling of crustal material. This may have prevented cratonisation and continent formation until the mantle cooled and convection slowed down. Others argue that the subcontinental lithospheric mantle is too buoyant to subduct and that the lack of Archean rocks is a function of erosion and subsequent tectonic events. 5

['QSN During what time period was the Archean era? ANS 4,000 to 2,500 million years ago', 'QSN During what period did the earths crust cooling allow the creation of plates? ANS Archean', 'QSN It is believed that a very warm earth would lead to more recycling of what? ANS crustal material', 'QSN What might have a very hot earth stopped from occurring? ANS cratonisation and continent formation', 'QSN What do some believe accounts for the small amount of Archean rocks? ANS erosion and subsequent tectonic events']

In contrast to the Proterozoic, Archean rocks are often heavily metamorphized deep-water sediments, such as graywackes, mudstones, volcanic sediments and banded iron formations. Greenstone belts are typical Archean formations, consisting of alternating high- and low-grade metamorphic rocks. The high-grade rocks were derived from volcanic island arcs, while the low-grade metamorphic rocks represent deep-sea sediments eroded from the neighboring island frogs and deposited in a forearc basin. In short, greenstone belts represent sutured protocontinents. 5

['QSN What are Archean rocks composed of, in general? ANS metamorphized deep-water sediments', 'QSN What type of formation is indicated by low and high grade metamorphic rocks? ANS Greenstone', 'QSN From where did high grade Archean rocks originate? ANS volcanic island arcs', 'QSN Low grade metamorphic rocks are composed of what, generally? ANS deep-sea sediments', 'QSN What is a greenstone belt? ANS sutured protocontinents']

The geologic record of the Proterozoic (2,500 to 541 million years ago) is more complete than that for the preceding Archean. In contrast to the deep-water deposits of the Archean, the Proterozoic features many strata that were laid down in extensive shallow epicontinental seas; furthermore, many of these rocks are less metamorphosed than Archean-age ones, and plenty are unaltered. Study of these rocks show that the eon featured massive, rapid continental accretion (unique to the Proterozoic), supercontinent cycles, and wholly modern orogenic activity. Roughly 750 million years ago, the earliest-known supercontinent Rodinia, began to break apart. The continents later recombined to form Pannotia, 600–540 Ma. 5

['QSN During what time period did the Proterozoic era occur? ANS 2,500 to 541 million years ago', 'QSN What era came before the Proterozoic era? ANS Archean', 'QSN In what type of sea did typical Proterozoic geology come to be? ANS shallow epicontinental seas', 'QSN What type of continental behavior was unique to the Proterozoic? ANS rapid continental accretion', 'QSN What is the name for the large super continent that broke apart 750 million years ago? ANS Rodinia']

The Paleozoic spanned from roughly 541 to 252 million years ago (Ma) and is subdivided into six geologic periods; from oldest to youngest they are the Cambrian, Ordovician, Silurian, Devonian, Carboniferous and Permian. Geologically, the Paleozoic starts shortly after the breakup of a supercontinent called Pannotia and at the end of a global ice age. Throughout the early Paleozoic, the Earth's landmass was broken up into a substantial number of relatively small continents. Toward the end of the era the continents gathered together into a supercontinent called Pangaea, which included most of the Earth's land area. 5

['QSN During what period was the Paleozoic era? ANS 541 to 252 million years ago', 'QSN How many periods of geology are within the Paleozoic era? ANS six', 'QSN The Permian is an example of what? ANS geologic periods', 'QSN After what continental event did the Paleozoic begin? ANS breakup of a supercontinent called Pannotia', 'QSN What continent was formed at the end of the Paleozoic? ANS Pangaea']

The Cambrian is a major division of the geologic timescale that begins about 541.0 ± 1.0 Ma. Cambrian continents are thought to have resulted from the breakup of a Neoproterozoic supercontinent called Pannotia. The waters of the Cambrian period appear to have been widespread and shallow. Continental drift rates may have been anomalously high. Laurentia, Baltica and Siberia remained independent continents following the break-up of the supercontinent of Pannotia. Gondwana started to drift toward the South Pole. Panthalassa covered most of the southern hemisphere, and minor oceans included the Proto-Tethys Ocean, Iapetus Ocean and Khanty Ocean. 5

['QSN At what rough time did the Cambrian era start? ANS 541.0 ± 1.0 Ma.', 'QSN What were the continents of the Cambrian area believed to have formerly been a part of? ANS Pannotia', 'QSN What continent moved to the southern-most part of the earth in the Cambrian era? ANS Gondwana', 'QSN What continent ranged over the majority of the southern hemisphere of earth in the Cambrian? ANS Panthalassa', 'QSN Baltica and Sibera are examples of what thing, during the Cambrian era? ANS independent continents']

The Ordovician Period started at a major extinction event called the Cambrian-Ordovician extinction events some time about 485.4 ± 1.9 Ma. During the Ordovician the southern continents were collected into a single continent called Gondwana. Gondwana started the period in the equatorial latitudes and, as the period progressed, drifted toward the South Pole. Early in the Ordovician the continents Laurentia, Siberia and Baltica were still independent continents (since the break-up of the supercontinent Pannotia earlier), but Baltica began to move toward Laurentia later in the period, causing the Iapetus Ocean to shrink between them. Also, Avalonia broke free from Gondwana and began to head north toward Laurentia. The Rheic Ocean was formed as a result of this. By the end of the period, Gondwana had neared or approached the pole and was largely glaciated. 5

['QSN How long ago did the Ordovician period begin? ANS 485.4 ± 1.9 Ma.', 'QSN Which event precipitated the Ordovician period? ANS the Cambrian-Ordovician extinction', 'QSN What was the name of the large southernmost continent during the Ordovician? ANS Gondwana', 'QSN Which ocean decreased in size with the movement of Baltica in the Ordovician? ANS Iapetus Ocean', 'QSN What continent fractured off Gondwana in the direction of Laurentia? ANS Avalonia']

The most-commonly accepted theory is that these events were triggered by the onset of an ice age, in the Hirnantian faunal stage that ended the long, stable greenhouse conditions typical of the Ordovician. The ice age was probably not as long-lasting as once thought; study of oxygen isotopes in fossil brachiopods shows that it was probably no longer than 0.5 to 1.5 million years. The event was preceded by a fall in atmospheric carbon dioxide (from 7000ppm to 4400ppm) which selectively affected the shallow seas where most organisms lived. As the southern supercontinent Gondwana drifted over the South Pole, ice caps formed on it. Evidence of these ice caps have been detected in Upper Ordovician rock strata of North Africa and then-adjacent northeastern South America, which were south-polar locations at the time. 5

['QSN What type of climate was normal in the Ordovician period? ANS stable greenhouse conditions', 'QSN What ice age signaled the end of the normal climate in the Ordovician period? ANS the Hirnantian faunal stage', 'QSN Oxygen from what kind of fossil were used to date the Hirnantian faunal stage? ANS brachiopods', 'QSN How many years is the Hirnantian faunal stage believed to have lasted? ANS 0.5 to 1.5 million years', 'QSN What started to develop on Gondwana as it moved over the south pole? ANS ice caps']

The Silurian is a major division of the geologic timescale that started about 443.8 ± 1.5 Ma. During the Silurian, Gondwana continued a slow southward drift to high southern latitudes, but there is evidence that the Silurian ice caps were less extensive than those of the late Ordovician glaciation. The melting of ice caps and glaciers contributed to a rise in sea levels, recognizable from the fact that Silurian sediments overlie eroded Ordovician sediments, forming an unconformity. Other cratons and continent fragments drifted together near the equator, starting the formation of a second supercontinent known as Euramerica. The vast ocean of Panthalassa covered most of the northern hemisphere. Other minor oceans include Proto-Tethys, Paleo-Tethys, Rheic Ocean, a seaway of Iapetus Ocean (now in between Avalonia and Laurentia), and newly formed Ural Ocean. 5

['QSN When was the Silurian period believed to have begun? ANS 443.8 ± 1.5 Ma.', 'QSN Compared to the Ordovician glaciation, how big were the ice caps on Gondwana during the Silurian? ANS less extensive', 'QSN What did the melting of ice on Gondwana add to? ANS a rise in sea levels', 'QSN Which supercontinent formed during the Silurian? ANS Euramerica', 'QSN Which ocean ranged the majority of the northern hemisphere in the Silurian period? ANS Panthalassa']

The Devonian spanned roughly from 419 to 359 Ma. The period was a time of great tectonic activity, as Laurasia and Gondwana drew closer together. The continent Euramerica (or Laurussia) was created in the early Devonian by the collision of Laurentia and Baltica, which rotated into the natural dry zone along the Tropic of Capricorn. In these near-deserts, the Old Red Sandstone sedimentary beds formed, made red by the oxidized iron (hematite) characteristic of drought conditions. Near the equator Pangaea began to consolidate from the plates containing North America and Europe, further raising the northern Appalachian Mountains and forming the Caledonian Mountains in Great Britain and Scandinavia. The southern continents remained tied together in the supercontinent of Gondwana. The remainder of modern Eurasia lay in the Northern Hemisphere. Sea levels were high worldwide, and much of the land lay submerged under shallow seas. The deep, enormous Panthalassa (the "universal ocean") covered the rest of the planet. Other minor oceans were Paleo-Tethys, Proto-Tethys, Rheic Ocean and Ural Ocean (which was closed during the collision with Siberia and Baltica). 5

['QSN During what time period was the Devonian era? ANS 419 to 359 Ma.', 'QSN Which continent was formed from the meeting of Laurentia and Baltica? ANS Euramerica (or Laurussia)', 'QSN Which sedimentary beds were created in the dry areas of Euramerica in the Devonian period? ANS Old Red Sandstone', 'QSN What was the largest ocean referred to that existed in the Devonian period? ANS Panthalassa', 'QSN Which mountains associated with the USA were formed near the equator on Pangaea during the Devonian? ANS the northern Appalachian Mountains']

A global drop in sea level at the end of the Devonian reversed early in the Carboniferous; this created the widespread epicontinental seas and carbonate deposition of the Mississippian. There was also a drop in south polar temperatures; southern Gondwana was glaciated throughout the period, though it is uncertain if the ice sheets were a holdover from the Devonian or not. These conditions apparently had little effect in the deep tropics, where lush coal swamps flourished within 30 degrees of the northernmost glaciers. A mid-Carboniferous drop in sea-level precipitated a major marine extinction, one that hit crinoids and ammonites especially hard. This sea-level drop and the associated unconformity in North America separate the Mississippian Period from the Pennsylvanian period. 5

['QSN What occurred to the level of the sea when the Devonian period was finished? ANS A global drop', 'QSN During which period were epicontinental seas created? ANS Carboniferous', 'QSN What was on the land at 30 degrees latitude north in the carboniferous period? ANS lush coal swamps', 'QSN What was the result in the decline in sea level in the middle of the Carboniferous period? ANS a major marine extinction', 'QSN The Pennsylvania period is separated by the drop in Carboniferous era sea levels from what other period? ANS Mississippian Period']

The Carboniferous was a time of active mountain building, as the supercontinent Pangea came together. The southern continents remained tied together in the supercontinent Gondwana, which collided with North America-Europe (Laurussia) along the present line of eastern North America. This continental collision resulted in the Hercynian orogeny in Europe, and the Alleghenian orogeny in North America; it also extended the newly uplifted Appalachians southwestward as the Ouachita Mountains. In the same time frame, much of present eastern Eurasian plate welded itself to Europe along the line of the Ural mountains. There were two major oceans in the Carboniferous the Panthalassa and Paleo-Tethys. Other minor oceans were shrinking and eventually closed the Rheic Ocean (closed by the assembly of South and North America), the small, shallow Ural Ocean (which was closed by the collision of Baltica, and Siberia continents, creating the Ural Mountains) and Proto-Tethys Ocean. 5

['QSN What geologic events took place when Pangea combined during the Carboniferous? ANS mountain building', 'QSN What was the continent that came to be North America and Europe called during the Carboniferous? ANS Laurussia', 'QSN What was the effect of Laurussia impacting Gondwana in North America? ANS the Alleghenian orogeny', 'QSN The mountains forming to the southwest of the Appalachians in the Carboniferous are known as what? ANS the Ouachita Mountains', 'QSN Which two large oceans existed during the Carboniferous period? ANS the Panthalassa and Paleo-Tethys']

During the Permian all the Earth's major land masses, except portions of East Asia, were collected into a single supercontinent known as Pangaea. Pangaea straddled the equator and extended toward the poles, with a corresponding effect on ocean currents in the single great ocean (Panthalassa, the universal sea), and the Paleo-Tethys Ocean, a large ocean that was between Asia and Gondwana. The Cimmeria continent rifted away from Gondwana and drifted north to Laurasia, causing the Paleo-Tethys to shrink. A new ocean was growing on its southern end, the Tethys Ocean, an ocean that would dominate much of the Mesozoic Era. Large continental landmasses create climates with extreme variations of heat and cold ("continental climate") and monsoon conditions with highly seasonal rainfall patterns. Deserts seem to have been widespread on Pangaea. 5

['QSN What supercontinent prevailed during the Permian era? ANS Pangaea', 'QSN What was the largest ocean during the Permian called? ANS Panthalassa', 'QSN There was an ocean between Gondwana and Asia in the Permian, what was it? ANS Paleo-Tethys Ocean', 'QSN The moving of which continent contributed to the decrease in size of the Paleo-Tethys? ANS Cimmeria', 'QSN During which period was the Tehtys Ocean dominant? ANS the Mesozoic Era']

The remainder was the world-ocean known as Panthalassa ("all the sea"). All the deep-ocean sediments laid down during the Triassic have disappeared through subduction of oceanic plates; thus, very little is known of the Triassic open ocean. The supercontinent Pangaea was rifting during the Triassic—especially late in the period—but had not yet separated. The first nonmarine sediments in the rift that marks the initial break-up of Pangea—which separated New Jersey from Morocco—are of Late Triassic age; in the U.S., these thick sediments comprise the Newark Supergroup. Because of the limited shoreline of one super-continental mass, Triassic marine deposits are globally relatively rare; despite their prominence in Western Europe, where the Triassic was first studied. In North America, for example, marine deposits are limited to a few exposures in the west. Thus Triassic stratigraphy is mostly based on organisms living in lagoons and hypersaline environments, such as Estheria crustaceans and terrestrial vertebrates. 5

['QSN Which ocean name is translated to mean "all the sea?" ANS Panthalassa', 'QSN What process obscures information aboutt he ocean during the Triassic period from inspection? ANS subduction of oceanic plates', 'QSN What was occurring to Pangaea in the late Triassic? ANS Pangaea was rifting', 'QSN Which sediements in the US are an indication of the break up of Pangaea? ANS Newark Supergroup', 'QSN What type of terrestrial animals are found from the Triassic period? ANS terrestrial vertebrates']

The Jurassic Period extends from about 201.3 ± 0.2 to 145.0 Ma. During the early Jurassic, the supercontinent Pangaea broke up into the northern supercontinent Laurasia and the southern supercontinent Gondwana; the Gulf of Mexico opened in the new rift between North America and what is now Mexico's Yucatan Peninsula. The Jurassic North Atlantic Ocean was relatively narrow, while the South Atlantic did not open until the following Cretaceous Period, when Gondwana itself rifted apart. The Tethys Sea closed, and the Neotethys basin appeared. Climates were warm, with no evidence of glaciation. As in the Triassic, there was apparently no land near either pole, and no extensive ice caps existed. The Jurassic geological record is good in western Europe, where extensive marine sequences indicate a time when much of the continent was submerged under shallow tropical seas; famous locales include the Jurassic Coast World Heritage Site and the renowned late Jurassic lagerstätten of Holzmaden and Solnhofen. In contrast, the North American Jurassic record is the poorest of the Mesozoic, with few outcrops at the surface. Though the epicontinental Sundance Sea left marine deposits in parts of the northern plains of the United States and Canada during the late Jurassic, most exposed sediments from this period are continental, such as the alluvial deposits of the Morrison Formation. The first of several massive batholiths were emplaced in the northern Cordillera beginning in the mid-Jurassic, marking the Nevadan orogeny. Important Jurassic exposures are also found in Russia, India, South America, Japan, Australasia and the United Kingdom. 5

['QSN During what years was the Jurassic period? ANS 201.3 ± 0.2 to 145.0 Ma.', 'QSN Which supercontinent came apart in the Jurassic period? ANS Pangaea', "QSN The Gulf of Mexico formed in the rift between North America and what other land mass? ANS Mexico's Yucatan Peninsula", 'QSN At what point did the South Atlantic ocean begin to open? ANS Cretaceous Period', 'QSN Which late Jurassic cultural sites are famous in Europe? ANS lagerstätten of Holzmaden and Solnhofen']

During the Cretaceous, the late Paleozoic-early Mesozoic supercontinent of Pangaea completed its breakup into present day continents, although their positions were substantially different at the time. As the Atlantic Ocean widened, the convergent-margin orogenies that had begun during the Jurassic continued in the North American Cordillera, as the Nevadan orogeny was followed by the Sevier and Laramide orogenies. Though Gondwana was still intact in the beginning of the Cretaceous, Gondwana itself broke up as South America, Antarctica and Australia rifted away from Africa (though India and Madagascar remained attached to each other); thus, the South Atlantic and Indian Oceans were newly formed. Such active rifting lifted great undersea mountain chains along the welts, raising eustatic sea levels worldwide. 5

['QSN The current continents were formerly known as what continent? ANS Pangaea', 'QSN Which oregenies followed the Nevadan in the Cretaceous? ANS Sevier and Laramide', 'QSN South America was formerly which continent? ANS Gondwana', 'QSN The rifting in the Cretaceous had what result on the oceans? ANS raising eustatic sea levels', 'QSN Antarctica was a part of what supercontinent? ANS Gondwana']

To the north of Africa the Tethys Sea continued to narrow. Broad shallow seas advanced across central North America (the Western Interior Seaway) and Europe, then receded late in the period, leaving thick marine deposits sandwiched between coal beds. At the peak of the Cretaceous transgression, one-third of Earth's present land area was submerged. The Cretaceous is justly famous for its chalk; indeed, more chalk formed in the Cretaceous than in any other period in the Phanerozoic. Mid-ocean ridge activity—or rather, the circulation of seawater through the enlarged ridges—enriched the oceans in calcium; this made the oceans more saturated, as well as increased the bioavailability of the element for calcareous nanoplankton. These widespread carbonates and other sedimentary deposits make the Cretaceous rock record especially fine. Famous formations from North America include the rich marine fossils of Kansas's Smoky Hill Chalk Member and the terrestrial fauna of the late Cretaceous Hell Creek Formation. Other important Cretaceous exposures occur in Europe and China. In the area that is now India, massive lava beds called the Deccan Traps were laid down in the very late Cretaceous and early Paleocene. 5

['QSN During the height of the Cretaceous transgression how much of the earths land mass was under water? ANS one-third', 'QSN What type of rock was the Cretaceous notable for forming the most amount of? ANS Phanerozoic', 'QSN The Cretaceous is a part of which geologic era? ANS Phanerozoic', 'QSN Where can one find the Smoky Hill Chalk Member? ANS North America', 'QSN Where are the Deccan Traps? ANS India']

The Cenozoic Era covers the 66 million years since the Cretaceous–Paleogene extinction event up to and including the present day. By the end of the Mesozoic era, the continents had rifted into nearly their present form. Laurasia became North America and Eurasia, while Gondwana split into South America, Africa, Australia, Antarctica and the Indian subcontinent, which collided with the Asian plate. This impact gave rise to the Himalayas. The Tethys Sea, which had separated the northern continents from Africa and India, began to close up, forming the Mediterranean sea. 5

['QSN How many years long was the Cenozoic Era? ANS 66 million years', 'QSN Which extinction marked the beginning of the Cenozoic Era? ANS Cretaceous–Paleogene extinction event', 'QSN What geologic period are we in currently? ANS Cenozoic Era', 'QSN At the end of which era had the continents taken roughly their current shape? ANS Mesozoic', 'QSN The collision of the Indian sub continent and the Asian plate created which mountain range? ANS the Himalayas']

In many ways, the Paleocene continued processes that had begun during the late Cretaceous Period. During the Paleocene, the continents continued to drift toward their present positions. Supercontinent Laurasia had not yet separated into three continents. Europe and Greenland were still connected. North America and Asia were still intermittently joined by a land bridge, while Greenland and North America were beginning to separate. The Laramide orogeny of the late Cretaceous continued to uplift the Rocky Mountains in the American west, which ended in the succeeding epoch. South and North America remained separated by equatorial seas (they joined during the Neogene); the components of the former southern supercontinent Gondwana continued to split apart, with Africa, South America, Antarctica and Australia pulling away from each other. Africa was heading north toward Europe, slowly closing the Tethys Ocean, and India began its migration to Asia that would lead to a tectonic collision and the formation of the Himalayas. 5

['QSN How many continents did Laurasia break into? ANS three', 'QSN In the Paleocene period Greenland was joined to which continent? ANS North America', 'QSN What mountain chain in the Cretaceous was lifted as a result of the Laramide oregeny? ANS the Rocky Mountains', 'QSN In which period did North and South america join? ANS Neogene', 'QSN Which ocean was closed when Africa moved northward during the Paleocene? ANS Tethys']

During the Eocene (56 million years ago - 33.9 million years ago), the continents continued to drift toward their present positions. At the beginning of the period, Australia and Antarctica remained connected, and warm equatorial currents mixed with colder Antarctic waters, distributing the heat around the world and keeping global temperatures high. But when Australia split from the southern continent around 45 Ma, the warm equatorial currents were deflected away from Antarctica, and an isolated cold water channel developed between the two continents. The Antarctic region cooled down, and the ocean surrounding Antarctica began to freeze, sending cold water and ice floes north, reinforcing the cooling. The present pattern of ice ages began about 40 million years ago.[citation needed] 5

['QSN During what years did the Eocene period take place? ANS 56 million years ago - 33.9 million years ago', 'QSN Australia was connected to which other continent at the start of the Eocene? ANS Antarctica', 'QSN How long ago did Antarctica and Australia split? ANS around 45 Ma', 'QSN Around how many years ago is the current ice age pattern believed to have begun? ANS 40 million years', 'QSN The mixing of equatorial currents with Antarctic waters in the Eocene resulted in what? ANS keeping global temperatures high']