1. Yes, but I couldn't tell you a lot of specifics 2. No
But I don't think your friends list is representative. We're all unusually well-read and most of us have independent interests in history. I would say the vast majority of the US public would answer no to both of these, particularly 2 (though more would know what it was than would have "read it in high school" - I don't think of it as typical public high school fare, because it doesn't fit - it's not really literature to be read in "english" and yet it's too long and specific to be read as an assignment in history) and even at an elite university you're going to get a non-trivial number of nos to one or both.
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contrariety.livejournal.com at 04:32pm on 07/10/2008![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
2. No
But I don't think your friends list is representative. We're all unusually well-read and most of us have independent interests in history. I would say the vast majority of the US public would answer no to both of these, particularly 2 (though more would know what it was than would have "read it in high school" - I don't think of it as typical public high school fare, because it doesn't fit - it's not really literature to be read in "english" and yet it's too long and specific to be read as an assignment in history) and even at an elite university you're going to get a non-trivial number of nos to one or both.