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This test consists of 15 multiple choice questions and 5 short answer questions.

Multiple Choice Questions

1. Who wrote the poem that Lincoln's teacher gives him to read?
(a) John Lennon.
(b) John Brown.
(c) John Singer Sargeant.
(d) John Keats.

2. What is Lincoln's initial response to the idea of running for office?
(a) He weeps because his friends think so highly of him.
(b) He thinks it's a comical notion and not a good idea.
(c) He is angry because he thinks the idea is a bad joke.
(d) He's excited and jumps at the chance.

3. Who is Billy Herndon?
(a) A client of Lincoln's who is accused of murder.
(b) A law clerk in Lincoln's office.
(c) The boy who delivers mid-afternoon coffee and lottery tickets.
(d) The illegitimate son of Josh Speed.

4. How does Lincoln feel after Ann's death?
(a) He knows her death is for the best, and that he will be able to concentrate better without her.
(b) He feels he should die to be with her again or he will go crazy.
(c) He feels guilty because she got brain sickness and he did not.
(d) He is relieved because he had begun to doubt her love.

5. What are the five indicative moods, as Lincoln knows them?
(a) Meditative, Imperial, Possible, Subjective and Infinite.
(b) Sad, Glad, Mad, Grumpy and Giddy.
(c) Commanding, Questioning, Doubting, Inferior and Decisive.
(d) Indicative, Imperative, Potential, Subjunctive and Infinitive.

6. What is happening when Lincoln enters Rutledge Tavern to deliver mail?
(a) The Clancy Groves boys are buying a round of whiskey for everyone.
(b) A local bully is angling for a fight with Ninian Edwards.
(c) Ben Mattling is having a heart attack.
(d) The Clancy Groves boys have the judge trapped behind the bar.

7. How does Lincoln define his "own great duty?"
(a) He doesn't know what it is and he's tired of people nagging him about it.
(b) He needs to go West and seize California from the Mexican government.
(c) His duty is to defend the Constitution to the best of his understanding.
(d) His duty is to mind his own business and he doesn't care what other people think.

8. How does Lincoln jokingly describe, in Act 2, Scene 5, the act of defending a murder suspect?
(a) "Whipping such a blizzard of words as to keep justice slipping and sliding."
(b) "Spinning doubt as thick as a black widow's web."
(c) "Tossing enough hot potatos to keep a judge from telling which one is rotten."
(d) "Doing what I can to obstruct the orderly processes of justice."

9. In Scene 2, Act 4, what office is Lincoln seeking?
(a) President of the Springfield School Board.
(b) Springfield's combined office of dogcatcher and postmaster.
(c) President of the United States.
(d) Member of the Electoral College.

10. What last ditch effort does Mary Todd's sister make to prevent a proposal from Lincoln toward the end of Act 2, Scene 5?
(a) She begins yelling at her sister, causing Ninian to slap her and drag her from the room.
(b) She produces a fan and uses it to flirt with Lincoln, to show he wouldn't be a faithful husband.
(c) She spills a pot of hot tea on Lincoln's lap.
(d) She begs Mary to put the children to bed.

11. Who is President during the time represented in Act 2, Scene 4?
(a) Winston Churchill.
(b) Harrison Ford.
(c) Martin Van Buren.
(d) Thomas Jefferson.

12. Why does Bowling Green call Lincoln "an artful dodger" in Act 2, Scene 4?
(a) Lincoln manages to slip away from debt collectors just when they are closing in on him.
(b) Lincoln is an accomplished amateur boxer who never takes a blow to the chin.
(c) Lincoln continually evades running for any office that would require him to take a public stand on slavery.
(d) Lincoln has left a number of women at the altar.

13. What excuse does Ninian Edwards give for getting himself and his wife out of the parlor so Lincoln can be alone with Mary Todd?
(a) The two have to hear their children's bedtime prayers.
(b) He feigns an injury and asks his wife to help him upstairs.
(c) He doesn't give an excuse, just grabs his wife's arm and hustles her off stage.
(d) He takes his wife dancing.

14. What is the true reason Lincoln wants to end the engagement with Mary Todd?
(a) He knows he is losing his mind and wants to spare her from sharing his pain.
(b) He hates her ambitions for him and doesn't want to be driven to achieve her goals for the rest of his life.
(c) She has taken to wearing spurs and brandishing a whip when they are alone.
(d) He believes she really wants to marry Stephen Douglas.

15. What is Josh Speed's request to the Greens as he departs at the end of Act 1, Scene 3?
(a) He requests they accompany Lincoln to Springfield for opening of the Legislature.
(b) He asks them to keep Lincoln with them and not let him out of their sight.
(c) He asks them to call a physician to treat Lincoln's stress.
(d) He wants them to take copious notes about Lincoln's mood.

Short Answer Questions

1. Why is Mary Todd so sure that Lincoln will be a success, and not stop to tell jokes, as her sister predicts?

2. How does Lincoln surprise Ann Rutledge while she is clearing tables during Act 1, Scene 2?

3. Who have Bowling Green, Ninian Edwards and Josh Speed come to New Salem to see?

4. How does Act 1, Scene 3, in which Ann Rutledge dies, come to an end?

5. One of Lincoln's clients can't pay her bill; why does Lincoln think she is right not to pay?

(see the answer keys)

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