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

Multiple Choice Questions

1. Lincoln and Mary Todd are getting married, yet he seems to be in despair. Why?
(a) He wants to break the engagement and leave Mary Todd at the altar.
(b) He discovers he loves Elizabeth Edwards, not Mary Todd.
(c) Mary Todd has run off with Billy Herndon.
(d) Mary Todd has written him a letter, breaking their engagement.

2. What is Lincoln's attitude toward people?
(a) He likes them one-to-one, but crowds scare him.
(b) He loves being in a crowd, but feels anxious one-to-one.
(c) He is afraid of them, unless he has known them all his life.
(d) He dislikes people because of their inhumanity.

3. What is Mary Todd's lifelong dream for herself?
(a) That she will be able to nominate Supreme Court justices.
(b) That she will live a simple life, raising children.
(c) That she will marry the President of the United States.
(d) That she will become President of the United States.

4. What do Josh Speed and Bowling Green think might be the result, if slavery spreads further across the South?
(a) The British would reassert power over the colonies.
(b) Lincoln could be drafted to head the military.
(c) The South could overthrow the existing government and move the Capitol to Virginia.
(d) Civil war might break out.

5. What happens to Ann Rutledge?
(a) She runs away to Chicago to attend law school.
(b) She meets a wealthy man, marries him and moves West.
(c) She dies of a brain sickness.
(d) Bitten by a mosquito, she is paralzyed and left speechless.

6. What does Mary Todd's sister predict if she marries Lincoln?
(a) A life in a quaint cabin, stitching buckskin clothing and raising a passel of children.
(b) A life in a miserable cabin, without servants and without decent clothing.
(c) A glittering life in the nation's capital, dancing with elegant Europeans.
(d) A wanderer's life, as Lincoln can't seem to hold a decent job.

7. In a poem that Lincoln reads in the first scene, what is it that the poet finds strange about people?
(a) They look forward to death, even when life is good.
(b) They are afraid to face death alone.
(c) They dance through life unaware of pleasure.
(d) They think of death as an awakening.

8. What is Lincoln's attitude about people before he meets Ann Rutledge?
(a) It's best not to get too close to people; they see the insanity behind the surface.
(b) All people are to a degree insane, but that shouldn't stop one from getting close to them.
(c) The best thing is to take a vow of silence in order not to be bothered by fools.
(d) Getting close to others is the best antidote in the world to loneliness.

9. Who is Ninian Edwards?
(a) Josh Speed's stepbrother.
(b) A merchant passing through New Salem.
(c) Son of the Illinois governor.
(d) Uncle of Elizabeth Edwards.

10. Where is Abe Lincoln staying while in New Salem in Act 1, Scene 3?
(a) In a barn belonging to Josh Speed.
(b) At the home of Bowling and Nancy Green.
(c) In Rutledge's Tavern.
(d) With Ann Rutledge's family.

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

12. When Lincoln arrives at the Edwards' home in Act 2, Scene 5, does he sense tension between Mary Todd and her sister?
(a) Yes, he feels there is electricity in the air, but tries to make casual conversation.
(b) He's oblivious to the tension, even though the two women are red-faced and teary-eyed.
(c) He is so intent on asking for Mary's hand in marriage, he doesn't even notice her sister is in the room.
(d) Yes, he's aware of tension but assumes it's due to the bad marriage of Ninian and Mary's sister.

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) He doesn't give an excuse, just grabs his wife's arm and hustles her off stage.
(b) He feigns an injury and asks his wife to help him upstairs.
(c) The two have to hear their children's bedtime prayers.
(d) He takes his wife dancing.

14. What is Bowling Green's attitude toward the possibility of Lincoln marrying Ann Rutledge?
(a) He's for the marriage; Ann's family has a lot of money to spend on campaigns.
(b) He's all for the marriage; he thinks Ann will keep Lincoln on track.
(c) Judge Green is against it; he thinks Ann will be a hindrance to Lincoln.
(d) He is against the marriage; he knows Ann has been seeing someone else.

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

Short Answer Questions

1. In Scene 2, Act 4, Lincoln receives a letter from his old friend, Seth Gale. What is Gale worrying about?

2. What is Josh Speed's understanding of Lincoln's personality?

3. Lincoln tells Josh Speed to give his letter for Mary Todd to Herndon to deliver. How does Josh respond?

4. In Act 2, Scene 6, Lincoln sits at his desk on the day he is to be married. What day of the year is it?

5. What reason does Lincoln give in Act 2, Scene 4 for turning down the opportunity to speak against slavery?

(see the answer keys)

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