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

Multiple Choice Questions

1. 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) The best thing is to take a vow of silence in order not to be bothered by fools.
(c) Getting close to others is the best antidote in the world to loneliness.
(d) All people are to a degree insane, but that shouldn't stop one from getting close to them.

2. Billy Herndon, Lincoln's law clerk, arrives in Act 2, Scene 6. What is his condition?
(a) He's debilitated by swamp fever.
(b) He's suffering from an early case of swine flu.
(c) He's drunk, as usual.
(d) He has quit drinking and is sober.

3. 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.

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

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

6. Why is Mary Todd so sure that Lincoln will be a success, and not stop to tell jokes, as her sister predicts?
(a) Because she is strong enough to make sure he moves along the road of success without stopping.
(b) Because she knows that Lincoln is not very good at telling jokes and has a strong streak of ambition.
(c) Because Lincoln has confided his dream of becoming a successful merchant and moving to New York.
(d) She doesn't care if he's a success; she has a huge inheritance that will support them both.

7. When Lincoln suggests he wants to die in Act 1, Scene 3, how do his friends respond?
(a) They promise to introduce him to other women.
(b) They fall to their knees and beg him to reconsider.
(c) They insist he stay and try to get some sleep.
(d) They agree that it might be best if he dies.

8. Who is Elizabeth Edwards?
(a) The woman Abe Lincoln loves and wants to marry.
(b) The author of two memoirs.
(c) The wife of a one-time presidential candidate.
(d) Mary Todd's sister and Ninian Edwards' wife.

9. In Act 2, Scene 4, why is Billy Herndon disappointed with Lincoln?
(a) Lincoln won't speak out in a fiery way for his own beliefs.
(b) Lincoln is an unsuccessful lawyer and the firm is losing money.
(c) Lincoln is courting more than one woman at a time.
(d) Lincoln is considering buying slaves.

10. What are the two professions open to people who fail at everything else, according to Lincoln's teacher?
(a) Journalism and law.
(b) School teaching and store keeping.
(c) School teaching and politics.
(d) Politics and prospecting.

11. What is the setting of the first scene of Abe Lincoln in Illinois?
(a) A riverboat on the mighty Mississippi.
(b) A tavern in Springfield.
(c) A cabin near New Salem, Illionois, which belongs to Lincoln's teacher.
(d) A log cabin in the woods of Missouri.

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

13. What is the subject of the speech Lincoln is studying in the first scene?
(a) South Carolina's decision to break away from North Carolina; the speaker approves.
(b) The upcoming union of North and South; the speaker objects.
(c) The right of states to secede from the Union; the speaker approves.
(d) The right of states to secede from the Union; the speaker objects.

14. What, besides politics, does Lincoln have on his mind during the scene in the Rutledge Tavern?
(a) Asking town officials for a raise in his wages as postmaster.
(b) Taking over the family farm from his sick father.
(c) Asking Ann Rutledge to consider him as a suitor.
(d) Running down to the town picnic for a piece of pie.

15. What is Billy Herndon's reaction to Lincoln's reasons for breaking off the engagement?
(a) He is stunned and speechless. He finishes off the bottle in his pocket.
(b) Herndon agrees that Mary Todd is a witch and says he's glad Lincoln changed his mind.
(c) He is gobsmacked, but he helps Lincoln write another letter.
(d) Herndon says Lincoln is really trying to escape his own failure to serve the country.

Short Answer Questions

1. Who admits being the one who suggested recruiting Lincoln to run for office?

2. What is Lincoln's initial response to the idea of running for office?

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

4. What is Mary Todd's lifelong dream for herself?

5. What does Billy Herndon urge Lincoln's friends to do, as Herndon leaves the office in Act 2, Scene 4?

(see the answer keys)

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