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

Multiple Choice Questions

1. What is a benefit of being in the state capitol that might entice Lincoln to run for office?
(a) The opportunity to learn from the finest lawyers in the state.
(b) He will be able to collect extra money by doing favors for friends.
(c) Women will seek him out for marriage.
(d) The chance to have suits made that will have sleeves that are long enough for his arms.

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

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

4. What does Lincoln's companion think of Lincoln's plan for his wedding?
(a) He's distressed and offers to deliver the news himself.
(b) He thinks Lincoln is being too brutal, at least in the way he intends to deliver the news.
(c) He agrees that Lincoln is making the right decision, for the right reasons.
(d) He believes everything will work out fine, once Lincoln has a drink or two.

5. What is the plan that Seth Gale and Lincoln have for their futures?
(a) To relocate to Springfield and open a general store.
(b) To move west, to Nebraska.
(c) To move to California, in search of gold.
(d) To attend law school and go into practice together.

6. What does Lincoln see on the boat from Quincy to Alton that shocks him?
(a) A dozen mules on shore, chained and being flogged.
(b) A dozen dancing girls, chained together, forced to entertain passengers.
(c) A woman with 12 children, begging for food.
(d) A dozen negroes, chained together, being shipped South to be sold.

7. What piece of advice does Ninian Andrews give Lincoln concerning Mary Todd in Act 2, Scene 6?
(a) He says Lincoln should always follow her advice because she has a good head for politics.
(b) He says Lincoln should keep a tight rein on her ambitions and delusions of grandeur.
(c) He tells Lincoln that Mary Todd should be committed to a hospital.
(d) He suggests giving in to her every whim in order to keep life happy.

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

9. When Act 2, Scene 4 opens in Lincoln's Springfield law office, how much time has passed since the death of Ann Rutledge?
(a) Thirteen years.
(b) Two years.
(c) Five years.
(d) Six months.

10. In Scene 2, Act 4, Lincoln receives a letter from his old friend, Seth Gale. What is Gale worrying about?
(a) The possible annexation of Texas, which would result in the extension of slavery through all the territories.
(b) The prospect of his father's death and the debts he will inherit.
(c) His wife's increasingly bizarre behavior.
(d) Gale's property taxes are going sky-high to pay for liberation of the slaves.

11. What characteristics make Mary Todd a good catch in the eyes of most people?
(a) She is exceedingly beautiful and has a shy, retiring demeanor.
(b) She's highly educated and would make a good Secretary of State.
(c) She speaks French, cooks Italian and comes from a line of English royalty.
(d) She's smart, cultivated and the daughter of a bank president.

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

13. Why does Lincoln return to New Salem in Act 1, Scene 3?
(a) He has been kicked out of Springfiled for being drunk in public.
(b) The Greens have asked him to mediate in their divorce.
(c) Ann Rutledge is sick.
(d) Seth Gale summoned him with a letter.

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

15. What does Billy Herndon urge Lincoln's friends to do, as Herndon leaves the office in Act 2, Scene 4?
(a) Introduce Lincoln to a good woman to marry.
(b) Take Lincoln out to dinner and get him drunk.
(c) Dunk Lincoln in the river to wash away his stubborn streak.
(d) Drag him out of the stagnant pool in which he is drowning himself.

Short Answer Questions

1. What are the two professions open to people who fail at everything else, according to Lincoln's teacher?

2. What is Billy Herndon's flaw?

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

4. What is Josh Speed's request to the Greens as he departs at the end of Act 1, Scene 3?

5. Lincoln and Mary Todd are getting married, yet he seems to be in despair. Why?

(see the answer keys)

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