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This test consists of 5 multiple choice questions, 5 short answer questions, and 10 short essay questions.

Multiple Choice Questions

1. How is the crowd outside receiving voting results?
(a) Announcements are made by loudspeaker.
(b) Through their Twitter accounts.
(c) A crier shouts the results from the roof of the State House.
(d) By images flashed by a magic lantern outside the State House.

2. What is the name of President-elect Lincoln's bodyguard?
(a) Kavanagh.
(b) Hodgson.
(c) O'Reilly.
(d) Gilooly.

3. Where does Seth Gale intend to settle his family?
(a) Nevada.
(b) Oregon.
(c) New Mexico.
(d) Texas.

4. What promise does Mary Todd extract from Lincoln before agreeing to marry him?
(a) He will never again falter or run away from her.
(b) He vows to work day and night to become President for her.
(c) He will submit to a thorough psychiatric evaluation.
(d) He promises to take her advice in every situation.

5. What happens when Seth Gale's boy takes a turn for the worse before the doctor arrives at the end of Act 2, Scene 7?
(a) Jack Armstrong applies a mustard paste to the boy's chest.
(b) Lincoln breaks down in tears at the injustice.
(c) The boy's mother gives him mouth to mouth resuscitation.
(d) Lincoln says a prayer for the boy's recovery.

Short Answer Questions

1. Who is Lincoln's main rival for the presidency?

2. What state delivers the final votes needed for Lincoln's victory?

3. Who is the moderator of the debate between Lincoln and Douglas?

4. What is the fear of those assigned to protect Lincoln on his way to Washington?

5. How does Mary Todd accept Lincoln's proposal at the end of Act 2, Scene 8?

Short Essay Questions

1. As he waits for the election results, Lincoln calls the evening a "death watch." What are Lincoln's feelings about winning the election?

2. In Act 2, Scene 7, it has been two years since Lincoln broke off his engagement. He has been drifting since then, but has returned to New Salem in time to meet his old friend, Seth Gale. The Gale family is heading west, to Oregon. Gale has had a hard journey and now his young son is suffering from swamp fever. What does he want from Lincoln at this time?

3. In Act 3, Scene 10, which takes place in the Lincolns' home, it is clear that the Lincolns' marriage is not happy, or at the least, has problems. Thus far, the play has made clear Mary's part in creating problems. In this scene, the playwright uses a cigar to show that Lincoln isn't an innocent victim in the matter of the marriage. How does the cigar reveal one of Lincoln's faults?

4. Almost at the moment he learns of his election, Lincoln's life changes in a way he doesn't like. In the play, who or want is the sign of this change? And which of the play's themes does this change fit into?

5. What is the effect on Lincoln of Gale's idealism, his vow to denounce his American citizenship if the government doesn't ban slavery?

6. Lincoln, says Douglas in the debate, is stirring up rebellion against authority. What is the danger that Douglas foresees? And what is the solution he proposes?

7. Lincoln has an outburst of his own, in response to Mary. What are his complaints against her?

8. On Election Day, as the Lincolns wait for voting results, Mary becomes increasingly anxious. Finally, Lincoln suggests she go home to wait. She responds with a surprising outburst. What does she say and why does she feel so strongly?

9. A few days after meeting Seth Gale, Abe Lincoln arrives at the home of Mary Todd. She is still single and Abe plans to ask her, again, to marry him. Does the fact that Mary is still single, two years after the broken engagement to Lincoln, indicate anything about her character? Support your answer with your interpretation of the text, both from Act 2, Scene 8 and from earlier episodes in the play.

10. In Act 3, Scene 9, Stephen Douglas says the question of equal rights for slaves has been legally settled. How was the issue settled and what was the decision?

(see the answer keys)

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