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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. What distinction does Lincoln draw between the slaves and downtrodden workers in the North?
(a) The workers live with harsh winters, the slaves do not.
(b) Slaves live on plantations, workers live in cities.
(c) The workers have the right to strike, slaves do not.
(d) The slaves can run away, the workers cannot.

2. 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.

3. How is Lincoln's appearance different from Election Day?
(a) He has shaved his head.
(b) He has a beard.
(c) He is walking with a cane.
(d) There is a patch over one eye.

4. What are the railroad workers in Illinois doing, according to Douglas, to protest their low wages?
(a) They are striking, refusing to work.
(b) Nothing--they can't afford to offend their employers.
(c) They are marching, singing "I've been working on the railroad."
(d) Looking for jobs in other industries.

5. Why does Mary agree to the public humiliation of taking Lincoln back after two years?
(a) She never worries about what others think of her.
(b) The humiliation will be wiped out by "ultimate triumph."
(c) She will control Lincoln by using his shame about their broken engagement.
(d) Lincoln promises to make a public declaration of his undying love on the courthouse steps.

Short Answer Questions

1. What are Lincoln's visitors really looking for in their candidate for President?

2. What does Jack Armstrong tell Seth Gale about Lincoln while they wait for Lincoln's arrival in Act 2, Scene 7?

3. Lincoln says he has come to believe something about himself and Mary. What is it?

4. What does Seth Gale's wife want for her sick son, besides the help of a doctor?

5. At the end of Scene 2, Act 8, what is Lincoln's response to Mary's actions?

Short Essay Questions

1. Josh Speed is awaiting Lincoln's visitors, too. He is clearly aware of the tensions between Mary and Abe. How does Speed respond when Mary suggests that Speed, among others, probably thinks of her as a bitter, nagging woman?

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

4. As he is leaving Springfield, what is Lincoln's hope regarding his future?

5. At the beginning of the play's final scene, it's clear that national tension have risen as a result of Lincoln's election. What worries Kavanagh as he waits for the Lincolns to board the train for Washington?

6. Despite Mary Lincoln's and Josh Speed's entreaties that Lincoln treat his visitors seriously because they are influential, Lincoln can't help but give them a little of his backwood's humor. How does he respond when Henry D. Sturveson says they have come to see if Lincoln will be a suitable candidate?

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

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

9. The cheering crowd chants for Lincoln to make a speech from the back of the railroad car. He begins by naming the problems facing the nation. But he finishes on a note of hope. What outcome is Lincoln hoping to achieve?

10. While Lincoln asserts that he submits to the will of God, he doesn't belong to any church. What are his objections to organized forms of worship?

(see the answer keys)

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