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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. After 18 years of marriage to Lincoln, what is it that Mary Todd is bitter about?
(a) Lincoln spends too much time reading and not enough attention to her.
(b) Lincoln chain smokes all over the house.
(c) Lincoln still isn't politically ambitious enough to suit her.
(d) Lincoln habitually puts his muddy boots on expensive furnishings.

2. What is the name of Seth Gale's young son?
(a) Jimmy.
(b) Jeremy.
(c) Jonathon.
(d) Joshua.

3. In Act 2, Scene 7, what is the fear Seth Gale has about traveling with Gobey?
(a) He's careful to stay in free territory to avoid Gobey being kidnapped and sold into slavery.
(b) He believes Gobey is planning to escape on the Underground Railroad.
(c) He's fearful Gobey's previous owner will appear to reclaim him.
(d) He's afraid to take Gobey across state borders because he doesn't have a passport.

4. How does Mary Todd describe her part in the break-up of the engagement to Lincoln?
(a) She agrees her incessant chatter drove Lincoln crazy.
(b) She knows her lack of confidence in his ability made him sad.
(c) She acknowledges pushing him too hard to fulfill her ambitions.
(d) She admits her love was based on financial greed.

5. What causes Lincoln to change his mind about his future?
(a) After seeing Seth Gale's son, Lincoln realizes how much he wants children.
(b) He fails as a farmer and sees he must return to politics.
(c) He understands he's not getting any younger or better looking, so it's time to settle down.
(d) After meeting Seth Gale, Lincoln realizes his destiny is in national service, as Mary always said.

Short Answer Questions

1. What does Lincoln do with his notes before he begins speaking in the debate with Douglas?

2. How does Mary Todd describe Lincoln's behavior and absence over the previous two years?

3. What song does the band play as Lincoln departs?

4. Mary Todd enters Act 2, Scene 10 while Lincoln is talking with his sons and objects to something the oldest son is doing. What is it?

5. What is the last line of the play, sung by the crowd?

Short Essay Questions

1. Where is Gale taking his family as he meets with Lincoln in Act 2, Scene 7? Why is he going?

2. 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.

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

4. 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?

5. 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?

6. Stephen Douglas takes the position that "each state should mind its own business," says Lincoln in the debate. It might seem like the safer course, he argues, but there is a danger to following that advice. What is the danger that Lincoln foresees?

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

8. Mary Todd accepts Lincoln's return in Act 2, Scene 8 without much resistance. She extracts a promise from Lincoln that he'll never leave again, then declares her love for him and her determination "to fight by his side" until death parts them. Does Mary Todd truly love Lincoln or is she using him?

9. 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?

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

(see the answer keys)

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