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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 does Lincoln conclude his prayer for the health of Jimmy Gale?
(a) "Grant us the will to fight for the vitality of our nation."
(b) "Grant this boy the breath to live long enough to bury his father."
(c) "Give us the strength to bear the death of this young boy."
(d) "Give us all strength, oh God, to do the work that is before us."

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

3. Seth Gale tells Abe he's feeling "pretty scared" about his son's health. What does Lincoln tell him?
(a) He urges Gale not to be scared, that he is doing a "big thing" and shouldn't let anything beat him down.
(b) He agrees Gale should be scared and urges him to turn back.
(c) He tells Gale that he, too, is scared but he will go West with the Gale family.
(d) He offers to burn some incense and herbs to smoke out the boy's fever.

4. What does Lincoln do with his notes before he begins speaking in the debate with Douglas?
(a) Sticks them under his chair.
(b) Puts them in his hat.
(c) Puts them on the podium.
(d) Rips them to pieces.

5. How old is Lincoln as he leaves Illinois for the White House?
(a) 47.
(b) 65.
(c) 52.
(d) 71.

Short Answer Questions

1. After 18 years of marriage to Lincoln, what is it that Mary Todd is bitter about?

2. How does Lincoln describe Douglas' verbal skills?

3. Why does Mary agree to the public humiliation of taking Lincoln back after two years?

4. 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?

5. What is Mary Todd Lincoln's response to her husband's suggestion that she go home?

Short Essay Questions

1. 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.

2. 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?

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

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

6. 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?

7. 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?

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

9. 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?

10. In their debate, Lincoln compares Douglas to a woman watching her husband fight for his life with a bear. When asked by her husband for an encouraging word, the woman says, "Go husband. Go bear." What was Lincoln saying about Douglas in that comparison?

(see the answer keys)

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