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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 was the subject of the photographs John Wilkes Booth took with him the night of the assassination?
(a) His mother.
(b) His five favorite girlfriends.
(c) His children.
(d) The Confederate flag.

2. What tool did Dr. Charles Leale use to remove the blood clot from Abraham Lincoln's head in order to relieve pressure on his brain?
(a) A pocketknife.
(b) A scalpel.
(c) His fingers.
(d) A toothpick.

3. Where did Lewis Powell sleep on the two nights subsequent to the events at William Seward's house?
(a) Under the Navy Yard Bridge.
(b) In Mary Surratt's boardinghouse.
(c) In a tree.
(d) In his carriage.

4. What two items did John Wilkes Booth retrieve from Mary Sarratt's boardinghouse on the night of the assassination attempts?
(a) Binoculars and a gun.
(b) A knife and a horse.
(c) A gun and a knife.
(d) A map and a compass.

5. When Lewis Powell got outside and found that Herold had fled with the getaway carriage, what did he do?
(a) He pushed a passerby out of a carriage and stole it.
(b) He took off running down the street.
(c) He jumped on his horse and rode away.
(d) He rode off down the street on his bicycle.

Short Answer Questions

1. Who answered the door when Lewis Powell rang the doorbell at William Seward's house?

2. What weapon did John Wilkes Booth ultimately use to kill Abraham Lincoln?

3. Worried that Lewis Powell or other assassins might return to the house, what action did Fanny Seward take throughout the night after the attack?

4. What was the role of Charles Forbes, the only man sitting outside of the Lincolns' theater box seat?

5. What wound did Lewis Powell successfully inflict upon William Seward, though he did not succeed in killing him?

Short Essay Questions

1. What methods does James L. Swanson use to convey the chaotic nature of the scene within Ford's Theater after John Wilkes Booth had escaped?

2. How did the North celebrate when Richmond, Virginia fell to Union forces on April 3, 1865?

3. How did John Wilkes Booth's knowledge of Ford's Theater facilitate his assassination of Abraham Lincoln?

4. In what ways is Lewis Powell portrayed as a pathetic character after his attempt to take William Seward's life?

5. What are two themes touched upon within Abraham Lincoln's inauguration day speech of 1865?

6. What is the author's purpose in relating the events of Mary Lincoln Todd's and Abraham Lincoln's afternoon together on the date of the assassination?

7. Since John Wilkes Booth could have easily gained an audience with President Abraham Lincoln in the Executive Mansion using his famous face, why did he not just assassinate him in such a meeting?

8. What action did David Herold take at the scene of William Seward's home that James L. Swanson imagines to have inspired the ire of John Wilkes Booth?

9. How does James L. Swanson demonstrate Fanny Seward's courage and ferocity within the scene of Lewis Powell's attempt to take her father's life?

10. What was the main goal of the plot to assassinate the Union's top governmental leaders all in one night?

(see the answer keys)

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