View a FREE sample

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

Multiple Choice Questions

1. What wound did Lewis Powell successfully inflict upon William Seward, though he did not succeed in killing him?
(a) He shot William Seward in the leg.
(b) He cut a deep wound in William Seward's face.
(c) He shot William Seward's ear.
(d) He cut a deep wound in William Seward's arm.

2. Who asked Dr. Charles Leale to treat him first, before the doctor tended to Abraham Lincoln?
(a) Sergeant Robinson.
(b) Colonel Murray.
(c) Major Rathbone.
(d) Captain Stargazer.

3. How many stories did William Seward's house have, making Lewis Powell's task of finding him difficult?
(a) 2.
(b) 4.
(c) 3.
(d) 5.

4. How many slaves had Dr. Samuel Mudd owned before The Emancipation Proclamation was enacted by Abraham Lincoln?
(a) 21.
(b) 15.
(c) 11.
(d) 5.

5. What was the title of the play during which Abraham Lincoln was assassinated?
(a) The Importance of Being Earnest.
(b) Our Town.
(c) Oklahoma.
(d) Our American Cousin.

Short Answer Questions

1. Who was the only audience member at Ford's Theater the night of the assassination to chase after John Wilkes Booth after the shooting?

2. Though it would have been easy for John Wilkes Booth to gain an audience with President Lincoln within the Executive Mansion due to Booth's acting fame, why did he not take that action?

3. On the night of April 11th at the Torchlight Parade, what did Lincoln say in his speech regarding African-Americans?

4. What rule was in place about the bridge that John Wilkes Booth intended to cross on his escape into Maryland?

5. What did Lewis Powell carry with him to William Sewards' door in order to make his lie more believable?

Short Essay Questions

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

2. 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?

3. How does James L. Swanson create suspense in the scene when Lewis Powell attempts to assassinate William Seward?

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

5. How does James L. Swanson use the words of Mary Todd Lincoln's dressmaker, Elizabeth Keckley, to foreshadow the coming death of Abraham Lincoln?

6. 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?

7. How does James L. Swanson characterize the personality of the actress Laura Keene, who was present at the scene of John Wilkes Booth's shooting of Abraham Lincoln.

8. In the scene of Abraham Lincoln being moved from the theater, how does James L. Swanson get across the message of how damaging people's morbid curiosity can be?

9. What is the significance of the photo that was taken at Abraham Lincoln's inauguration and that includes John Wilkes Booth?

10. What qualities of William Seward's situation caused him to chosen by the assassins as the third target in the assassination plot, in addition to Abraham Lincoln and Andrew Johnson?

(see the answer keys)

This section contains 1,458 words (approx. 5 pages at 300 words per page) View a FREE sample