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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 did Lewis Powell carry with him to William Sewards' door in order to make his lie more believable?
(a) An autograph book and a pen.
(b) A small package wrapped in paper and tied with string.
(c) A telegram.
(d) A bag of groceries.

2. What was Dr. Samuel Mudd's diagnosis once he examined John Wilkes Booth's injured leg?
(a) Broken fibula.
(b) Broken knee.
(c) Dislocated ankle.
(d) Broken ankle.

3. What injury did John Wilkes Booth sustain in his leap from the Presidential box to the theater stage?
(a) A broken wrist.
(b) A broken nose.
(c) A broken ankle.
(d) A broken leg.

4. What had John Wilkes Booth hidden along the carpet earlier in the day that he then used to barricade the door to the Presidential box behind him?
(a) A broom.
(b) A nightstick.
(c) A conductor's baton.
(d) A music stand.

5. When Lewis Powell rang the bell at William Seward's house, what lie did he tell in order to gain entry?
(a) That he was delivering the Sewards' grocery order.
(b) That he wanted an autograph from William Seward.
(c) That he had a telegram addressed to William Seward.
(d) That he was a messenger delivering medicine to William Seward.

Short Answer Questions

1. On what date did Richmond, Virginia, the capital city of the Confederate States of America, fall to Union forces?

2. How long did John Wilkes Booth have between finding out about Lincoln's plans to attend the play and his assassination of the President?

3. How many stories did William Seward's house have, making Lewis Powell's task of finding him difficult?

4. How many slaves had Dr. Samuel Mudd owned before The Emancipation Proclamation was enacted by Abraham Lincoln?

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

Short Essay Questions

1. What tone does James L. Swanson use in second paragraph of Chapter I when he writes, "The very next day, the tyrant Abraham Lincoln had visited his captive prize and had the nerve to sit behind the desk occupied by the first and last president of the Confederate States of America, Jefferson Davis"? (2)

2. What danger to Lewis Powell's assassination plot lurked in William Seward's room of which Lewis Powell was unaware?

3. 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?

4. 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?

5. What is James L. Swanson's purpose when he describes John Wilkes Booth's passions as including "the romance of lost causes"? (2)

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

7. What were the reasons that Dr. Charles Leale wanted to move Abraham Lincoln from the theater, even though he had just proclaimed his wounds sure to be fatal?

8. Who was the only audience member in Ford's Theater to chase after John Wilkes Booth and why did no one else follow him?

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

10. 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?

(see the answer keys)

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