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This test consists of 5 short answer questions, 10 short essay questions, and 1 (of 3) essay topics.

Short Answer Questions

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

2. How old was William Seward's daughter Fanny on the night of the assassination attempt?

3. What reason did Dr. Charles Leale give for the impossibility of taking Abraham Lincoln to the White House after he was shot?

4. What distinctive marking did John Wilkes Booth's horse have on her body?

5. What bridge was the only way out of Washington D.C. and into Maryland?

Short Essay Questions

1. How did Mary Todd Lincoln's letter to the Ford Theater's proprietors unwittingly help Abraham Lincoln's would-be assassins complete their goal?

2. 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?

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

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

7. 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?

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

9. 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?

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

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Write an essay that discusses the connection between the decision by the U. S. government to make sure John Wilkes Booth's grave remained unmarked and the modern controversy over the media's coverage of mass shooters. Write a specific, clear claim and back it up with both concrete details from the book and concrete details from your research.

Essay Topic 2

Examine the dichotomy between John Wilkes Booth's expectations of the effect his assassination of President Lincoln would have on the country, with the events that actually unfolded and how his act was viewed in years to come. Support your analytical points with textual evidence from the book.

Essay Topic 3

How is the theme of hope depicted within the narrative despite the grim act at the center of its story? Create a clear, specific claim and support it with concrete details from the book.

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