View a FREE sample

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

Short Answer Questions

1. What was John Wilkes Booth wearing when he went into hiding in the pine forest?

2. What did George Atzerodt purchase during his trip into Bowling Green?

3. When the Union cavalry divided their forces in order to surround John Wilkes Booth, who headed the two columns?

4. What was the reason that Captain Samuel Cox told John Wilkes Booth and David Herold not to make a fire in the forest?

5. Who was sent to fetch Thomas Jones in hopes that he would help John Wilkes Booth and David Herold in their next escape step?

Short Essay Questions

1. How does James L. Swanson use the appeal of pathos to craft the portrait of Edman Spangler, the 39-year-old stagehand from Ford's Theater?

2. What was Dr. Samuel Mudd's response when he learned that Abraham Lincoln had been killed and that John Wilkes Booth had been the assassin?

3. What is James L. Swanson's purpose in including the detail, "He was too far from Washington to hear the ringing bells of the city's churches tolling in mourning," (60) when describing John Wikes Booth's arrival at the farm of Dr. Samuel Mudd?

4. Once she was sent from the room in which Abraham Lincoln lay dying, why did Marty Todd Lincoln never see her husband's face again?

5. Why did authorities feel that they had such an airtight case against John Wilkes Booth for killing Abraham Lincoln if they were ever able to bring him to justice in a court of law?

6. What was the first major break in the manhunt for the assassins and why was it significant?

7. What was it about Thomas Jones' role in helping the fugitives John Wilkes Booth and David Herold put Thomas Jones' own life in such grave danger?

8. To what cause does James L. Swanson attribute the decision by doctors to perform an autopsy on Abraham Lincoln after his death?

9. When James L. Swanson states that John Wilkes Booth had planned in detail the assassination of Abraham Lincoln and his escape from the theater itself, but not much beyond that, what details does he use to support his point?

10. What evidence was there that indicated Thomas Jones's sole reason for helping John Wilkes Booth was because he shared the same values with the assassin?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

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.

Essay Topic 2

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 3

Discuss three different women that appear within the book's narrative and compare and contrast their characteristics. How do their roles differ and how are their roles similar? Taken together, what depiction of women is present in the overall narrative? Choose concrete details about all three women to support your points.

(see the answer keys)

This section contains 1,547 words (approx. 6 pages at 300 words per page) View a FREE sample