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 did John Wilkes Booth and George Atzerodt do when their Confederate soldier friends said the Union cavalry was approaching the Garretts' farm?

2. When John Wilkes Booth first met Thomas Jones, what did John Wilkes Booth say about his own possible capture?

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

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. In addition to food, what other items did Thomas Jones bring to John Wilkes Booth and David Herold in their forest hiding place, much to John Wilkes Booth's delight?

Short Essay Questions

1. 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?

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

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. Though John Wilkes Booth was angry at the newspapers for suppressing his written explanation for why he had killed Abraham Lincoln that he had given to his actor friend, what was the truth surrounding why his letter had not been published?

5. What was the reason for Andrew Johnson's lack of a formal public inaugural address upon his ascendency to the presidency?

6. While Thomas Jones was arrested and was briefly imprisoned, he continued to insist on his own innocence and there was no evidence to convict him of any crime. In what way did the truth of his involvement eventually come out?

7. What type of tone does James L. Swanson use in describing the actions of Lafayette Baker and his men as they surrounded the barn in which they knew John Wilkes Booth was hiding?

8. 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?

9. Why was the decision made to shoot the healthy horses belonging to John Wilkes Booth and David Herold?

10. What was it about the newspapers brought to him by Thomas Jones that stunned John Wilkes Booth while he was hiding in the pine thicket?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

How does the author use sensory details in order to paint a vivid portrait of the historical events he depicts within the novel? Discuss at least two scenes that include extensive use of sensory details and pull quotes from these scenes to support your claim.

Essay Topic 2

Choose one of the conspirators whose sentence you consider unjust in some way, either by being too harsh or too lenient. Write an argumentative essay in which you prove why this person's involvement warranted a different punishment. Use concrete details from the book and from outside research in order to prove your argumentative claim.

Essay Topic 3

Examine James L. Swanson's use of characterization methods to portray Abraham Lincoln. How does he help the reader to know who Abraham Lincoln was as a person, both before and after his murder? What effect do these characterization methods have on the book's inherent themes and messages? Use concrete details from the text to support your claims.

(see the answer keys)

This section contains 1,607 words (approx. 6 pages at 300 words per page) View a FREE sample