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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. When did Lincoln's family move to Illinois?

2. What happened to Lincoln's career after the 1858 election?

3. For whose nomination for President did Lincoln campaign?

4. How does Donald describe the effect of Lincoln's loss of his mother?

5. What did Lincoln know about his grandmother?

Short Essay Questions

1. Describe the beginnings of the Civil War.

2. What was Lincoln's involvement in the 1848 Presidential election?

3. How did Lincoln end up back in Springfield?

4. How much is known about Lincoln's ancestry?

5. What positions did Lincoln take in his career as a Whig legislator?

6. What did Lincoln do after he lost to Douglas?

7. What was the outcome of the Lincoln-Douglas debates in 1858?

8. What issue was returned Lincoln to politics?

9. What was Lincoln's early relationship with his father like?

10. What was the state of the Whig party in Illinois and elsewhere, during Lincoln's tenure?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

When Lincoln declined to serve in a seat he had won, he ended up back in Springfield, where he was involved in local politics and he earned himself a name as a local lawyer. How was Lincoln's experience as a local figure related to his experience as a national figure?

Essay Topic 2

Why did Lincoln not emancipate the slaves early in the war? What practical factors led him to hold off on emancipation? Did he ultimately gain by waiting, or did he lose some authority or political capital by waiting for the right time?

Essay Topic 3

Was Lincoln naïve to think that the Southern states could be brought back into the Union after seceding? Did he underestimate the passions associated with slavery, and the benefits associated with the Union? Was he misled by advisers?

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