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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 does Seth Gale's wife want for her sick son, besides the help of a doctor?
(a) A college scholarship so he won't have to live on the prairie.
(b) A minister to say a prayer.
(c) A minister to drive the evil spirits from his soul.
(d) A bathtub full of cool water to calm his fever.

2. How does Lincoln frequently begin a sentence after his election?
(a) "If I live..."
(b) "Funnily enough..."
(c) "As I live and breath..."
(d) "Whatever..."

3. Where does Seth Gale intend to settle his family?
(a) Oregon.
(b) Nevada.
(c) New Mexico.
(d) Texas.

4. What distinction does Lincoln draw between the slaves and downtrodden workers in the North?
(a) The workers live with harsh winters, the slaves do not.
(b) The workers have the right to strike, slaves do not.
(c) The slaves can run away, the workers cannot.
(d) Slaves live on plantations, workers live in cities.

5. To which of Shakespeare's characters does Douglas compare Lincoln?
(a) Hamlet.
(b) Brutus.
(c) Romeo.
(d) Macbeth.

Short Answer Questions

1. What are the railroad workers in Illinois doing, according to Douglas, to protest their low wages?

2. What are the issues on Lincoln's mind as he addresses the crowd?

3. What is the dream from ancient times that Lincoln speaks of in his farewell?

4. How is the crowd outside receiving voting results?

5. In Act 2, Scene 7, what is the fear Seth Gale has about traveling with Gobey?

Short Essay Questions

1. While Lincoln asserts that he submits to the will of God, he doesn't belong to any church. What are his objections to organized forms of worship?

2. In Act 3, Scene 10, which takes place in the Lincolns' home, it is clear that the Lincolns' marriage is not happy, or at the least, has problems. Thus far, the play has made clear Mary's part in creating problems. In this scene, the playwright uses a cigar to show that Lincoln isn't an innocent victim in the matter of the marriage. How does the cigar reveal one of Lincoln's faults?

3. Despite Mary Lincoln's and Josh Speed's entreaties that Lincoln treat his visitors seriously because they are influential, Lincoln can't help but give them a little of his backwood's humor. How does he respond when Henry D. Sturveson says they have come to see if Lincoln will be a suitable candidate?

4. Where is Gale taking his family as he meets with Lincoln in Act 2, Scene 7? Why is he going?

5. Lincoln, says Douglas in the debate, is stirring up rebellion against authority. What is the danger that Douglas foresees? And what is the solution he proposes?

6. Mary Todd accepts Lincoln's return in Act 2, Scene 8 without much resistance. She extracts a promise from Lincoln that he'll never leave again, then declares her love for him and her determination "to fight by his side" until death parts them. Does Mary Todd truly love Lincoln or is she using him?

7. What is the effect on Lincoln of Gale's idealism, his vow to denounce his American citizenship if the government doesn't ban slavery?

8. At the beginning of the play's final scene, it's clear that national tension have risen as a result of Lincoln's election. What worries Kavanagh as he waits for the Lincolns to board the train for Washington?

9. Josh Speed is awaiting Lincoln's visitors, too. He is clearly aware of the tensions between Mary and Abe. How does Speed respond when Mary suggests that Speed, among others, probably thinks of her as a bitter, nagging woman?

10. In Act 2, Scene 8, Lincoln apologizes for being a coward. He says he shrank from the marriage because he didn't want or believe in the destiny Mary envisions for him. Now, though, he says he wants to "strive to deserve" her faith. Does the way that Lincoln again asks her to marry him indicate that he loves her or has some other reason for marrying her?

(see the answer keys)

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