WorksheetsSecond Inaugural Address
Total questions: 18
Worksheet time: 9mins
According to Lincoln in his Second Inaugural Address, what issue occupied people’s thoughts and attention at the time of his First Inaugural Address?
the recent election
finishing the civil war
a possible war between the states
how people felt about slavery
Lincoln’s explanation for such a brief address can best be summarized as (11-15):
an inappropriate time for ceremony
a need to focus on what is most important in a time of war
there is little new information to share with the public
that in brevity there is truth
In paragraph three why does Lincoln use the rhetorical device of the Bible and religion: [Alternately: The effect of the biblical allusions in paragraph 3]
because God can end the war
because as President Lincoln is unable to control events
because Lincoln wanted to emphasize the lack of common ideas
beliefs of Northern and Southern citizens
In the Second Inaugural Address, what does Lincoln say or imply that he wants?
punishment for those who have held slaves
to grant full voting rights to all former slaves
to penalize the southern states for leaving the Union
c.
an end to slavery everywhere in the country
In what way does the Second Inaugural Address suggest that the Civil War was not originally fought to free the slaves?
Lincoln says the government only wished to keep slavery from spreading.
Lincoln says that some people would rather wage war than end slavery.
Lincoln says rebellious people wanted to dissolve the Union without war.
Lincoln says that only one-eighth of the whole population were slaves.
In the Second Inaugural Address, what is the “peculiar and powerful interest,” or matter of concern, that Lincoln says everyone knew was “somehow the cause of the war”?
plantations
territory
industry
slaves
According to Lincoln in his Second Inaugural Address, what “still absorbs the attention and engrosses the energies of the nation”?
ongoing debate over slavery
the presidential election
attempts to dissolve the Union
the present Civil War
If a person describes cancer as a scourge, to which aspect of the disease is the person referring? Base your answer on the meaning of scourge.
Cancer affects some people but not others.
Cancer can pass from one generation to another.
Cancer seems to be impossible to stop.
Cancer causes widespread pain and suffering.
Which of the following is the best example of people who are insurgent?
a fleet of troops carrying goods to a new nation
a crowd of protesters rising against a government
a diplomatic group traveling to negotiate a treaty
a business association that holds annual meetings
Which situation most clearly illustrates the meaning of rend?
The mechanic is disassembling an engine before repairing it.
The seamstress is tearing the cloth into pieces before designing a new outfit.
The artist is studying a scene from two angles before painting it.
The child is neatly removing wrapping paper before deciding to open the gift.
In the Second Inaugural Address, what is Lincoln’s attitude toward those who fought for the Confederacy?
He wants to thank them for starting the war.
He does not wish them any harm for their choices.
He condemns them for holding slaves.
He believes that they should pay for all the war costs.
Which excerpt from the Second Inaugural Address supports that Lincoln wants forgiveness for the South after the War?
With malice toward none, with charity for all, with firmness in the right as God gives us to see the right, let us strive on to finish the work we are in, to bind up the nation’s wounds. . . .
Yet, if God wills that [the war] continue until all the wealth piled by the bondsman’s two hundred and fifty years of unrequited toil shall be sunk, . . .
If we shall suppose that American slavery is one of those offenses which . . . must needs come, but which, . . . [God] now wills to remove, . . . shall we discern therein any departure from those divine attributes which the believers in a living God always ascribe to Him?
Each looked for an easier triumph, and a result less fundamental and astounding. Both read the same Bible and pray to the same God, and each invokes His aid against the other.
In the Second Inaugural Address, how does Lincoln explain why the country went to war?
He says that slavery was so evil that slaveholders needed to be punished by war against them.
He says that war was inevitable because the positions were so opposed that compromise was impossible.
He says that too many rebellious people tried to stir up trouble and dissolve the Union.
He says that both sides expected a quick and easy victory in the war with no losses on their side.
Which excerpt from the Second Inaugural Address supports Lincoln's belief as to why the war started?
It may seem strange that any men should dare to ask a just God’s assistance in wringing their bread from the sweat of other men’s faces. . . .
While the inaugural address was being delivered from this place, devoted ... insurgent agents were in the city seeking to destroy it without war—seeking to dissolve the Union and divide effects by negotiation.
The progress of our arms, upon which all else chiefly depends, is as well known to the public as to myself, and it is, I trust, reasonably satisfactory and encouraging to all.
Both parties deprecated war, but one of them would make war rather than let the nation survive, and the other would accept war rather than let it perish. . . .
The progress of our arms, upon which all else chiefly depends, is as well known to the public as to myself, and it is, I trust, reasonably satisfactory and encouraging to all. With high hope for the future, no prediction in regard to it is ventured. Choose the best meaning:
He is positive the North is going to win.
He is stating why war is necessary.
He believes the South will probably win.
He is going to make the best future by punishing the South
Both read the same Bible and pray to the same God, and each invokes His aid against the other. It may seem strange that any men should dare to ask a just God's assistance in wringing their bread from the sweat of other men's faces, but let us judge not, that we be not judged. Identify the literary context:
Metaphor
Irony
Simile
Allitteration
Identify the tone of the Second Inaugural Address.
judgmental and didactic
angry and defiant
hopeful and encouraging
indifferent and apathetic
The argument of the passage can best be described as
wanting to destroy the Southern “insurgents”
asking for God’s forgiveness
declaring peace
finishing the work needed to reunite the country
