Lincoln's Second Inaugural Address - Readworks.org

When did this speech take place?

• on the day before the Civil War began

• on the occasion of President Lincoln’s second inauguration

• on the occasion of President Lincoln’s first inauguration

• on the day after the Civil War began

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In his speech, Abraham Lincoln explains a cause of the Civil War. What was this cause?

• taking the oath of the presidential office for a second time

• asking God’s assistance in wringing bread from other men

• conflicting desires to strengthen, perpetuate, and extend an interest in slaves

• reading the same Bible and praying to the same God

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The North and South shared some common interests.

What evidence from Lincoln’s speech supports this conclusion about the interests of the North and South?

• Lincoln said that all dreaded civil war and all sought to avert it.

• Lincoln said that slavery ended before the Civil War did.

• Lincoln said everyone knew that an interest in slaves was the cause of the war.

• Lincoln said that colored slaves made up one-eighth of the whole population.

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What is the tone of this speech?

• accusatory

• reflective

• defensive

• celebratory

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What is a main message of this speech?

• Despite their differences, the North and South must work together to achieve peace.

• The nation has finally moved past the Civil War and is now prospering again.

• The South is solely to blame for the Civil War and should therefore be punished.

• The occasion of President Lincoln’s second inauguration is a time to celebrate.

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Read this sentence from the text.

"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, and the war came."

What does the phrase “deprecated war” mean here?

• looked forward to war

• disliked war

• prepared for war

• did not understand war

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Choose the answer that best completes the sentence.

__________ both parties read the same Bible and pray to the same God, the prayers of both could not be answered.

• Because

• Before

• Since

• While

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Read the following quote from the speech.

"Woe unto the world because of offenses; for it must needs be that offenses come, but woe to that man by whom the offense cometh."

To what offense does this quote refer?

• The quote refers to the offense of American slavery.

• The quote refers to the offense of the division of the United States in the the Union and the Confederacy.

• The quote refers to the offense of warfare.

• The quote refers to the offense of not believing in God.

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Read this sentence from the text.

"With malice toward none, with charity for all, . . . let us strive on to finish the work we are in, to bind up the nation’s wounds, . . . to do all which may achieve and cherish a just and lasting peace among ourselves and with all nations."

What might it mean to "bind up the nation’s wounds"?

• "To bind up the nation’s wounds" might mean to unite the nation after the war and to bring peace to the country again.

• "To bind up the nation’s wounds" might mean to end slavery.

• "To bind up the nation’s wounds" might mean to punish all war criminals and to support justice in America.

• "To bind up the nation’s wounds" might mean to provide first aid and medical care to those wounded in the war.

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What might Lincoln have wanted the North and South to understand after listening to his speech?

Support your answer with evidence from the text.

• Lincoln wanted listeners to understand that neither side wanted the war, and all sought to avert it.

• Lincoln wanted listeners to understand that in order to bind up the nation’s wounds, the North and South would have to work together and recognize their similarities,by stating, "Both read the same Bible and pray to the same God, and each invokes His aid against the other."

• Lincoln wanted listeners to understand that while the North and South had conflicting desires about an interest in slavery, an offense which led to the Civil War, they also shared common interests.

• Lincoln wanted listeners to understand he is the President of the United Sates and that his words should be listened to.

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