Question 1

True or false: Lincoln was the first president to be assassinated while in office.

Accepted Answer

True. Lincoln was shot by John Wilkes Booth in 1865, making him the first U.S. president to be assassinated.

Question 2

True or false: Lincoln's Gettysburg Address was immediately hailed as a masterpiece.

Accepted Answer

False. The speech was poorly received at first; many newspapers criticized it, and Lincoln himself thought it fell flat.

Question 3

True or false: Lincoln's mother taught him to read and write before he turned five.

Accepted Answer

False. Lincoln's mother, Nancy Hanks, died when he was nine. He taught himself to read with little formal schooling.

Question 4

True or false: Lincoln wrote the Gettysburg Address on the back of an envelope during the train ride.

Accepted Answer

False. He wrote multiple drafts beforehand. The envelope story is a myth popularized by later accounts.

Question 5

True or false: Lincoln's Emancipation Proclamation freed all slaves in the United States.

Accepted Answer

False. It only freed slaves in Confederate states not under Union control. Border states and Union-held areas were exempt.

Question 6

True or false: Abraham Lincoln was a licensed bartender before becoming president.

Accepted Answer

True. Lincoln co-owned a tavern in New Salem, Illinois, and held a liquor license, but he rarely drank himself.

Question 7

True or false: Lincoln was a champion wrestler with only one recorded loss.

Accepted Answer

True. Lincoln wrestled in about 300 matches and lost just once. He was inducted into the Wrestling Hall of Fame in 1992.

Question 8

True or false: Lincoln once challenged a rival to a duel with broadswords.

Accepted Answer

True. In 1842, Lincoln challenged James Shields to a duel after a satirical letter. They chose broadswords, but reconciled before fighting.

Abraham Lincoln Trivia Questions