Question

Read Abraham Lincoln's Letter to fellow Republican James T. Hale.

In this letter, President Lincoln suggests a compromise with the South’s demands to keep the Union from falling apart.

Confidential. Hon. J. T. Hale Springfield, Ill. Jan'y. 11th 1861. My dear Sir—Yours of the 6th is received. I answer it only because I fear you would misconstrue my silence. What is our present condition? We have just carried an election on principles fairly stated to the people. Now we are told in advance, the government shall be broken up, unless we surrender to those we have beaten, before we take the offices. In this they are either attempting to play upon us, or they are in dead earnest. Either way, if we surrender, it is the end of us, and of the government. They will repeat the experiment upon us ad libitum. A year will not pass, till we shall have to take Cuba as a condition upon which they will stay in the Union. They now have the Constitution, under which we have lived over seventy years, and acts of Congress of their own framing, with no prospect of their being changed; and they can never have a more shallow pretext for breaking up the government, or extorting a compromise, than now. There is, in my judgment, but one compromise which would really settle the slavery question, and that would be a prohibition against acquiring any more territory. Yours very truly, A. LINCOLN.

Which words best describe Abraham Lincoln's tone in the letter?
1. nervous and insecure
2. bold but concerned
3. optimistic but timid
4. resigned and dejected

Answer 1

2. bold but concerned

Answer 2

Answer: 2) Bold but concerned.

Step-by-step explanation: The tone of a text or sentence is the author's or speaker's attitude towards the audience, the subject or even the characters of the text. There are many different kinds of tones, like: positive, negative, objective, sad, angry, etc. In the given excerpt from Abraham Lincoln's Letter to fellow Republican James T. Hale, we can see that his tone is bold (because he is proposing a prohibition against acquqiring territory), but it is also concerned about the decision he needs to make, and the situation the government is in.