Question

Passage 1

Abraham Lincoln

Abraham Lincoln became the 16th president of the United States when he took office in 1861. At the beginning of the Civil War, Lincoln’s main goal was to bring the southern states back to the Union. Later, he became more determined to end slavery.
At first, Lincoln did not allow African Americans to join the Union Army. Lincoln worried that the border states, or the slave states that remained loyal to the Union, would leave the Union if he allowed this. In January of 1863, Lincoln issued the Emancipation Proclamation, an order to free all of the slaves in the U.S. This order also allowed African Americans to serve in the Union Army.
Abraham Lincoln wanted to bring states back into the Union with as little disagreement as possible. In 1863, Lincoln proposed a plan that would easily allow states to rejoin to the Union. Many people opposed this plan because they strongly believed that the southern states should be punished for separating from the Union. Congress did not pass this plan. In 1864, Lincoln was re-elected as president. He was shot soon after he began his second term in April of 1865.

Passage 2

from Letter to A.G. Hodges, of Kentucky
by Abraham Lincoln

April 4, 1864

In March, May, and July, 1862, I asked the border states to accept compensated emancipation. In this plan, the government would pay slave owners for their slaves. The slaves would no longer be slaves and would be able to earn wages for themselves. The border states would not agree to this plan. Therefore, I decided to allow blacks to become Union soldiers. I was not confident that this was a good decision. I worried that the border states would leave the Union because of it. However, it has been a year since the decision was made, and the Union has not suffered any unfavorable effects. On the contrary, the nation has gained one hundred and thirty thousand soldiers, seamen, and workers.


4. Directions: Select all the correct answers.Which two ideas do the passages share?
a. Lincoln was concerned about angering the border states.
b. African Americans fought for the Union Army in the Civil War.
c. Lincoln was elected to a second term as president in 1864.
d. Congress did not support Lincoln's plan, which would allow states to rejoin the Union.
e. Lincoln's decision to allow African Americans to join the Union Army was beneficial to the Union.

Answer 1

The two shared ideas are Abraham Lincoln's concern about angering border states and the beneficial impact of allowing African Americans to serve in the Union Army during the Civil War.

Step-by-step explanation:

The two ideas shared by the passages provided are that Abraham Lincoln was concerned about angering the border states (option a), and that the decision to allow African Americans to join the Union Army was beneficial to the Union (option e). Both passages discuss Lincoln's considerations regarding the border state loyalties and the military implications of allowing African Americans to become soldiers in the context of the Civil War. It's emphasized that his administration was initially hesitant due to potential political consequences but later recognized the strategic advantage this decision provided.

Option a is clearly supported in both passages, where Lincoln's concern about the reaction of the border states to his policies is noted. Similarly, option e is supported by the second passage, where it's mentioned that the enlistment of African Americans added valuable manpower to the Union cause, bolstering the army with more soldiers.

Answer 2

b. African Americans fought for the Union Army in the Civil War.