Option B : 

In the first paragraph of Passage 1, Douglas argues that throughout the period in which the United States had both free and slave states, the nation as a whole “increased from four million to thirty millions of people . . . extended our territory from the Mississippi to the Pacific Ocean . . . acquired the Floridas and Texas . . . [and had] risen from a weak and feeble power to become the terror and admiration of the civilized world.” It can reasonably be inferred that Douglas cites such growth in territory and population to make the point that the division into free and slave states was not a threat to the country’s health or survival.

Choice A is incorrect because although it can be inferred that Douglas would argue for continued expansion of the United States, he cites the expansion it has already undergone as support for perpetuating the division into free and slave states. Choice C is incorrect because although Douglas implies that basic facts about the historical growth of the nation cast doubt on Lincoln’s political agenda, he doesn’t imply that Lincoln is unaware of those facts. Choice D is incorrect because although Douglas notes that the United States is globally perceived to be powerful, he doesn’t imply that this perception can be accounted for by the nation’s record of growth.

Option C : 

In the second paragraph of Passage 1, Douglas uses a rhetorical question to stress that the division into slave and free states have existed since the beginning of the United States: “I now come back to the question, why cannot this Union exist forever, divided into Free and Slave States, as our fathers made it?” It can be inferred from this question that Douglas believes that since this division is long-standing, the provisions for it in the US Constitution have provided a good basic structure that doesn’t need to be changed.

Choice A is incorrect because, in Passage 1, Douglas doesn’t observe that the US Constitution’s provisions for slavery lack a means for reconciling differences between slave states and free states. Choice B is incorrect because although Douglas stresses that the provisions for slavery are long-standing, he doesn’t characterize them as having somehow anticipated the Union’s expansion to the west. Choice D is correct because although it can be inferred from Passage 1 that Douglas believes the provisions for slavery have had a positive economic impact, he nowhere implies that the founders based them on an assumption that slavery was economically necessary.

Option B : 

The previous question asks about how Douglas, in Passage 1, characterizes the Constitution’s provisions for slavery. The answer, that Douglas believes they provided a good basic structure and don’t need to be changed is best supported in the first sentence of the second paragraph of Passage 1: “I now come back to the question, why cannot this Union exist forever, divided into Free and the Slave States, as our fathers made it?”

Choices A, C, and D are incorrect because the cited lines don’t support the answer to the previous question. Instead, they describe the various ways in which the nation has expanded since its founding (choice A), stress the likelihood that the nation will only continue to expand (choice C), and assert the importance of the sovereignty of the individual states to the future expansion of the nation (choice D).

Option C : 

In the first sentence of the second paragraph of Passage 2, Lincoln raises a question about how the consequences of the division of the United States into slave states and free states compare with the consequences of the other ways in which states differ from each other: “But has it been so with this element of slavery?” In this context, the word “element” most nearly means factor.

Choices A, B, and D are incorrect because in the context of Lincoln’s discussion of the “element of slavery,” the word “element” most nearly means factor, not ingredient (choice A), environment (choice B), or quality (choice D).

Option B : 

In the second paragraph of Passage 2, Lincoln asserts that the controversy surrounding slavery in the United States has died down whenever the institution of slavery has been restricted geographically: “Whenever it has been limited to its present bounds, and there has been no effort to spread it, there has been peace.” Since Lincoln associates peace on this issue with geographical limits on the institution of slavery itself, it can be inferred that he would agree that the controversy would abate if all attempts to establish slavery in new regions ceased.

Choice A is incorrect because Lincoln neither urges Northern states to attempt to abolish slavery unilaterally nor implies that such an attempt would extinguish the controversy over slavery. Choice C is incorrect because Lincoln neither suggests that the laws regulating slavery are ambiguous nor that such ambiguity exacerbates controversy over slavery. Choice D is incorrect because Lincoln never attributes the controversy over slavery to differences in religion or social values from one state to another.

Option C : 

The previous question asks which claim about the controversy over slavery would Lincoln agree with. The answer, that the controversy would abate if attempts to spread slavery to regions where it isn’t practiced were abandoned, is best supported in the second paragraph of Passage 2: “Whenever [slavery] has been limited to its present bounds, and there has been no effort to spread it, there has been peace.”

Choices A, B, and D are incorrect because the cited lines don’t support the answer to the previous question. Instead, they discuss state-to-state differences in laws regulating issues other than slavery (choice A), assert that the differences among the various states generally benefit the nation (choice B), and ask a philosophical question that doesn’t directly address the issue of slavery (choice D).

Option D : 

In the last sentence of Passage 2, Lincoln asks about the likelihood that people will fundamentally change: “Do you think that the nature of man will be changed?” In this context, the word “nature” most nearly means character.

Choices A, B, and C are incorrect because in the context of a discussion of the “nature of man,” the word “nature” most nearly means character, not force (choice A), simplicity (choice B), or world (choice C).

Option C : 

In the first paragraph of Passage 1, Douglas claims that Lincoln considers the Constitution to be “a house divided against itself,” due to its provisions for the division of the nation into slave states and free states, and to be “in violation of the law of God.” In Passage 2, Lincoln objects to this characterization of his position and devotes the majority of the passage to clarify that it isn’t the Constitution he finds fault with or even its provisions for slavery, but rather with attempts to spread slavery to regions where it isn’t currently practiced. Therefore it can be said that a central tension between the two passages arises from, on the one hand, Douglas’s criticism of Lincoln for finding fault with the Constitution and, on the other, Lincoln’s insistence that Douglas has misrepresented his position.

Choice A is incorrect because Douglas (Passage 1) proposes no changes to federal policies on slavery and because Lincoln (Passage 2) doesn’t consider whether changes to such policies would enjoy popular support. Choice B is incorrect because Douglas (Passage 1) never expresses concern about the potential impact of abolition on the US economy and because Lincoln (Passage 2) neither discusses such an impact nor dismisses concerns about it. Choice D is incorrect because neither passage offers any interpretation of federal law.

Option A : 

In the first paragraph of Passage 1, Douglas discusses the issue of slavery in the context of the division of free states and slave states throughout the period when the United States “extended our territory from the Mississippi to the Pacific Ocean” and “acquired the Floridas and Texas, and other territory sufficient to double our geographical extent.” In the second paragraph of Passage 2, Lincoln asserts that the controversy over slavery has historically been “excited by the effort to spread [slavery] into new territory,” as in the case of Missouri, Texas, and “the territory acquired by the Mexican War.” Therefore, it can be said that notwithstanding their differences of opinion, both Douglas and Lincoln discuss the issue of slavery about the expansion of the Union.

Choices B, C, and D are incorrect because it is in relationship to the nation’s expansion that both passages discuss the issue of slavery, not about questions of morality (choice B), religious toleration (choice C), or laws regulating commerce (choice D).

Option D : 

In the second paragraph of Passage 1, Douglas asks the rhetorical question: “why cannot this Union exist forever, divided into Free and Slave States, as our fathers made it?” The remainder of the paragraph amounts to an answer to this rhetorical question and a refutation of Lincoln’s viewpoint on slavery, as represented by Douglas. In the second paragraph of Passage 2, Lincoln asks a series of rhetorical questions: “But has it been so with this element of slavery? Have we not always had quarrels and difficulties over it? And when will we cease to have quarreled over it?”These questions imply that there are flaws in Douglas’s equating the division into slave states and free states with other, more unambiguously beneficial differences from state to state. The remainder of the second paragraph expands on these flaws. Therefore, it can be said that in context, the rhetorical questions asked by each speaker serve to undermine the argument of the other speaker.

Choice A is incorrect because in asking rhetorical questions, neither Douglas nor Lincoln casts doubt on the sincerity of his opponent. Choices B and C are incorrect because although Douglas and Lincoln find fault with each other’s ideas, they don’t criticize each other’s methods (choice B) or reproach each other’s actions (choice C).