Virginia SOL USI.9.d
The Standard
describing how individuals influenced the course of the Civil War, including, but not limited to Jefferson Davis, Ulysses S. Grant, Robert E. Lee, William Tecumseh Sherman, Thomas “Stonewall” Jackson, and Frederick Douglass
Virginia Standards of Learning for History and Social Science
Teacher's field guide
What This Standard Means
What Students Need to Do
- Students identify each person’s role and connect that person’s choices to changes in the war. They explain how military leadership, political decisions, and advocacy helped or hurt the Union or Confederacy.
What Mastery Looks Like
- A student matches Davis with Confederate leadership, Douglass with Black enlistment, Grant with Union victories, Lee and Jackson with Confederate command, and Sherman with destructive campaigns. The student explains each person’s impact using clear cause-and-effect language.
Common Misconceptions
- Students often mix up Grant and Lee or claim Sherman accepted Lee’s surrender. They may treat Douglass as a general, overlook Davis’s political role, or assume Jackson fought for the Union.
How to Assess It
- Exit ticket: Choose two figures from a six-name list. For each, write one action and explain how it affected the Union or Confederacy.
Lesson moves
Ways to Teach It
Give pairs six name cards and six action cards to match, then place each pair on a Union, Confederacy, or advocacy mat.
Post the prompt: Which individual changed the war most, and why? Students write three sentences using two facts, then compare answers with a partner.
Play Who Am I with clue cards about roles, actions, and effects; teams name the figure and explain the impact for a bonus point.
Open a Virginia Civil War Trails marker about Lee, Grant, Jackson, or Sherman, then connect the named action to that location.
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Related Standards
- USII.2.c
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- VS.5.b
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- VS.7.f
identifying and explaining the leadership roles of Virginians including, but not limited to Thomas “Stonewall” Jackson, Robert E. Lee, William Harvey Carney, Wi...
- USI.9.f
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