Andrews Academy

Department of History

HIST 444 American Civil War and Reconstruction

Special Project: Civil War Personalities

Purpose:The purpose of this special project is to explore the characteristics of people who were involved with and/or affected by the American Civil War. These people struggled, they persisted, they served faithfully - regardless of whether they failed or succeeded.

Goal:Your group is to choose four names from the accompanying list of Civil War Personalities. You will be asked to complete both personal and group activities, where the group will decide on strategies for completing the assignments. In order to accommodate many different learning styles, the activities will incorporate the multiple intelligences, as identified by Dr. Howard Gardner. The due dates for each activity are listed in the calendar section of the syllabus.

The Activities:

  1. Linguistic Intelligence
  1. Individually - Type a two-page biographical sketch on each of the four people your group has chosen. (40 pts.)
  1. Individually - Type a one-page obituary for each of these four people. (20 pts.)
  1. Cooperatively - Write a script for a short (3-5 minute) skit involving one of these characters (15 pts. each).
  1. Logical/Mathematical Intelligence
  1. Group - Construct an accurate time-line, with proper spacing, for each of the four people chosen. (15 pts. each)
  1. Spatial Intelligence
  1. Group - Design and construct a collage or mural on the lives of the four people. (15 pts. each)

  1. Individual - Design and construct a cover for a biographical video on one of the four characters. (Please note that the other members of the group must design covers for the other three characters.) (20 pts.)
  1. Individual - Construct a poster or model of the key events in the life of the person you made the video cover for in number letter 3.B above. (15 pts.)
  1. Musical Intelligence
  1. Group - Choose a song with lyrics that can be closely identified with one of the four individuals chosen. Submit a typed-written copy of the lyrics along with an explanation of the connection between the song and the person chosen. (10 pts.each)
  1. Group - Write and perform a song or a rap related to the events and overall theme of one of the characters. The music portion of the song does not have to be an original composition, however, creativity is regarded highly. (15 pts. each)
  1. Kinesthetic Intelligence
  1. Group - Act out a mime or charade dealing with the events in the life of one of the four characters. (15 pts. each)
  1. Interpersonal Intelligence
  1. Individual - Set up a panel to discuss the similarities and differences among the four individuals you have studied. (15 pts.)
  1. Intrapersonal Intelligence
  1. Individual - Type a one-page personal diary for each of the four characters. Pretending that you are the people, reflect upon events in their lives, and the way the may have felt and responded to these events. (40 pts.)
  1. Individual - Type a one to two page article explaining from your point of view the ups and downs of being an historic figure during the American Civil War. (20 pts.)
  1. Naturalist Intelligence
  1. Group - Optional activity to be designed for the group for extra credit. (10 pts. added to total score)

Civil War Personalities

You may choose from the following list, or upon the approval of the instructor, other names that do not appear on this list may be included in your project. Please note that no two groups may study the same individual.

Theodore Dwight Weld

William Lloyd Garrison

Elijah Parish Lovejoy

John C. Calhoun

Andrew Jackson

Henry Clay

David Wilmot

Jefferson David

Frederick Douglas

Harriet Beecher Stowe

Abraham Lincoln

Stephan A. Douglas

Henry Ward Beecher

John Brown

Charles Sumner

Andrew Pickens Butler

Preston S. Brooks

James Buchanan

Millard Fillmore

John C. Fremont

Dred Scott

Roger Taney

Nat Turner

William Seward

Matthew Perry

John C. Breckinridge

Robert E. Lee

John Bell

Edward Everett

Salmon P. Chase

Robert A. Toombs

P.G. T. Beauregard

Robert Anderson

Simon Cameron

Edwin M. Stanton

Thomas J. Jackson

George McClellan

Ulysses S. Grant

David G. Farragut

William Tecumseh Sherman

Ambrose A. Burnside

Geroge E. Pickett

George Meade

Joe Hooker

Irwin McDowell

Robert Patterson

Joseph E. Johnston

Jesse Fremont

Henry W. Halleck

William S. Rosecrans

Don Carlos Buell

Felix Zollicoffer

John J. Crittendon

George B. Crittendon

Albert Sidney Johnston

Leonidas Polk

Charles Francis Adams

Clement L. Vallandigham

Andrew Johnson

Phillip Sheridan

John Wilkes Booth

Edmund Ruffin

Oliver O. Howard

Alexander Stephens

Thaddeus Stevens

Hiram r. Revels

ABluff Ben@ Wade

Benjamin F. Butler

Winfield Scott

George Thomas

Andrew Foote

John Worden

Franklin Buchanan

Catesby R. Jones

Nathaniel P. Banks

James Shields

J.E.B. Stuart

John Pope

James Longsreet

Ambrose P. Hill

Joseph K.f. Mansfield

Edwin V. Sumner

John B. Hood

Daniel H. Hill

John Pemberton

Richard Ewell

John Buford

Jubal Early

Robert Rodes

George G. Meade

Braxton Bragg

Clara Barton

Sojuourner Truth