Causes and Effects of the Civil War is a free printable Grade 3 to Grade 5 social studies worksheet on the causes and effects of the Civil War, aligned to C3 Framework indicator D2.His.14.3-5. It prints 3 questions with an answer key on its own sheet of paper, in 25 versions that each ask different questions, so no two students in the class work from the same page. Print it from the browser or download it as a PDF — no account, no email.

Set 13 of 25 · the same problems every time you open this link.

One paper per student

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25

Set 1 has all 25 in a single PDF. All 25 sets ask different questions.

Causes and Effects of the Civil War

D2.His.14.3-5

NameDate

Sort each one: was it a cause of the Civil War or an effect of it?

1.Sort each one: Cause or Effect?

Sort: Violent fighting in Kansas over whether it would allow slavery, Arguments over whether slavery could spread into the western territories, The Union was preserved, and the Southern states rejoined it, Much of the South's farmland, railroads and cities lay in ruins

CauseEffect

2.Sort each one: Cause or Effect?

Sort: Southern states seceded and formed the Confederacy to protect slavery, The national government became stronger than it had been before the war, A Southern economy that depended on the labor of enslaved people, The 14th Amendment made people who had been enslaved into citizens

CauseEffect

3.Sort each one: Cause or Effect?

Sort: About four million people were freed from slavery, The 13th Amendment ended slavery in the United States, The Dred Scott decision of 1857 said Congress could not ban slavery in the territories, The Fugitive Slave Act of 1850 required Northerners to help return people who escaped slavery

CauseEffect

LessonPrint · D2.His.14.3-5 · Set 13 · free to copy for classroom use

Answer key — Causes and Effects of the Civil War

Set 13. Prints on its own sheet.

1.1. Arguments over whether slavery could spread into the western territories — Cause 2. Much of the South's farmland, railroads and cities lay in ruins — Effect 3. The Union was preserved, and the Southern states rejoined it — Effect 4. Violent fighting in Kansas over whether it would allow slavery — Cause
2.1. A Southern economy that depended on the labor of enslaved people — Cause 2. Southern states seceded and formed the Confederacy to protect slavery — Cause 3. The 14th Amendment made people who had been enslaved into citizens — Effect 4. The national government became stronger than it had been before the war — Effect
3.1. About four million people were freed from slavery — Effect 2. The 13th Amendment ended slavery in the United States — Effect 3. The Dred Scott decision of 1857 said Congress could not ban slavery in the territories — Cause 4. The Fugitive Slave Act of 1850 required Northerners to help return people who escaped slavery — Cause

Last reviewed 2026-09-05. Aligned to D2.His.14.3-5 of the C3 Framework for Social Studies State Standards.