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 20 of 25 · the same problems every time you open this link.
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: Abolitionists in the North demanding an end to slavery, Confederate forces fired on Fort Sumter in April 1861, About four million people were freed from slavery, The Union was preserved, and the Southern states rejoined it
CauseEffect
2.Sort each one: Cause or Effect?
Sort: Arguments over whether slavery could spread into the western territories, The Dred Scott decision of 1857 said Congress could not ban slavery in the territories, More than 600,000 soldiers died, The 14th Amendment made people who had been enslaved into citizens
CauseEffect
3.Sort each one: Cause or Effect?
Sort: The national government became stronger than it had been before the war, Violent fighting in Kansas over whether it would allow slavery, Southern states seceded and formed the Confederacy to protect slavery, Reconstruction began, to rebuild the South and protect the rights of freed people
CauseEffect
LessonPrint · D2.His.14.3-5 · Set 20 · free to copy for classroom use
Answer key — Causes and Effects of the Civil War
Set 20. Prints on its own sheet.
1.1. Abolitionists in the North demanding an end to slavery — Cause 2. About four million people were freed from slavery — Effect 3. Confederate forces fired on Fort Sumter in April 1861 — Cause 4. The Union was preserved, and the Southern states rejoined it — Effect
2.1. Arguments over whether slavery could spread into the western territories — Cause 2. More than 600,000 soldiers died — Effect 3. The 14th Amendment made people who had been enslaved into citizens — Effect 4. The Dred Scott decision of 1857 said Congress could not ban slavery in the territories — Cause
3.1. Reconstruction began, to rebuild the South and protect the rights of freed people — Effect 2. Southern states seceded and formed the Confederacy to protect slavery — Cause 3. The national government became stronger than it had been before the war — Effect 4. Violent fighting in Kansas over whether it would allow slavery — Cause
Last reviewed 2026-09-05. Aligned to D2.His.14.3-5 of the C3 Framework for Social Studies State Standards.