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

One paper per student

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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: The 13th Amendment ended slavery in the United States, Arguments over whether slavery could spread into the western territories, The 15th Amendment said a man could not be denied the vote because of his race, Abraham Lincoln, who opposed the spread of slavery, was elected president in 1860

CauseEffect

2.Sort each one: Cause or Effect?

Sort: The Fugitive Slave Act of 1850 required Northerners to help return people who escaped slavery, The Dred Scott decision of 1857 said Congress could not ban slavery in the territories, Much of the South's farmland, railroads and cities lay in ruins, The national government became stronger than it had been before the war

CauseEffect

3.Sort each one: Cause or Effect?

Sort: Reconstruction began, to rebuild the South and protect the rights of freed people, Confederate forces fired on Fort Sumter in April 1861, The 14th Amendment made people who had been enslaved into citizens, A Southern economy that depended on the labor of enslaved people

CauseEffect

LessonPrint · D2.His.14.3-5 · Set 24 · free to copy for classroom use

Answer key — Causes and Effects of the Civil War

Set 24. Prints on its own sheet.

1.1. Abraham Lincoln, who opposed the spread of slavery, was elected president in 1860 — Cause 2. Arguments over whether slavery could spread into the western territories — Cause 3. The 13th Amendment ended slavery in the United States — Effect 4. The 15th Amendment said a man could not be denied the vote because of his race — Effect
2.1. Much of the South's farmland, railroads and cities lay in ruins — Effect 2. The Dred Scott decision of 1857 said Congress could not ban slavery in the territories — Cause 3. The Fugitive Slave Act of 1850 required Northerners to help return people who escaped slavery — Cause 4. The national government became stronger than it had been before the war — Effect
3.1. A Southern economy that depended on the labor of enslaved people — Cause 2. Confederate forces fired on Fort Sumter in April 1861 — Cause 3. Reconstruction began, to rebuild the South and protect the rights of freed people — Effect 4. The 14th Amendment made people who had been enslaved into citizens — Effect

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