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 25 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: Arguments over whether slavery could spread into the western territories, The national government became stronger than it had been before the war, Confederate forces fired on Fort Sumter in April 1861, The Union was preserved, and the Southern states rejoined it

CauseEffect

2.Sort each one: Cause or Effect?

Sort: Abraham Lincoln, who opposed the spread of slavery, was elected president in 1860, More than 600,000 soldiers died, Violent fighting in Kansas over whether it would allow slavery, The 13th Amendment ended slavery in the United States

CauseEffect

3.Sort each one: Cause or Effect?

Sort: The Fugitive Slave Act of 1850 required Northerners to help return people who escaped slavery, Much of the South's farmland, railroads and cities lay in ruins, The 14th Amendment made people who had been enslaved into citizens, Abolitionists in the North demanding an end to slavery

CauseEffect

LessonPrint · D2.His.14.3-5 · Set 25 · free to copy for classroom use

Answer key — Causes and Effects of the Civil War

Set 25. Prints on its own sheet.

1.1. Arguments over whether slavery could spread into the western territories — Cause 2. Confederate forces fired on Fort Sumter in April 1861 — Cause 3. The national government became stronger than it had been before the war — Effect 4. The Union was preserved, and the Southern states rejoined it — Effect
2.1. Abraham Lincoln, who opposed the spread of slavery, was elected president in 1860 — Cause 2. More than 600,000 soldiers died — Effect 3. The 13th Amendment ended slavery in the United States — Effect 4. Violent fighting in Kansas over whether it would allow slavery — Cause
3.1. Abolitionists in the North demanding an end to slavery — Cause 2. Much of the South's farmland, railroads and cities lay in ruins — Effect 3. The 14th Amendment made people who had been enslaved into citizens — Effect 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.