American Civil War

High school (ages 12+)
History & Culture

Name:

Date:

Step 1 · Read the article

Open the article and read it at the level above. Then answer the questions below in your own words.

https://smallwhale.org/articles/american-civil-war

Write what each word means, using the article.

Do not copy the article. Write two things you learned, the way you would explain them to a friend.

Answers below are taken from the article’s stored facts, so they match what the student read.

1. What is the primary cause of secession?Preservation of the institution of slavery
2. What is the key turning point battle?Battle of Gettysburg (July 1-3, 1863)
3. What caused the American Civil War?The war began because the North and South disagreed over slavery and the power of the federal government. The South wanted to keep slavery for its cotton economy, while the North opposed it for moral and economic reasons.
4. Why did Abraham Lincoln's election lead to the war?Lincoln's Republican platform opposed expanding slavery, which Southern states saw as a threat to their way of life. They responded by seceding and forming the Confederate States of America.

States' Rights: The belief that individual states should have more power than the federal government.
Total War: A war that involves the complete mobilization of resources and people, affecting civilians as well as military.
Reconstruction Amendments: The 13th, 14th, and 15th Amendments to the U.S. Constitution, aimed at granting rights to formerly enslaved people.