PPT Slide
Was the Civil War “a rich man’s war but a poor man’s fight”?
- Substitutions allowed in both North and South (latter repealed in late 1863)
- “20-Negro law,” occupational exemptions in South and commutation privilege in North
- Case studies of northern communities suggest unskilled workers and poor were not dramatically over-represented in Union army
- Samples of white Union and Confederate soldiers suggest occupational profile of troops in each section matched that of males overall