Unknown The United States Conscription Act of 1863
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Gilder Lehrman Collection #: GLC03951 Author/Creator: Unknown Place Written: Boston, Massachusetts Type: Pamphlet Date: 1863 Pagination: 24 p. ; 13.3 x 8.4 cm. Order a Copy
Published by J. J. Dyer & Co. Printed by S. O. Thayer. Sold for five cents. Advertisements on inside front and both sides of the back cover. Gives full text of the Conscription Act, which was also known as the National Militia Bill, which was passed 2 March 1863. Divided into 38 sections. Has 2 page index. The Union draft law caused angst since exemption and commutation clauses allowed propertied men to avoid service, thus laying the burden on immigrants and men with few resources. Occupational, only-son, and medical exemptions created many loopholes in the laws. Original stab stich binding.
Under the Union draft act men faced the possibility of conscription in July 1863 and in March, July, and December 1864. Draft riots ensued, notably in New York in 1863. Of the 249,259 18-to-35-year-old men whose names were drawn, only about 6% served, the rest paying commutation or hiring a substitute.
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