Draft Evasion Research Articles

Draft Evasion in the North during the Civil War, 1863-1865

This parody of a popular song of Civil War America dramatizes the massive intrusion of the federal government into the personal lives of virtually all Northern families between 1863 and 1865. Between July 1863 and April 1865, four national drafts resulting in a call of 776,829 men took place. Of these men, only 46,347 actually were held to service in the Union army. A conbination of volunteers and substitutes, many of whom were paid large bounties to enlist, comprised the bulk of the one million soldiers who actually fought for the North. No other single action undertaken by the federal government from its inception so personally and immediately affected the lives of so many of its citizens. The bureaucracy and authority for this venture was embodied in the Enrollment Act approved by Congress in March 1863. Under its provisions all fit male citizens and aliens intent on becoming citizens between the ages of twenty and forty-five were liable for military service upon the request of the president. All men called to service could legally avoid it by obtaining one of a number of offered exemptions, the most common involving physical disability. Whether able to secure an exemption or not, all drafted men were guaranteed two other means of legally avoiding military service-substitution and commutation. By providing another person to take his place or by paying a $300 commutation fee, an individual who had been called to military service could stay at home.2

On Estimating the Response of Draft Evasion Rates to Legal Sanctions: Two Perspectives

On Estimating the Response of Draft Evasion Rates to Legal Sanctions: Two Perspectives

The Deterrent Effect of Legal Sanctions on Draft Evasion

The Deterrent Effect of Legal Sanctions on Draft Evasion