USA HISTORY

In 1863, Congress passed a conscription law to draft young men into the Army. The law demanded that men either join the army or make a $ ____ ? ____ contribution to the war effort.

(A) $50

(B) $100

(C) $200

(D) ** $300

Concept note-1: -Senator Henry Wilson, chairman of the Committee on Military Affairs, sponsored the Conscription Act of 1863, which established the first national draft system and required registration by every male citizen and immigrant who had applied for citizenship between the ages of 20 and 45.

Concept note-2: -Conscription laws made soldiers remain in the army and helped the Confederacy to continue fighting. Eighty percent of the Confederate soldiers were volunteers. Another 10 percent enlisted to avoid being conscripted. The war would have ended much earlier if it hadn’t been for conscription.

Concept note-3: -Facing a dire shortage of manpower in early 1863, Lincoln’s government passed a strict new conscription law, which made all male citizens between 20 and 35 and all unmarried men between 35 and 45 subject to military duty.

Concept note-4: -President Jefferson Davis authorized the first Conscription Act on April 16, 1862. This legislation required all white males aged eighteen to thirty-five to serve three years of Confederate service if called. Soldiers already in the military would now be obligated to serve an additional twenty-four months.