In 1862, the CSA passed the First Conscription and Second Conscription Acts, which made all white men between 18-35 liable for a 3 year service period in the military, as well as introducing a variety of exemptions.

There were two notable exemptions to these laws. Firstly, if you were considered to hold a vitally important job, such as a teacher, railroad worker or coal miner, you would be exempt from conscription.

Secondly, the CSA passed the famous ‘Twenty-Slave Law’ or ‘Twenty-Negro Law’, which exempted slave owners from conscription if they owned twenty or more slaves. This was considered vitally important to maintaining the southern economy, as many of the resources of the south were manned by slaves. It was also an informal response to Lincoln’s Emancipation Proclamation, which had only been issued 3 weeks earlier. It also helped to calm fears of a potential slave rebellion, as a large amount of white men were absent fighting in the Civil War.