Question

More than 50% of Northern draftees found a way to gain an exemption, with physical disability being a sure avenue of escape. Some men practiced __________, while other draftees __________, buttressing their claims with testimonials from unscrupulous friends and doctors.

Answer 1

Answer:

a) self-mutilation

b) fabricated disability

Explanation:

During the civil war, the Northern union army government put in place The Militia Act of July 17, 1862, which authorized the president to find ways to buckle up the dwindling man power in the army. This law was never effective. On March 3, 1863, Congress adopted a Conscription Act "also known as the Enrollment Act" the law allowed the government to enforce military enrollment in an attempt to stimulate voluntary enrollment. Military able bodied men had their names drafted from families in the north with the exemption of physically or mentally unfit men, convicted felons, some state and national officials, only sons of dependent widows, and sole supporters of infirm parents or sole guardians or supporters of orphaned children, and some were allowed to either produce a substitute, or pay a $300 fine. To escape drafting, some men resorted to self-mutilation, and some even feigned disabilities.