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The Home Front: 1861 to 1865

The Military Draft

Did the draft resume?

It did. Just two weeks later, the draft wheels were brought forward and blindfolded persons began drawing names again, but with one very important difference. To prevent another or a similar uprising, a trust fund was established that would pay the $300 commutation fee for the poor in New York City. This was a clever sleight of hand, allowing the draft to continue with the locals not having to endure the results. It was completely necessary, however, because the city could not risk even a small repetition of the events of mid-July 1863.

The draft continued in other East Coast cities, and there were few dramatic events connected to it through the rest of the year. Lincoln and Stanton knew they had escaped by a hairsbreadth, however.



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