who was exempted from conscription during the civil war
Twenty Negro Law
The `` Twenty Negro Law '' , also known as the `` Twenty Slave Law '' and the `` Twenty Nigger Law '' , was a piece of legislation enacted by the Confederate Congress during the American Civil War . The law specifically exempted from Confederate military service one white man for every twenty slaves owned on a Confederate plantation , or for two or more plantations within five miles of each other that collectively had twenty or more slaves . Passed as part of the Second Conscription Act in 1862 , the law was a reaction to United States President Abraham Lincoln 's preliminary Emancipation Proclamation , which was issued barely three weeks earlier . The law addressed Confederate fears of a slave rebellion due to so many white men being absent from home , as they were fighting in the Confederate army . The Confederacy enacted the first conscription laws in United States history , and the percentage of Confederate soldiers who were conscripts was nearly double that of United States soldiers . 
The `` Twenty Negro Law '' , also known as the `` Twenty Slave Law '' and the `` Twenty Nigger Law '' , was a piece of legislation enacted by the Confederate Congress during the American Civil War . The law specifically exempted from Confederate military service one white man for every twenty slaves owned on a Confederate plantation , or for two or more plantations within five miles of each other that collectively had twenty or more slaves . Passed as part of the Second Conscription Act in 1862 , the law was a reaction to United States President Abraham Lincoln 's preliminary Emancipation Proclamation , which was issued barely three weeks earlier . The law addressed Confederate fears of a slave rebellion due to so many white men being absent from home , as they were fighting in the Confederate army . The Confederacy enacted the first conscription laws in United States history , and the percentage of Confederate soldiers who were conscripts was nearly double that of United States soldiers .
The ``Twenty Negro Law'' was a piece of legislation enacted by the Confederate Congress during the American Civil War.  The law specifically exempted from Confederate military service one white man for every twenty slaves owned on a Confederate plantation, or for two or more plantations within five miles of each other that collectively had twenty or more slaves. The law addressed Confederate fears of a slave rebellion due to so many white men being absent from home.
The `` Twenty Negro Law '' , also known as the `` Twenty Slave Law '' and the `` Twenty Nigger Law '' , was a piece of legislation enacted by the Confederate Congress during the American Civil War . The law specifically exempted from Confederate military service one white man for every twenty slaves owned on a Confederate plantation , or for two or more plantations within five miles of each other that collectively had twenty or more slaves . The law addressed Confederate fears of a slave rebellion due to so many white men being absent from home , as they were fighting in the Confederate army .