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Difficulty: MediumPolitical and Social Impacts of the Civil War

“We are poor men, and we are told that this is a rich man’s war and a poor man’s fight. . . . The conscription law exempts the owners of twenty negroes, while it drags us from our small farms and families, leaving them to starve. We are fighting to protect the property of the wealthy slaveholder, who remains at home making fortunes off our necessities.”

— Petition from citizens of central North Carolina to Confederate Governor Zebulon Vance, 1863

The sentiments expressed in the petition most directly reflect which of the following developments within the Confederacy during the Civil War?

  1. A
    The immediate ratification of the Fourteenth Amendment to protect the civil rights of Southern Unionists
  2. B
    A unified Southern protest against federal tariff policies that threatened the cotton trade
  3. The growth of internal class conflict and political division within the Confederacy over the unequal burden of the war effortAnswer
  4. D
    The application of popular sovereignty to determine draft exemptions at the state level

Answer

The growth of internal class conflict and political division within the Confederacy over the unequal burden of the war effort
The correct answer describes how the Confederate draft policies, such as the "Twenty Negro Law" of 1862, created deep socio-economic resentment among poor, non-slaveholding Southern whites. These individuals felt they were carrying an unfair share of the war's burden to protect the property and interests of the planter elite, leading to the popular characterization of the Civil War as "a rich man's war and a poor man's fight."

Step-by-Step Solution

1
Analyze the source and content of the stimulus document.
The document is an 1863 petition from poor North Carolina citizens to Confederate Governor Zebulon Vance protesting the conscription law and its exemptions for wealthy slaveholders.
Understanding the context of the petition helps identify the specific grievances of the authors.
2
Connect the petition's complaints to Confederate wartime policies.
The authors complain about the "Twenty Negro Law" (which exempted one white male on plantations with twenty or more enslaved people), fostering the belief that the conflict was "a rich man's war and a poor man's fight."
Linking the text to historical policies reveals the structural causes of class resentment in the South.
3
Evaluate the choices to find the development that aligns with these class grievances.
The option describing internal class conflict and political division matches the text, while other options refer to chronologically incorrect events or unrelated pre-war concepts.
Systematic elimination ensures the selected option is supported by the historical evidence in the text.

Key Concept

Internal class divisions and the domestic challenges of mobilization within the Confederacy
Estimated Time:1m 30s
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Topics

Political and Social Impacts of the Civil War

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