The U.S. Civil War’s Impact on Women’s Work and Political Participation

807/2026 Madison Arnsbarger, Andreas Ferrara, Paige Montrose

This paper studies the role of economic participation via the labour market in enabling the political mobilization of an underrepresented group. Specifically, we study the wives and daughters of disabled Union Army soldiers after the U.S. Civil War. Linking Union Army enlistment records to the 1860 and 1870 U.S. censuses, we find that the wives and daughters of disabled veterans were significantly more likely to participate in the labour force than those of non-disabled veterans. Historical evidence suggests that disabled veterans were also more exposed to post-war alcohol and substance abuse, increasing the household burdens faced by women. Town-level data show that increases in women’s labour force participation combined with higher shares of disabled veterans predict more Temperance Crusade activity in 1873–74. Information provision via newspapers and proximity to other protest towns amplify these effects. Using unit-level disability rates as an instrument for veterans’ disability status supports a causal interpretation of the labour market effects. Our results suggest that labour force participation can be an important enabling factor for the political mobilization of underrepresented groups.

Global Economic History