The term "conscientious objector" was not in use during the Civil War, but the concept certainly existed. This engrossing volume studies the whole problem of objection to warfare on religious or moral grounds, as it existed during the Civil War. The author covers five major areas: the type of individuals and which religious denominations were actually opposed to the war on conscientious grounds; what efforts were made on behalf of objectors and what changes took place in their political status; the attitude of the civil and military authorities toward objectors; the number of objectors; and, finally, a comparison of the problem of conscientious objection in the Civil War with the same problem as it existed for the United States during World War I.
The facts presented in this volume are of historical interest; the conclusions the author draws, however, are as relevant and important today as they have been during any period in American history.