This study investigates how personal wealth and slave ownership influenced Southern men's decision to fight in the American Civil War. It explores a tension where wealthy individuals have free-rider incentives to avoid military service, yet those with significant slave holdings were disproportionately represented among Confederate soldiers.

The research addresses this paradox by assembling data on over 3.9 million citizens from the Confederacy and analyzing their motivations. Contrary to some interpretations of wealth-based avoidance, slave ownership appeared to compel participation due to its substantial impact on potential outcomes if the war was lost.

To test causality, we examine a previously underutilized historical mechanism: a 1832 land lottery in Georgia that randomly distributed future property gains among households. The findings reveal these households subsequently owned more slaves by 1850 and were significantly more likely to produce Confederate soldiers during the war.

This suggests slave ownership acted as an anchor for commitment, outweighing free-rider incentives from other forms of wealth.