We examine how peers influence the allegiances of West Point cadets in the American Civil War. Specifically, we analyze how quasi-random variations in the proportion of cadets from northern (low-slave) states influenced the decisions of cadets in choosing which army to join. A higher proportion of classmates from low-slave states significantly increased the likelihood that cadets from high-slave states joined the Union Army, while almost all cadets from low-slave states joined the Union Army (if they decided to join the war). Additionally, the higher the fraction of the population that were slaves in a cadet’s home state the lower the likelihood that the cadet joined the Union and the lower the peer influence. We also examine how cadets’ decisions affected their military rank and career outcomes. Our results highlight the importance of peer influence in major life decisions, particularly at critical historical junctures.
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- Acknowledgements & Disclosure
- The views expressed herein are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of the National Bureau of Economic Research.
- DOI
- https://doi.org/10.3386/w33093
- Pages
- 31
- Published in
- United States of America
Table of Contents
- Introduction 3
- The Data 6
- The Cadets 6
- Geography and the Classification of States by High/Low Slave 7
- Results 8
- Descriptive Evidence 8
- Statistical Analysis 10
- The Impact of Peers on Cadets' Allegiance 11
- The Interplay between Peer Influence and Home State Economics 12
- Additional Analyses 13
- Career Outcomes 15
- Discussion 16
- Appendix 17
- Supplementary Information 19
- Data Construction and Description 19
- Data Construction 19
- Classification of States 22
- Summary Statistics 23
- Correlations between Slave Share and Allegiances 24
- Additional Results 25
- Peer influence by economic consideration 25
- Peer influence by cohort 26
- Peer Influence pre and post 1850 27
- Graduate Peers vs. Dropout Peers 28
- Alternative Thresholds 29
- Multinomial Logit Results 30
- Correlation between Academic Rank and Military Rank in 1865 31
