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Comrades and Cause: Peer Influence on West Point Cadets' Civil War Allegiances

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  • Yuchen Guo
  • Matthew O. Jackson
  • Ruixue Jia

Abstract

Do social networks and peer influence shape major life decisions in highly polarized settings? We explore this question by examining how peers influenced the allegiances of West Point cadets during the American Civil War. Leveraging quasi-random variations in the proportion of cadets from Free States, we analyze how these differences affected decisions about which army to join. We find that a higher proportion of classmates from Free States significantly increased the likelihood that cadets from Slave States joined the Union Army, while almost all cadets from Free States joined the Union Army (if they decided to join the war). We further examine how cadets’ decisions affected their military rank and career outcomes. Our findings highlight that peers still influence choices even when they are life-altering and occur during periods of extreme polarization.

Suggested Citation

  • Yuchen Guo & Matthew O. Jackson & Ruixue Jia, 2024. "Comrades and Cause: Peer Influence on West Point Cadets' Civil War Allegiances," NBER Working Papers 33093, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    • Handle: RePEc:nbr:nberwo:33093
    Note: DAE PE POL
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    More about this item

    JEL classification:

    • D81 - Microeconomics - - Information, Knowledge, and Uncertainty - - - Criteria for Decision-Making under Risk and Uncertainty
    • D85 - Microeconomics - - Information, Knowledge, and Uncertainty - - - Network Formation
    • I28 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Education - - - Government Policy
    • N31 - Economic History - - Labor and Consumers, Demography, Education, Health, Welfare, Income, Wealth, Religion, and Philanthropy - - - U.S.; Canada: Pre-1913
    • N41 - Economic History - - Government, War, Law, International Relations, and Regulation - - - U.S.; Canada: Pre-1913

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