Conscription in the United States Guide, Meaning , Facts, Information and Description
The United States has employed conscription (mandatory military service, also called the "draft") several times, usually during war but also during the nominal peace of the Cold War. The U.S. discontinued the draft in 1973. Today, the Selective Service System remains in place as a contingency -- young men are required to register so that a draft can be more readily resumed. The U.S. armed forces are now designated as "all-volunteer", although, beginning in 2004, some enlisted personnel are being involuntarily kept in the Army after their initial commitments have expired.
The wartime draft was extended by Congress, but it expired in 1947. In 1948 the draft was re-instated. It was expanded by the Universal Military Training and Service Act in 1951, in response to the manpower needs caused by the Korean War.
There was some opposition to the draft even before the major U.S. involvement in the Vietnam War. For example, Senator Barry Goldwater proposed ending the draft during his unsuccessful 1964 campaign as the Republican candidate for President. As U.S. troop strength in Vietnam increased, more and more young men were drafted for service there. The draft was unpopular both for its impact on those drafted and as a focal point for opposition to a controversial war. Conscription ended in 1973.
In 1980, Congress re-instated the requirement that young men register with the Selective Service System. Currently, male U.S. citizens and many male aliens living in the U.S., if age 18 through 25, are required to register with the Selective Service System, which describes its mission as "preparing to manage a draft if and when Congress and the President so direct." [1]
In 2004, Senator Ernest Hollings (D-SC) and Representative Charles Rangel (D-NY) each introduced legislation that would draft both men and women into either military or civilian government service. These bills were collectively known as the Selective Service Initiative. On October 5, 2004 the House of Representatives voted against the proposal by 402-2. Nevertheless, Senator Chuck Hagel (R-NE) stated that a military draft may be necessary "in the future." [1]
The question of reinstating conscription has received some attention in the 2004 presidential campaign. The platforms of both the Democratic and Republican Parties opposed military conscription. In the presidential debate of October 8, George W. Bush was asked: "Mr. President, since we continue to police the world, how do you intend to maintain a military presence without re-instituting a draft?" Bush answered, "We're not going to have a draft so long as I'm the President." His opponent, John Kerry, stated, "I don't support a draft." Kerry went on to criticize Bush for steps the latter had taken: "You've got stop-loss policies so people can't get out when they were supposed to. You've got a backdoor draft right now." [1]
Kerry was referring to Bush's implementation of "stop-loss" orders, which have extended the enlistment periods of some military personnel after the expiration of the commitments they originally made. Some of these involuntary extensions have been for as long as two years. The Pentagon states that 20,000 soldiers have been affected so far. [1] This policy has also been criticized by some Republicans, including Senator John McCain ([1]) and former U.S. Representative John Anderson ([1]). Pending lawsuits in San Francisco and Sacramento, California argue that the Selective Service Act and other statutes prohibit involuntary extensions of enlistments unless there has been a Congressional declaration of war or national emergency, and further contend that the stop-loss orders exceed the scope of the Executive Order that Bush issued in 2001 because "Iraq no longer poses any threat of terrorism against the United States, if it ever did." [1]
In addition to the stop-loss orders, the Bush administration has recalled 5,600 members of the Individual Ready Reserve. These soldiers had a remaining contractual commitment to remain on reserve status even though they had completed their periods of active duty. (A similar call-up was also used during the first Gulf War. [1]) The call-up and the stop-loss orders come at a time when the military is widely perceived to be "stretched thin" because of the Iraq conflict. [1]
Conscription, as described above, has been used nationally only to provide men to the military. The most common form of compulsory civilian service in the U.S. is the much shorter obligation of jury duty.
Mandatory public service of a non-military nature is required as part of the high school curriculum in many school districts across the nation. Since 1992, the state of Maryland has required a total of 75 hours of "developmentally appropriate service-learning activities" over the course of grades 6 through 10. [1] During the 2004 campaign, Kerry proposed a similar program nationwide, to be implemented by each school district but federally funded. He added an additional voluntary option for students to receive four years of college tuition in exchange for a commitment to two years of national service. [1]
Mandatory full-time service on a national scale has been proposed many times, and was backed by, for example, Dwight D. Eisenhower. Recent proposals have been modeled after the Americorps program, but necessarily much larger in scale when made mandatory. Robert Litan of the Brookings Institution estimates the cost for a program of one year for all high school graduates at $25 billion. [1], [1]
This is an Article on Conscription in the United States. Page Contains Information, Facts Details or Explanation Guide About Conscription in the United States History
Early drafts
The United States first employed a form of conscription during the Civil War. The imposition of a draft touched off the New York Draft Riots in 1863. Conscription was next used after the United States entered World War I in 1917. The first instance of conscription when the country was not at war came with the Selective Training and Service Act of 1940, which also established the Selective Service System as an independent agency. The duration of service was originally twelve months. It was expanded to eighteen months in 1941. When the United States entered World War II, service was required until six months after the end of the war.Vietnam War
Post-Vietnam standby draft
Legality
The World War I draft was upheld by the Supreme Court against the challenge that it was "involuntary servitude" in violation of the Thirteenth Amendment. Arver v. United States, 245 U.S. 366 (1918) ([1]). A lower appellate court came to the same conclusion during the Vietnam War. United States v. Holmes, 387 F.2d 781 (7th Cir.), cert. denied, 391 U.S. 936 (1968) ([1]). The Supreme Court has also upheld the constitutionality of the exclusion of women from the registration requirement. Rostker v. Goldberg, 453 U.S. 57 (1981) ([1]).Conscription controversies in 2004
Civilian service
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