Conscription

In World War I (1914-1918), the Great Powers fought with conscripted military forces. Britain depended on volunteers until 1916, then resorted to compulsion. The United States enacted the Selective Service Act of 1917 upon entering the war. Canada relied on volunteers until 1918, when it used conscripts.

Between the two world wars, all the Great Powers except Britain and the United States continued universal military service. Germany, although prohibited by the Versailles treaty from conscripting troops, reintroduced the system in May 1935. In May 1939 the British Parliament adopted a Conscription Act, establishing a system of peacetime military training. Upon the outbreak of World War II, a law adopted on September 3, 1939, provided for conscripting all males between 18 and 41. In May 1940, Parliament adopted the Emergency Powers Defense Act, which mobilized the human and industrial resources of the nation.

Peacetime conscription was inaugurated in the United States in September 1940, with the passage of the Selective Training and Service Act. New selective service legislation broadened its provisions on December 13, 1941, six days after the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor. Conscription ceased in 1947.

President Harry S. Truman wished to institute peacetime universal military training in 1948, but Congress instead passed the Selective Service Act of 1948 for the purpose of maintaining the strength of the armed forces during peacetime at 2,005,882. This act was to expire in June 1950, but was extended to July 9, 1951, because of the Korean War, then broadened in 1951. The draft laws continued in existence, with frequent amendment, and provided manpower for the war in Vietnam. In 1969 a lottery system for choosing draftees was introduced. The Military Selective Service Act of 1967 expired in June 1973, and membership in the U.S. armed forces was put on an all-volunteer basis.

Draft registration was reinstituted in July 1980. The law now requires that men register with the Selective Service System within 30 days of their 18th birthday. Some opposition to registration exists, although present practice does not call for a resumption of compulsory military service.