COULD THERE BE A US MILITARY DRAFT?: A LOOK AT THE HISTORY OF CONSCRIPTION IN AMERICA
Whenever the United States finds itself involved, or even facing the potential for involvement, in a military conflict, Americans tend to have a lot of questions. And one that always makes its way to the forefront to discussions everywhere from dining tables, to anchor desks, to the halls of government, is “Could there be a military draft?” It’s a reasonable question, given the serious implications of the answer. Especially considering that on multiple occasions in our country’s history, both in times of war and peace, conscripted citizens served in our armed forces and held the line alongside volunteers. And while it’s highly unlikely for multiple reasons that the current situation will lead to a reinstatement of a US military draft, it’s worth looking back on the history of compulsory service in America when discussing present circumstances.
The First American “Conscripts:” The Colonial Militias
While some claim that the history of conscription in the American military goes back to our very War for Independence, the truth is a little more complicated than that.
At the onset of the Revolutionary War, each of the Thirteen Colonies had their own militias. Generally speaking, all “able-bodied” men in each colony were required to undergo some sort of rudimentary military training and would then be deployed as needed, typically in very small numbers for limited periods of time.
The militias continued to operate this way throughout the war. These militias fought in numerous engagements with British troops both on their own and to supplement units of the all-volunteer Continental Army led by General George Washington.
Substitutions, Commutations, and Bloody Riots: The Draft During the Civil War
America’s first nationwide US military draft began the day President Abraham Lincoln signed the Enrollment Act of 1863 on March 3rd of that year. Nearly two years of brutal Civil War forced the United States to turn to conscription to maintain and grow the ranks of its forces in order to defeat the Confederacy (who’d instituted their own draft the previous April).
It required all male US citizens and immigrants who had filed for citizenship between the age of 20 and 45 to register for the draft. Conscripts would be selected based on deficiencies in the number of called for volunteers across states and individual congressional districts.
But, it also included two ways that a selected individual could avoid donning a uniform: 1) hiring a substitute to take their place or 2) paying a “commutation” fee of $300 (roughly $5,000 today).
These exclusions led to a great deal of outcry and resentment from the vast majority of Americans unable to afford to pay a substitute or the fee. Those resentments, coupled with deep-seated prejudice, led to incidents of severe civil unrest and violence against African Americans in major northern cities, most notably the New York City Draft Riots from July 13th to 16th, 1863.
What started as an attack on government buildings by poor whites angered by the draft quickly devolved into a spree of racial violence that included lynchings of multiple African Americans, attacks on business that catered to them, and even the looting and burning of an orphanage that housed Black children (all of whom, thankfully, made it out alive).
By the time federal and state troops arrived to quell the violence, at least 2,000 people sustained injuries, and somewhere between 119 and 1,200 people lay dead. The riots remain the deadliest civil disturbance in the history of the United States.
World War I: Uncle Sam Wants YOU!
The next time the US turned to conscription to fill the ranks of its armed forces came after America’s entry into World War I. After three years of rigid neutrality, the United States needed to build up its relatively small military extremely quickly.
After declaring war on April 6th, 1917, President Woodrow Wilson and Congress hoped to add an upwards of one million volunteers to the nation’s military (a recruiting drive that included extensive use of the now famous Uncle Sam “I want you for U.S. Army” poster, which in turn was based on a British recruiting poster from 1914).
But six weeks later, with only a mere 73,000 new enlistees on the books, Congress and Wilson felt compelled to enact the Selective Service Act of 1917. It made all men between the ages of 21 to 31 (later expanded to 18 to 45) eligible for the draft.
The act very deliberately excluded any ways one could buy their way out of serving, eliminating two of the major causes of backlash to the draft in the Civil War. The Selective Service Act also made African Americans eligible for conscription for the first time, though they were only allowed to serve in segregated units in the Army, menial roles in the Navy, and were excluded entirely from serving in the Marines.
Over the course of America’s involvement in the “Great War,” 2.8 million draftees (in addition to 2 million volunteers) served in Europe before the Armistice on November 11th, 1918, ended the conflict.
When Was the Last US Military Draft?: Preparing for WWII
On the 16th of September 1940, President Franklin D. Roosevelt signed the Selective Training and Service Act of 1940, requiring all men between the ages of 21 and 35 (later extended to age 45) to register for the draft.
It marked the first time in the nation’s history when Americans could be pressed into military service while their nation was at peace. “At peace” being a fairly relative term at the time, as the Second World War had raged across Europe for over a year by that point, and the ongoing Sino-Japanese that would eventually fold into WWII after the attack on Pearl Harbor began in the summer of 1937.
So, even though the US had yet to enter the fray and remained ostensibly neutral in the ongoing fighting, instituting a draft made understandable sense to President Roosevelt, and much of the nation’s political and military leadership.
The draft established in 1940 would remain in effect until July 1st, 1973. After the US formally joined the Allies in 1941, the age range for those required to register expanded to those 18 to 64, though few if any men over age 45 got drafted.
Between America’s entry and the war’s end in 1945, an upwards of 10 million draftees served across all branches of the military. And though the original act signed by Roosevelt expired in 1947, then-President Harry Truman asked that it be extended. This resulted in its renewal as the Selective Service Act of 1948 the following year. It would remain in effect for another twenty-six years.
The Draft During the Cold War
When the heated combat of WWII gave way to the icy standoffs and nasty proxy fights of the Cold War, American continued to supplement its volunteer forces with draftees. Large numbers of conscripts served in all branches of the armed forces in the ensuing years both at home, abroad, and in combat during the Korean War (1950-1953).
Even amid the ongoing geopolitical conflict between the Soviet Union, the United States, and each nation’s respective allies, the mid 1950’s to mid 1960’s was a relatively peaceful time for members of the US armed forces. Thus, draftees continued to serve en mass without much ado.
But that all began to change when the United States dramatically increased its military presence in the war-torn nation of Vietnam in the aftermath of the 1964 Gulf of Tonkin Resolution. As America’s involvement in the Vietnam War steadily increased through the late 1960s, the military required more draftees to increase its troop strength than in the preceding peacetime years. By the summer of 1965, President Lyndon Johnson announced an increase in the monthly rate of conscription from 17,000 to 35,000. The increase was one of several factors that fed escalating disapproval of the war among the American public.
It also led to a variety of ways people attempted to dodge or otherwise render themselves ineligible for the draft from getting a quickie marriage, to claiming a medical condition, to fleeing the country entirely. Some men even went so far as to publicly burn their draft cards, an act that became symbolic of the widespread opposition to the war. Years of extensive protest eventually led to the end of the draft in February of 1973, as well as the complete withdrawal of all US combat forces.
Despite all this, over 1.8 million draftees served in the military over the course of the Vietnam War.
Could There Be a US Military Draft Today?
The short answer: yes. Legally speaking, Americans could once again see some form of mandatory service. But while the government retains the ability to institute a US military draft, it would be extremely unlikely.
The process of reinstating some form of compulsory service would require the recognition of a national emergency, “exceeding the Department of Defense’s capability to recruit and retain its total force strength.” Congress would then have to vote on an amendment to the current Selective Service System which, if passed, would require approval from the president.
Given that nearly all branches of service have already met or surpassed their recruitment goals for 2025, the military currently has no need for additional personnel.
Granted, the recent fighting between Israel and Iran, which we contributed to by bombing several Iranian nuclear facilities, have increased fears we’re facing another prolonged conflict in the region. But, it is worth remembering that throughout the entirety of the drawn-out wars in Iraq and Afghanistan the US never came close to reinstating the draft, despite the fact that several branches of the Armed Forces repeatedly failed to meet recruiting goals as the fighting dragged on. And without a widespread public call for a new draft, Congress has little reason to push for such a measure.
So, while from a very basic legal standpoint our country could see a return to some form of a US military draft like the measures that drew many Americans into military service (and spurred serious backlash in some cases) in previous centuries. But, current circumstances make such a return extremely unlikely.
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