This Week in Military History - The Selective Service Act was Established

The Selective Service Act was first introduced in the United States on May 18, 1917, but conscription was already implemented during the Civil War. Wealthy men often hired substitutes to serve in their place, while the Union incentivized enlistment by offering cash rewards through the bounty system. Support for conscription in the North was far from unanimous, and widespread opposition ultimately led to the Draft Riot of 1863. The draft was suspended when the war ended in 1865 and would not be reinstated for over half a century.

Pictured is a Certificate of Exemption from Military Service for Benjamin F. Hake, exempting him from the draft because he was already in the military.

With only 100,000 men in the peacetime army, conscription became necessary when the United States entered World War I in April 1917. Signed by President Woodrow Wilson on May 18, 1917, the Selective Service Act established the Selective Service System, which oversaw the induction of approximately 2.8 million men into the armed forces over the next two years and eliminated the widely criticized bounty system. The draft eventually encompassed all able-bodied men between the ages of 18 and 45. Following the armistice of November 1918, American forces underwent demobilization, and troop numbers returned to prewar levels.

As World War II intensified, Congress passed the Selective Training and Service Act, establishing the first peacetime draft in U.S. history. Signed into law by President Franklin D. Roosevelt in September 1940, the act required all men aged 21 to 36 to register. For the first time, official provisions were made for conscientious objectors. Over the course of the draft, approximately 45 million men registered, and more than 10 million were inducted between November 1940 and October 1946.

The Selective Training and Service Act expired in March 1947 but was reenacted in June 1948, and again following the outbreak of the Korean War. In 1951, the Selective Service Act was reauthorized as the Universal Military Training and Service Act, requiring all men aged 18 to 26 to register for the draft. During the Korean War, more than 1.5 million men were inducted into the armed forces, with an additional 1.5 million drafted between 1954 and 1961.

As U.S. involvement in the Vietnam War expanded, the Selective Service System came under increasing scrutiny. Over the previous decade, deferments—granted based on family status or college enrollment—were introduced and administered locally, often through a highly subjective process. This contributed to growing antiwar sentiment. In response, President Richard Nixon reinstated a lottery-based draft system, but public opposition to conscription had already intensified. Between 1965 and 1973, approximately 1.7 million men were inducted into the armed forces through the Selective Service System.