Regarding the United States draft, poet Robert Frost remarked, “Pressed into service means pressed out of shape.” Although the United States has replaced a mixed army consisting of draftees and volunteers with an all-volunteer army, the Selective Service System still allows the government to draft suitable men between the ages of eighteen and twenty-five in case of a national emergency (Olson-Raymer, par. 48-50). When the United States invaded Iraq, hundreds of thousands of Americans voluntarily enlisted (par. 55). Despite the abundance of soldiers, military personnel claimed that there was a shortage of soldiers, and a draft would benefit the war effort (Thompson and Zabriskie, par. 7). Fortunately, the draft was not enacted and still remains …show more content…
16). The South required all white males between the ages of eighteen and thirty-five to serve in the military, and the North required all men between the ages of twenty and forty-five to register for the draft (par. 17-18). The North allowed draftees to “pay the government $300 or… pay another man $300 to serve in his place (par. 18). If he could do neither, he would join the war or “risk being shot as a deserter” (par. 18). The North’s actions were met with much resistance, as numerous riots ensued (par. 20). Many military personnel were attacked, many businesses were robbed, many buildings were destroyed, and many people were killed (par. 20). Preventing further destruction, President Lincoln pardoned most draft resisters (par. 21). Although the draft caused much harm during the Civil War, America still implemented the Selective Services Act during World War I, “requiring all men between 20 and 30 years (changed to 18-45 years in 1918)…to register for military duty” (par. 23). Akin to previous drafts, many men did not register, and numerous draft evaders were either imprisoned for life or sentenced to death (par. 24). Before World War II, the nation’s first peacetime draft was installed (par. 28). Like previous drafts, hundreds