September 16 - The First Peacetime Draft in the United States

This Day in History: 16 September 2020

 

16 September 1940

 

80 years ago, today, the Burke-Wadsworth Act was passed by Congress, marking it as the first peacetime draft in the United States. Exactly one month later, the registration of men between the ages of 21 and 36 began. This occurred as Secretary of War, Henry L. Stimson, began drawing draft numbers out of a glass bowl. Stimson had been a key player in moving the Roosevelt administration away from a foreign policy of strict neutrality. There were around 20 million eligible men, but 50% were rejected in the first year for health reasons or illiteracy.

 

Two years later, when the United States was now participating in the war, the draft ages expanded from 18 to 37. African-Americans were passed over for the draft due to racist assumptions about their abilities and the viability of a mixed-race army. In 1943, this changed when a 'quota', meant to limit the number of black people drafted, was imposed. Initially black people were restricted to 'labour units', but as the war progressed, this ended, and they were finally used in combat. Around 5,000-6,000 men were imprisoned for failing to register to serve their nation, and these were comprised mostly of Jehovah's Witnesses. By the end of the war, around 34 million men had registered, with 10 million serving in the military.

 

Want to find out more about the United States draft? Click here for more information, or here for more about Henry L. Stimson.