In 1940, as German forces swept across much of Europe and Japan exerted its military might in East Asia, American public opinion shifted from isolationism toward potential military action against the Axis powers. On September 16, 1940, President Franklin D. Roosevelt signed into law the Selective Training and Service Act, also known as the draft. The law required all men between the ages of 21 and 45 to register for military service.
Although there had been wartime drafts during the Revolutionary War, the Civil War, and World War I, this was different. It was the first time the nation implemented a peacetime draft.
Following the surprise Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, in 1941, Congress amended the law, requiring all healthy males aged 18 to 64 to register with their local draft boards for military service throughout World War II and for six months afterward. In practice, however, only men aged 18 to 45 were inducted.
Throughout the war, more than 10 million men were inducted into the Army, Navy, and Marine Corps through the draft. However, the majority of men who served, as well as a significant number of women, volunteered for service.
Many men who were too old or were disabled often served on the home front, doing vital work in farms and factories. Women also filled the shoes of men in factories as they were sent overseas to fight.
Draft registration remained in effect until 1973, encompassing the period when millions of men were drafted during the Korean and Vietnam Wars. Among the famous people drafted after World War II were singer/actor Elvis Presley and baseball star Willie Mays.
On July 1, 1973, draft registration officially ended and an all-volunteer force was established and continues to this day. Now, only those men and women who volunteer serve in the nation’s armed forces. Department of Defense leaders all agree that the all-volunteer force is working well and is attracting talented, physically fit, and motivated young people of the United States.
