The Vietnam War Draft Essay

Under the current draft law, according to the official Selective Service System website, “a college student can have his induction postponed only until the end of the current semester. A senior can be postponed until the end of the full academic year.” Now, what if this young man gets murdered on the battlefield and is not able to return to receive his degree? This young man could have been a doctor, a dentist, maybe even a dermatologist, but instead he’s just a distant memory. Back before Congress reformed the draft in 1971, a man could get out of the draft if he was attending school, nowadays, we aren’t so forgiving ("How The Draft Has Changed Since Vietnam"). This could leave a lot of men with unquestionably promising futures stranded in the cemeteries.

President Franklin Roosevelt signed the Selective Training and Service Act of 1940 which established the Selective Service System as an independent Federal agency within the Department of Defense (Smith, par. 3). Young men were only drafted in America's greatest conflicts- the Civil War, Vietnam War, World War I, and the lead-up to World War II (Bandow, par. 3). Nearly 2.2 million men were drafted during 1961 to 1973 (South, par. 25). This practice continued during the Cold War as the U.S. sought to protect friendly war-ravaged states (Bandow, par. 3). From 1948 until 1973, young men were drafted to fill open spots in the armed forces which could not be filled through voluntary means (Smith, par. 4). The registration requirement was suspended in 1975 but it was resumed again in 1980, registration continues today as a hedge against underestimating the number of servicemen needed in a future crisis (Smith, par. 10). In 1973, the United States military went to full volunteer service that marked the end of the draft. Since the all-volunteer military has been active, there have been 144 executed operations compared to 19 operations prior to 1973 (South, par. 56). Currently, there have been talks of reinstating

This logic led many to flee to Canada or simply resist the draft. Protesters felt that the United States should not be involved in another nation’s civil war especially a war that uses tactics such as saturation bombing, the killing of civilians, and the use of toxic chemicals. David Harris, a draft resister, wrote, “The war was an extraordinarily obvious violation of everything that I had been led to expect from the country I was a part of….when my generation’s war showed up it turned to out to be a propping up of petty dictators so they could keep a good portion of their population in servitude” (Handout page 9). Mass protests occurred all around America. The New York Times wrote about just one protest that had occurred, “A vast throng of Americans, predominantly youthful and constituting the largest mass march in the nation’s capital, demonstrated peaceably in the heart of the city today, demanding a rapid withdrawal of United States troops from Vietnam….There were a number of arrests and minor injuries, mostly the result of tear gas” (Handout page 10). These protesters understood what the war was really doing to America and how immoral our actions truly were, but many others were in support of the war, thus causing a division in the United States.

On August 7th 1964 the United States Congress passed into law the Gulf of Tonkin Resolution which, for all intents and purposes, officially brought the United States into the Vietnam War. Following this resolution, a draft was instated to increase the number of men that could be sent to war. Shortly after men started to be signed into conscription for the United States Military, a public outcry started over the use of a draft to increase military size. The draft was found to be unfair to American Citizens because certain groups of men were severely disadvantaged, the draft was illegal in many ways, and veteran’s future lives were harmed, among other reasons.

In the middle 1960s, every male in America had to register for Selective Service Draft at age 18. He would then be eligible for the draft and could be inducted into the Army for a period of two years. If you were a college student, you could receive a deferment and would be able to finish college without the fear of being drafted. However, once finished with college, a students name would be put to the very top of the draft list and could be deployed at anytime. The anti-war movement was about young men being drafted and then sent into war that most Americans did not believe threatened the security of the US. The Vietnam War was America’s rebellious war, a war without popular support

Conscription, or more boldly the draft, has not been in place for some thirty years. While some people cringe at the thought of reinstating the draft, others have different views. This short paper will speak of those different views and the reasons why conscription of military service may not be such a bad idea after all.

Few Americans that were drafted, however, did attend their injunction. Thomas Yager, Robert Laufer, Mark Gallops, PhD’s in psychiatry, confirmed that men who did attend, experienced several behavioral and emotional problems. Of these that attended, behavioral and emotional problems produced in the men who fought, usually went AWOL (absent without leave) and escaped to Canada through underground railroad tunnels whom were helped by anti-war supporters. Multitudinous amounts of young men attended college to avoid the draft; college students building their future were not permitted to be drafted in the war. Damien de Walque, a Senior Economist in the Development Research Group, believes that, “During the Vietnam War, college attendance provided a strategy to avoid the draft in the 1960’s.” As a result, families that could not afford college, were drafted into the war. College campuses became a crucible for anti-war protests. Students actualized protests against an unjust war at numerous college campuses, conceiving extreme amounts of tension across the nation. Kent State University is the most known anti-war protest college where students set fire to the ROTC building. Several students were killed, even those not involved in the protest. As protests increased, populous amounts of Americans had new judgement to evade the draft. Draft resistance became a day to day thing accumulating the struggle for war to be

This pamphlet has been created to help you understand why the draft should be brought back in today's society.

In 1969, about 1.75 million college students were deferred, more than 22 times the number in 1951, during the Korean War. During the Vietnam War, a high school graduate was twice as likely to be drafted and twice as likely to go to Vietnam as a contemporary who had finished college. (Bacevich

During the Vietnam War 27 million American men registered for the “Draft”. A American man was required to register for the draft at the age of 18. Men between the ages of 18-26 years old fought in Vietnam unless they were in college or Medically disabled. 80% of the middle and lower classes fought in the war, and about ⅔ of the men were volunteers to fight.

The Military Draft has been a major part in United States history. The draft has been used in four different conflicts in the United States of America. It was used in Both world wars, the Civil war, and the Cold war. It might have been effective during these times, but it also causes great corruption and sacrifice. It caused families to lose their sons and friends. Many people lied about their age to join the war, and they were too young and didn’t understand the consequences of war. War is never a good thing to be in, in any circumstance. It this paper I will give you reasons why we don’t need a United States draft. As Americans we have to be thankful that we have a strong and productive Military, so we can have our freedom and safety in times of need.

During the Vietnam War, the United States' government instituted a mandatory draft. Since it was mandatory, if a man's birthday was selected, he had to report to boot camp or face prosecution. This system was both fair and unfair; it was fair because it was not biased, and it was unfair because the men strongly disliked being forced to go to war. In times of war, the United States' government should not be allowed to institute a mandatory draft because it can cause severe mental issues and the young adults are not always prepared to take on the gruesome task of defending their country.

Not everyone wishes to follow Caputo's desire to be the hero charging the undulating hills, lush jungles and grasslands of Vietnam. The need for high numbers of military units during the height of the Vietnam War required a draft. At first, the draft is designed to be a pool which unfortunately results

In 1967, 64 percent of all eligible African-Americans were drafted versus only 31 percent of eligible whites (Black 2009). This fact testifies to only a small portion of why nearly all African-Americans found themselves protesting against the Vietnam War. The lack of civil rights in the U.S deterred many blacks from supporting Vietnam, a conflict aimed at liberating the rights of another people. African Americans were frustrated with a country who fought for other citizens and saw no purpose in fighting for a peoples’ freedom but their own. Although African-Americans were specifically discriminated against both in Vietnam and America, they were not alone in their anti-war position. The majority of the American public opposed the Vietnam War. As the war dragged on, people found no reason to fight in Vietnam and believed that the United States should prioritize their own citizens first. Many public figures, such as Martin Luther King, Jr., and Muhammad Ali, held similar claims. Their opinions aligned with the public’s concern and suggested that the U.S withdraw troops and focus resources on the civil rights issues at home. These public figures fought for a specific minority, but, in light of the entire American population, the majority of people opposed the war.

In the 1960s the United States was in a heated cold war with communism. In their efforts to stop the spread of communism America came to the aid of other countries to assist them in the efforts to stop the the spread. With in doing this a lot of younger Americans didn't feel it was right to invade another country, and get involved in their matters. The peace movement also did not help this. Because men were not enlisting like they had done in the past to help the country, for the first time, there was a draft. Due to the new rebellious nature of the people,a mass amount of people still refused to join the efforts. As it was the law that the men joined the military to fight in the end they were shipped off. The above article gave the people