Mandatory Military Service in the United States Research Paper

Mandatory Military Service in the United States - Research Paper Example Conclusion III. References Abstract A mediocre interpretation of the word â€Å"mandatory† will be obligatory or compulsory. The Mandatory Military Service of America carries out compulsory enrollment and induction into its services as part of its functions. With reference to the Legal Dictionary, enrollment is done through conscription also known as â€Å"draft†. However, draft and conscription are two different concepts. Conscription is the compulsory induction of individuals into the armed forces, as compared to draft which is the procedure by which people are conscripted. Men within a certain age group must register with the Selective Service for possible conscription, but this concept was suspended by 1973. According to this said source, conscription typically involves individuals who are deemed fit for military service. At times governments have instituted universal military service in which all men or people of a certain age are conscripted. Some American colonie s employed conscription. During the Revolutionary War, the American government used selective, temporary conscription to fill the ranks of its military. Congress passed the Selective Draft Act (40 Stat. 76). The act created a government office to oversee conscription. It also authorized local draft boards to select eligible individuals for conscription. The following year, the Supreme Court upheld the constitutionality of conscription, noting that Article I of the Constitution gives Congress the power to "raise and support Armies". Presidential authority to conscript individuals into the U.S. armed forces ended in 1973. No individual has been conscripted into the military since then. Inception of the draft The idea that members of a community have a duty to defend it is as old as civilization itself. In a free society like ours, forcing citizens to fight involves conflicting notions of civic duty, individual freedom and equality. Although America has relied on an all-volunteer milit ary for most of its history, it was forced to draft men to fight the civil war and the wars of the 20th century. (Cited from Paul Ruschmann, Mandatory Military Service) George Washington was the first of a number of presidents to propose compulsory military training for all men. â€Å"Every citizen who enjoys the protection of a free government, not only owes a proportion of his property but also some of his personal services for the defense of it, and consequently that the citizens of America†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦should be borne on militia rolls†. Despite his proposal, his advice was overlooked and the all-volunteer militia remained. However, at the time of the civil war, there was enough man power to go to battle. The Confederacy which had a much smaller population than the Union authorized a draft. The next year, lawmakers followed suit. Despite attractive bonus packages, the Military was not attracting enough persons to raise an army strong enough to win the war. With the draft l aws conceived by the Union and the Confederacy, they allowed a man to hire a substitute to fight for him. During that era, that was the most intelligent means of exempting men engaged in essential civilian occupations. The law also exempted a man from serving by paying a $300 commutation fee to the government. Many Northerners complained that the civil was a â€Å"rich man’s war and a poor man’s fight† and anti-draft violence broke out in a number of cities. The worst unrest occurred in New York City, where anti-draft protests