Local Draft Board Research Paper

The New York Draft Riots of 1863 was a gruesome manslaughter that lasted for 5 days and there were none-stop destruction. Rioters took over and burned government buildings and buildings where the drafts were taken place. The Draft Riots lasted until July 11-16 in 1863. The draft riots can also be known as draft week. During this time only men from the ages twenty to forty-five were able to fight in the war. The only people that were able to avoid this law were the rich because they had to pay three hundred dollars to not get drafted and have their name completely out of the picture. People who worked and had kids also had to participate in this law. The men drafted changed from 26,000 men to 12,000 men. 10,000 men were stationed in

The United States issued a military draft in 1940 in order to fill the spots of the armed forces that were not being filled voluntarily. It was a safety net in order for America to know that we would have back up if anything were to happen in the world. It also gave more responsibility to the citizens of the United States. We live in a free country and in turn what are we doing for our people? The military draft was a solution to the growing laziness and unwillingness to help in the United States. Although the draft could be reinstated in a different manner, it would be very beneficial for the United States to reinstate the draft in order to have a plan if anything war related were to come up. Overall, having the draft reinstated would prove a great idea for the United States.

1. Summarize the reasons that one individual might have been strongly opposed to the Vietnam War while another person from the same family or circle of friends may have supported the war.

As the author is told he is being drafted to war, he becomes very upset. He clearly does not want to be part of it. His initial says, “I was too good for this war. Too smart, too compassionate, too everything. It couldn’t happen. I was above it.” This clearly displayed his passion against the war, and how much he did not feel associated with it honestly or emotionally.

The war in Vietnam was an enduring struggle for independence that lasted twenty years. After being colonized and controlled by Japan, France, and China, Vietnam was ready to revolutionize and gain their independence. Once Ho Chi Minh, the new leader of Vietnam, adopted communism the United States became more worried about Soviet aggression. A communist Vietnam meant that neighboring countries could fall to communism through a theory called the domino theory. As the war began the United States soon found themselves in a state of social, economic, and political turmoil.

The purpose of the draft is to recruit physically capable citizens to the armed forces if they are required. The draft should recruit from all of the physically capable, no matter their gender. It is frequently argued there are less physically capable than there are men, and while that is true, it should not stop the millions of women who are physically capable. As of 2011, about 203,000 women serve in the active-duty military, including sixtynine serving as generals and admirals. Though this impressive number is only about fifteen percent of the total active-duty force, the amount of women serving continues to rise.

The United States of America is the single nation with the largest, most powerful, as well as the most funded military. The United states commonly gets involved with other nations purely based off the fact that it is militarily capable. In the past the United States has had to implement several drafts to support the military’s need for more troops. The question is, in this day and age, would it be acceptable for the United States to order a national mandatory military conscription to fuel the military? When speaking of a military conscription it is important to recognize that the idea behind a mandatory conscription is to have the nations citizens enlist in the military by force. With that being said there are always those that are exempt from military service, as well as those who cannot be exempt and will inevitably have their livelihoods changed for the worse. Due to evidence presented in previous conscription efforts, possible economic effects, infringement of civil liberties, and other priorities, a mandatory military conscription should not be a possibility in the United States.

Throughout history, countries are inevitably pulled into conflicts that result in war. These conflicts usually occur because of interests in: economic gain, territorial gain, religion, and nationalism. America, like every country, needs a military to defend itself, especially when tensions arise in other parts of the world and when militia numbers start to decrease. This then allows the government to draft its population to serve in the military. People argue that young men and women’s bright lives are often cut short, and not allowed their Constitutional right to “Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness”, but there are many benefits for the nation and the individual by serving one’s country. Due to the current state of the military and

The Selective Service Act gives the United States president the authorization to draft soldiers into war. It was enacted in 1917 during World War I and last practiced during the Vietnam War is 1973, drafting 2.2 million soldiers. Although last used over forty years ago, today, men are still legally required to sign up for the draft within thirty days of their birthday or face consequences, fines, or prison time. When it was first instated, there were only approximately one-hundred-thousand people who volunteered for the military so then president, Woodrow Wilson, found it necessary to have a draft if the US were to stand a chance in World War I. However, it is debated whether or not the selective service is needed anymore,

The military draft was a very controversial topic during these times. Some people believed it violated a person’s inalienable rights while others argued it was a part of being an American to be honored to show your patriotism; however, if you refused to serve, you were shunned and beaten by local villagers (Greenberg). President at the time, “Lyndon Johnson, called the draft "a part of America, a part of the process of our democracy"” arguing that the draft was an honorable and patriotic sacrifice for young men to make for their country (Greenberg). With the major cultural difference between the the 1960’s and today, less young men are enlisting to serve in the military. According to the National Public Radio, an estimated 8.7 million men served during The Vietnam War while only 2.2 million men serve in today’s military. While this is a good thing that we don’t have conflicts where we need men to serve, the young men and women of this generation won’t ever understand the effects of combat related PTSD where the world of those affected with it “became a cacophony of nightmares, flashbacks, depression, anxiety, and thoughts of suicide” and the number of Vietnam Veterans left are slowly dwindling (Price). This photograph shows the remorse

As the war rolled on, people became less enthusiastic to fight. The army created drafts requiring people enlist for war. At first, the drafts required men between the ages of 18 and 35, but as the end became unclear for both sides, the age pool was changed to men ages 17 to 50. The federal government established the Draft Act of 1863. This was the first time there was a law requiring people to fight. This put all male citizens susceptible to getting drafting. To avoid drafting, the rich were able to give a year 's worth of pay instead of going to war. Some people even injured themselves so they would be unable to fight. For example, many men who knew they were going to get drafted would purposefully knock out their teeth so they wouldn

In Document 8, Vietnam War veterans that served as Congressmen were said to be very cautious about military action. David Shipler, New York Times Journalist, writes, “But the Vietnam experience has given almost all of them a sense of seasoned caution about using American military power without having the broad support of the American people.” The Vietnam war had a major impact on war veterans, which is prominent in the article. The Congressmen came out of the war with an outlook on wars in general that cause them to be cautious. They gave a new perspective that was helpful in consideration of military tactics in the

All in all, Source 1 and 2 both have a different stance on how the Draft should or shouldn’t be available. While both do give their beneficial ideals, Source 2 was more logical with its stand than Source 1s idea of unity and income. However, both sources use the reason that Draft shouldn’t be passed from World war and Vietnam. For example, “ Vietnam was a war of attrition without a clear victory condition or civilian peace-building component, and thus unlike our more recent conflicts” (Source 1). Also , “First of all, World War II and the Vietnam conflict, both of which were very costly in terms of human life for numerous reasons, were also both wars of conscription, as was the Civil War, the bloodiest conflict in American history in terms of American lives lost” (Source 2). Both sources say that these wars were bad but in Source 1 they say that the wars made the draft look bad while Source 2 wrote that the war did made the draft

This part of the documentary on the draft riots of 1863 really enlightened me and informed me to things that I did not know about. The draft riots of 1863 actually lasted four days. The reason why these riots were happening was because of the three hundred dollars they had to pay if they did not want to participate in the draft. People could not afford to just shell out three hundred dollars. Some people, back in those times, were only paid five hundred dollars a year. How could the government then expect them to just pay 60% of what they make in a whole year. The black slaves were exempt from being drafted into the war. The white men began to think that they had less value because whites only had to pay $300 for their “worth” but people pay

From the beginning of the United States’ history, conflict has always been prevalent. The need for armed forces continually grows, especially in times of war, as the fight for freedom becomes more challenging. Conscription, better known as the draft, was first introduced during the Civil War as a way to get more individuals involved in the military to fill vacant positions. The practice of the draft was finally discontinued in favor of an all-volunteer military system, when the need for troops was no longer necessary. After almost two decades of being involved overseas, the demand for armed troops is imperative once again. In the essay “A New Moral Compact,” David W. Barno formally uses effective rhetorical techniques to successfully argue that a draft lottery system is essential for the United States’ involvement in armed foreign conflict to subside.