The Vietnam War Draft

1650 Words4 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: Social and economic impacts of Vietnam

The Vietnam War Draft Many people in the 1960s and early 1970s did not understand why the United States was involved in the Vietnam War. Therefore, they had no desire to be a part of it. The Selective Service System, which was used to conduct the draft, had aspirations of directing people into areas where they were most needed during wartime. However, people took advantage of the draft system’s deferment policies to avoid going to war. Others refused induction or simply did not register. There were also people who left the country to escape the draft. The Vietnam War proved to be an event that many Americans did not agree with, and as a result, citizens took action to elude the draft entirely or to beat the draft system. Before improvements in the draft system in 1971, there were many excuses for deferments. Draft boards were not representative in terms of race and national origin within the communities they served, and the lottery system left draftees in suspense for almost seven years.1 For these reasons, the draft system was inefficient, leading to much disapproval among the people. The Selective Service System had the right idea, but it needed some modifications. During the majority of the war, men were guided into civilian and military positions through a policy that the Selective Service Director Lewis B. Hershey called "channeling." The draft system used induction as a threat to "channel" people into more desirable pursuits that were in the interests of the nation. For instance, an engineer earned a deferment from the war because he was needed at home while a person who did not have a deferment could be inducted into the army. For every solider in combat, there were many other positions that needed to be filled... ... middle of paper ... ... Circumstance, 29-32. 5. Baskir, Chance and Circumstance, 33. 6. Baskir, Chance and Circumstance, 34. 7. Baskir, Chance and Circumstance, 33-34. 8. Baskir, Chance and Circumstance, 83-85. 9. Williams, Roger Neville. The New Exiles: American War Resisters in Canada (New York: Liveright Publishers,1971), 49-51. 10. Baskir, Chance and Circumstance, 36-37. 11. Baskir, Chance and Circumstance, 37. Bibliography 1. Baskir, Lawrence M. and William A. Strauss. Chance and Circumstance: the Draft, the War, and the Vietnam Generation. New York: Alfred A Knopf, 1978. 2. "How the Draft was Changed Since Vietnam." Selective Service System. 22 April 99 http://www.sss.gov/viet.htm> (29 Oct 1999). 3. Williams, Roger Neville. The New Exiles: American War Resisters in Canada. New York: Liveright Publishers, 1971.

Show More
Related

  • Analysis Of Bomb The Color Line: The War Against Jim Crow

    524 Words  | 2 Pages

    World War 2 meant discrimination, racism, and segregation for African Americans. With the draft like for Winfred W. Lynn of Jamaica, New York he chose to inform his draft board that he wanted to serve armed forces without segregation by race.

    Read More

  • Against Reinstating the Military Draft

    1512 Words  | 4 Pages

    People who support the military draft will say that it is the obligation of every citizen of the United States, and every other person residing in the United States, who is between the ages of 18 and 42, to perform a period of national service. Aren?t there many other ways--less deadly ways--to contribute to the country?s well being? Should we, as citizens, be allowed to evade this ultimate obligation by turning it over to the poorer members of society, those who can't find good-paying jobs or training except in the military? In "A War for Us, Fought by Them," William Broyles, a Vietnam war veteran and the father of a young man who is a soldier in the Marines, argues that the military draft should be brought back, and this time it should be done right: everybody should be drafted, not just ?the profoundly patriotic or the economically needy" (Broyles 695).

    Read More

  • Was The Draft Unfair?

    1187 Words  | 3 Pages

    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.

    Read More

  • Why I Chose the Selective Service Act and Draft

    969 Words  | 2 Pages

    Some people of the draft could not pass the physical part of the army, but still were sent out. Thousands of untrained soldiers were sent to war because of the lack of troops the U.S. had in the war zone. Many people were concerned with conscription because they feared it would cause civil disturbance in practice. The reason civil disturbance was a concern was because some people felt as the government was taking away Americans rights by forcing them to be a part of the draft of 1917. The draft cards were simply filled out with a name, date of birth and other simple information....

    Read More

  • Something Wicked This Way Comes

    918 Words  | 2 Pages

    Kindig, Jessie. "Vietnam War: Draft Resistance." Vietnam: Draft Resistance. University of Washington, 2009. Web. 26 May 2014.

    Read More

  • New York City Draft Riots

    1762 Words  | 4 Pages

    The Conscription Act delivered the final straw in the long list of discrepancies, the catalyst that turned that small forest fire into a raging inferno of hate and fear. The white working class (mostly Irish immigrants) were infuriated, they couldn’t understand how they, white, hard-working voters were being punished. The government was forcing them to fight a war they didn’t support and the only way they could avoid it was to pay 300 dollars (a years wages for most), yet they would pay African Americans 1,000 dollars for volunteering. The new federal draft conditions also expanded to include a wider age range of men it would take. “The conscription law targeted men between the ages of 20 and 35, and all unmarried men up to age 45.” Adding to the already high tensions of laborers, since the enactment of the Emancipation Proclamation they ...

    Read More

  • Expansion Of Government Power

    754 Words  | 2 Pages

    In the month of April of 1862, the government issued the first draft of the Civil War. Throughout the war, they put out drafts because so many men were needed to fight. Citizens were expected to obey these orders, and as the war progressed, it was harder and harder for men to avoid fighting for their country. Towards the end, the government began forcing almost every able man to enlist in the army. Men of ages 17-50 were drafted in the South (20-45 in the North); bodies were needed. And the government made sure that they got what they needed.

    Read More

  • The Vietnam War Draft

    1594 Words  | 4 Pages

    ..., the draft ended and the U.S. converted to an All-Volunteer military. Many people were not in high spirits about the Vietnam War, and thought we should not be involved in it. Lyndon Johnson, the 36th president of the United States, laments “[w]e are not about to send American boys nine or ten thousand miles away from home to do what Asian boys ought to be doing for themselves” (Vietnam-Facts.info). There is a popular picture of a draft protests sign displaying the words “hell no, we won’t go.” I do believe Americans should have a right to choose to go to war or not. Many young men lost their life fighting a battle they didn’t even have faith in. Many soldiers endured personal hardships, loss of income, and leaving family behind. Most of drafted soldiers complied with the draft and served; however, many middle to high-class young men found ways to avoid combat.

    Read More

  • Persuasive Essay About Military Draft

    1883 Words  | 4 Pages

    The Military draft is the random selection of qualified citizens of the United States, that is put to use when a crisis occurs, like a war. When American citizens reached age 18, they had to sign up for eligibility to be drafted to go to war for their country. Throughout the country’s history, the requirements and limitations of drafting have changed. The draft has been going on since colonial times in America in order to fulfill the country’s military needs when there were not enough volunteer fighters for the military. The total amount of soldiers that one side has fighting for it is an important factor in any type of battle so getting the necessary amount of fighters is crucial. The draft assures everyone that this military need is satisfied at any point in time. Many people feel like the draft is not fair and not “American” and the draft has seen so much conflict since its invention. Throughout the history of the United States, the military draft has been a very important, yet highly controversial topic at the same time.

    Read More

  • Vietnam War Draft

    463 Words  | 1 Pages

    The vitnam war was a hardest struggle for independence. The Vietnam War started in 1960. The Vietnam War was a long, the war started because of the conflict between north and South Vietnam known as Viet Cong; United States was successful stopping communism. The Vietnam draft was ended in 1973, there were about 2,709,918 Americans served in the war and 58000 Americans were killed in the war more than half were Vietnamese civilians. In addition, United States Constitution did not directly mention the draft. Article I, section 8, State congress says that they should have power to declare the war; maintain navy, raise and support amines arming. In fact even today men age 18 through 25 are required to register in the selective services. During the war Lyndon Johnson was the president of the United States.

    Read More

  • The Vietnam War

    1443 Words  | 3 Pages

    There were many events that lead up the Vietnam War, it started in 1945 with the hostilities between the French and Vietminh. “Geopolitical Strategy, economics, domestic US politics, and cultural arrogance shaped the growing American involvement in Vietnam” (Anderson 1). As a matter of fact, the Vietnam War was several wars, but it was not until 1962 that America had their first combat mission, however, Americans were killed during ambushes by the Vietnamese before the first combat mission. There is much controversy over the reasons for the Vietnam War, supported by the several different books and articles written about the war. “The most famous atrocity occurred in a tiny hamlet called My Lai in March 1968” (Detzer 127). History shows that the reaction of many Americans to the attack by US soldiers on the village of My Lai during the Vietnam War was opposition, and the actions of the US soldiers during the My Lai Massacre will be forever remembered as a significant part of the Vietnam War and American History.

    Read More

  • Draft Evasion During The Vietnam War

    1360 Words  | 3 Pages

    At the beginning of the war, the Selective Service System collected the names of all draft-age men and were selected for service from this compilation (The Vietnam War Info). From there, the men drafted were examined and evaluated by local boards composed of residents within the draftees town. This created an unfair advantage for men who knew board members, as these men were often times deemed “incapable” of performing their duties and therefore received medical deferments, exempting them from the war. These men, deemed “incapable”, were more times than not men from wealthy families that bribed the board members out of being selected for

    Read More

  • Creedance Clearwater Revival's 'Fortunate Son'

    1524 Words  | 4 Pages

    Thinking about the days of the draft always seems to send a chill to bone of dying in a foreign nation where you're very far from your love ones and your no "fortunate son" when you're in line for duty. In the generation of the 60's and 70's, an unpopular war was raging in Vietnam, countless young men were drafted into service to fight the NVA forces from uniting the country under the forces of communism and contain the philosophy from spreading outside of the containment zone. "Fortunate Son" by Creedance Clearwater Revival sought to reveal many of the recruits were young men from the lower class and men born in wealthy, upper families avoided military service. Even in the war, the military continues to seek a large abundance of able-body

    Read More

  • The Hippie Movement

    1545 Words  | 4 Pages

    The Counterculture movement began in 1964, when North Vietnamese torpedo boats attacked two U.S. destroyers. President Johnson ordered the retaliatory bombing of military targets in North Vietnam (Vietnam War Protests). A few months later, people began to question the rationale of fighting the war. People questioned joining the war in Vietnam due to our position in the Cold War. Both America and the Soviets had nuclear weapons, but neither country could afford an all out war. By starting another war with Vietnam that would mean placing more stress on the military forces. With two wars going on, that would require more man power. This problem introduced the draft. Many people of the counterculture movement opposed this, because they didn’t believe in fighting in a war that they didn’t support. Young men tore up their draft cards, or signed up as conscientious objectors. A conscientious objector is someone who doesn...

    Read More

  • Short Summary of Vietnam

    470 Words  | 1 Pages

    The draft took more and more people in as the years went on, and in1968 it peaked to over 500,000 soldiers involved in Vietnam. The government was so desperate for troops that even men with poor eyesight fought, and no education was needed. The people began to strike out and a revolution took place to restore peace to the nation. Some key ways to get the movement attention included student activism and anti-war messages present in songs and literature.

    Read More

More about The Vietnam War Draft

Open Document