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131-431: During World War II, gangster Lucky Jordan is drafted and sent to a training base near his New York City office. He avoids the rigors of boot camp, hiding in the unit's canteen. One of the attendants, Jill Evans, reports him to the base colonel and he is sent to the stockade . Jordan escapes by stealing an army engineer 's car. Outside the camp, Jordan is run off the road by two thugs, but they flee when Jill happens onto

262-550: A men's rights group , sued the US Selective Service System in 2019, leading to it being declared unconstitutional by a US Federal Judge. The federal district judge's opinion was unanimously overturned on appeal to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 5th Circuit . In September 2021, the House of Representatives passed the annual Defense Authorization Act, which included an amendment that states that "all Americans between

393-653: A Swiss cheese." The film broke the house attendance record at New York's Rialto Theatre in its first week of release. Conscription in the United States In the United States , military conscription , commonly known as the draft , has been employed by the U.S. federal government in six conflicts: the American Revolutionary War , the American Civil War , World War I , World War II ,

524-768: A concern for the morale of immigrant troops, with the aim of blending them into the larger society. Sports activities, keeping immigrant groups together, newspapers in various languages, the assistance of bilingual officers, and ethnic entertainment programs were all employed. The Conscription Act of 1917 was passed in June. Conscripts were court-martialed by the Army if they refused to wear uniforms, bear arms, perform basic duties, or submit to military authority. Convicted objectors were often given long sentences of 20 years in Fort Leavenworth . In 1918, Secretary of War Newton D. Baker created

655-564: A corps of 150,000 black slaves, called his Black Guard . He used them to coerce the country into submission. Modern conscription, the massed military enrollment of national citizens ( levée en masse ), was devised during the French Revolution , to enable the Republic to defend itself from the attacks of European monarchies. Deputy Jean-Baptiste Jourdan gave its name to the 5 September 1798 Act, whose first article stated: "Any Frenchman

786-462: A disliked government or unpopular war; sexism , in that historically men have been subject to the draft in the most cases; and ideological objection, for example, to a perceived violation of individual rights. Those conscripted may evade service , sometimes by leaving the country, and seeking asylum in another country. Some selection systems accommodate these attitudes by providing alternative service outside combat -operations roles or even outside

917-541: A draft in order to reinforce social equality, create social consciousness, break down class divisions and allow young adults to immerse themselves in public enterprise. This justification forms the basis of Israel's People's Army Model . Charles Rangel called for the reinstatement of the draft during the Iraq War not because he seriously expected it to be adopted but to stress how the socioeconomic restratification meant that very few children of upper-class Americans served in

1048-466: A few Seventh-day Adventists and Jehovah's Witnesses . About 15% were religious objectors from non-pacifist churches. Ben Salmon was a nationally known political activist who encouraged men not to register and personally refused to comply with the draft procedures. He rejected the Army Review Board proposal that he perform noncombatant farm work. Sentenced to 25 years in prison, he again refused

1179-588: A gangster who joins the army. Paramount bought the script in March 1942 as a vehicle for Alan Ladd. Karl Tunberg and Darrell Ware were assigned to rewrite the screenplay. Paulette Goddard was announced as Ladd's costar but eventually withdrew. Her part was taken by Helen Walker, who had arrived in Hollywood just one month before being cast. Walker had been signed by Paramount on the basis of her Broadway success in Jason . This

1310-418: A gender-neutral model. Israel has universal female conscription, although it is possible to avoid service by claiming a religious exemption and over a third of Israeli women do so. Finland introduced voluntary female conscription in 1995, giving women between the ages of 18 and 29 an option to complete their military service alongside men. Sudanese law allows for conscription of women, but this

1441-455: A million immigrants were drafted, which forced the military to develop training procedures that took ethnic differences into account. Military leaders invited Progressive reformers and ethnic group leaders to assist in formulating new military policies. The military attempted to socialize and Americanize young immigrant recruits, not by forcing "angloconformity", but by showing remarkable sensitivity and respect for ethnic values and traditions and

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1572-678: A model for that of World War II. President Roosevelt's signing of the Selective Training and Service Act on September 16, 1940, began the first peacetime draft in the United States. The 1940 law instituted conscription in peacetime, requiring the registration of all men between 21 and 35. It also reestablished the Selective Service System as an independent agency responsible for identifying young men and facilitating their military service. Roosevelt named Lewis B. Hershey to head

1703-453: A national army or fyrd is a strange delusion dreamt up by antiquarians in the late eighteenth or early nineteenth centuries to justify universal military conscription. In feudal Japan the shogun decree of 1393 exempted money lenders from religious or military levies, in return for a yearly tax. The Ōnin War weakened the shogun and levies were imposed again on money lenders. This overlordism

1834-641: A program that had just barely passed Congressional muster during the fearful prelude to World War II, a more robust draft continued as fears now focused on the Soviet threat. Nevertheless, some dissenting voices in Congress continued to advocate for voluntary military service. The onset of the Cold War coincided with men born during the Great Depression beginning to reach military age. Hershey and other supporters of

1965-630: A proposed desk job. He was pardoned and released in November 1920 with a "dishonorable discharge". The draft ended in 1918, but the Army designed the modern draft mechanism in 1926 and built it based on military needs, despite an era of pacifism . Working where Congress would not, it gathered a cadre of officers for its nascent Joint Army-Navy Selective Service Committee, most of whom were commissioned based on social standing rather than military experience. This effort did not receive congressionally approved funding until 1934, when Major General Lewis B. Hershey

2096-464: A select class of warriors or mercenaries . Jean Jacques Rousseau argued vehemently against professional armies since he believed that it was the right and privilege of every citizen to participate to the defense of the whole society and that it was a mark of moral decline to leave the business to professionals. He based his belief upon the development of the Roman Republic , which came to an end at

2227-503: Is a soldier and owes himself to the defense of the nation." It enabled the creation of the Grande Armée , what Napoleon Bonaparte called "the nation in arms", which overwhelmed European professional armies that often numbered only into the low tens of thousands. More than 2.6 million men were inducted into the French military in this way between the years 1800 and 1813. The defeat of

2358-629: Is described in Article I, Section 8 of the United States Constitution and 10 U.S. Code § 246. Such conscription would apply to able-bodied men between the ages of 17 and 44 who are, or who have made a declaration of intention to become, U.S. citizens, as well as women in certain health care occupations. Conscription has faced strong opposition throughout American history from prominent figures like Daniel Webster , who stated, "A free government with an uncontrolled power of military conscription

2489-469: Is not implemented in practice. In the United Kingdom during World War II , beginning in 1941, women were brought into the scope of conscription but, as all women with dependent children were exempt and many women were informally left in occupations such as nursing or teaching, the number conscripted was relatively few. Most women who were conscripted were sent to the factories, although some were part of

2620-661: Is the most ridiculous and abominable contradiction and nonsense that ever entered into the heads of men." In colonial times , the Thirteen Colonies used a militia system for defense. Colonial militia laws—and after independence, those of the United States and the various states—required able-bodied males to enroll in the militia, to undergo a minimum of military training, and to serve for limited periods of time in war or emergency. This earliest form of conscription involved selective drafts of militiamen for service in particular campaigns. Following this system in its essentials,

2751-645: The Auxiliary Territorial Service (ATS), Women's Land Army , and other women's services. None were assigned to combat roles unless they volunteered. In contemporary United Kingdom, in July 2016, all exclusions on women serving in Ground Close Combat (GCC) roles were lifted. In the Soviet Union , there was never conscription of women for the armed forces , but the severe disruption of normal life and

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2882-772: The Abbasid caliphs in 9th-century Baghdad . Over time they became a powerful military caste . On more than one occasion, they seized power, for example, ruling Egypt from 1250 to 1517. From 1250 Egypt had been ruled by the Bahri dynasty of Kipchak origin. Slaves from the Caucasus served in the army and formed an elite corps of troops. They eventually revolted in Egypt to form the Burgi dynasty . The Mamluks' excellent fighting abilities, massed Islamic armies, and overwhelming numbers succeeded in overcoming

3013-660: The Amish , Mennonites , Quakers , and Church of the Brethren only. All other religious and political objectors were forced to participate. Some 64,700 men claimed conscientious objector status; local draft boards certified 57,000, of whom 30,000 passed the physical and 21,000 were inducted into the U.S. Army. About 80% of the 21,000 decided to abandon their objection and take up arms, but 3,989 drafted objectors refused to serve. Most belonged to historically pacifist denominations, especially Quakers, Mennonites, and Moravian Brethren , as well as

3144-603: The Continental Congress in 1778 recommended that the states draft men from their militias for one year's service in the Continental Army ; this first national conscription was irregularly applied and failed to fill the Continental ranks. For long-term operations, conscription was occasionally used when volunteers or paid substitutes were insufficient to raise the needed manpower. During the American Revolutionary War ,

3275-566: The English Civil War ; the United Kingdom abolished conscription in 1960. Around the reign of Hammurabi (1791–1750 BC ), the Babylonian Empire used a system of conscription called Ilkum . Under that system those eligible were required to serve in the royal army in time of war. During times of peace they were instead required to provide labour for other activities of the state. In return for this service, people subject to it gained

3406-516: The Industrial Workers of the World attempted to obstruct the war effort through strikes in war-related industries and not registering, but it did not meet with large success. Although draft riots were not widespread, an estimated 171,000 people never registered for the draft, while another 360,000 people never responded to induction orders. Conscientious objector (CO) exemptions were allowed for

3537-617: The Judicial Yuan of the Republic of China in its Interpretation 490 considered that the physical differences between males and females and the derived role differentiation in their respective social functions and lives would not make drafting only males a violation of the Constitution of the Republic of China . Though women are not conscripted in Taiwan, transsexual persons are exempt. In 2018,

3668-572: The Korean War , and the Vietnam War . The fourth incarnation of the draft came into being in 1940, through the Selective Training and Service Act ; this was the country's first peacetime draft. From 1940 until 1973, during both peacetime and periods of conflict, men were drafted to fill vacancies in the U.S. Armed Forces that could not be filled through voluntary means. Active conscription in

3799-578: The Netherlands started including women in its draft registration system, although conscription is not currently enforced for either sex. France and Portugal , where conscription was abolished, extended their symbolic, mandatory day of information on the armed forces for young people - called Defence and Citizenship Day in France and Day of National Defence in Portugal – to women in 1997 and 2008, respectively; at

3930-729: The Nurse Corps in preparation for a planned invasion of Japan . In 1981 in the United States , several men filed lawsuit in the case Rostker v. Goldberg , alleging that the Selective Service Act of 1948 violates the Due Process Clause of the Fifth Amendment by requiring that only men register with the Selective Service System (SSS). The Supreme Court eventually upheld the Act, stating that "the argument for registering women

4061-650: The Prussian Army in particular shocked the Prussian establishment, which had believed it was invincible after the victories of Frederick the Great . The Prussians were used to relying on superior organization and tactical factors such as order of battle to focus superior troops against inferior ones. Given approximately equivalent forces, as was generally the case with professional armies, these factors showed considerable importance. However, they became considerably less important when

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4192-466: The Selective Service System (SSS) between the ages of 18 and 25. Failure to register for the SSS, when otherwise required, can mean denial of many federal services, such as federal health care programs. Although it has not been applied in recent American history, U.S. federal law continues to allow for compulsory conscription for militia service under emergency or extraordinary security conditions. The law

4323-712: The War Manpower Commission , estimated that the changes would increase the ratio of men drafted from one out of nine to one out of five. The commission's goal was to have nine million men in the armed forces by the end of 1943. This facilitated the massive requirement of up to 200,000 men per month and would remain the standard for the length of the war. The World War II draft operated from 1940 until 1946 when further inductions were suspended, and its legislative authorization expired without further extension by Congress in 1947. During this time, more than 10 million men had been inducted into military service. However,

4454-567: The planter class . Enrollment officers and local judges often practiced favoritism, sometimes accepting bribes. Attempts to effectively deal with the issue were frustrated by conflict between state and local governments on the one hand and the national government of the Confederacy. During the Civil War, there were critics against the policy of conscription. For example, Frederick Douglass , an escaped slave and abolitionist strongly advocated against

4585-622: The 820s and 830s. The Turkic troops soon came to dominate the government , establishing a pattern throughout the Islamic world of a ruling military class, often separated by ethnicity, culture and even religion by the mass of the population, a paradigm that found its apogee in the Mamluks of Egypt and the Janissary corps of the Ottoman Empire , institutions that survived until the early 19th century. In

4716-466: The Act. It set up under the Union Army an elaborate machine for enrolling and drafting men. Quotas were assigned in each state, the deficiencies in volunteers required to be met by conscription. Still, men drafted could provide substitutes, and until mid-1864 could also avoid service by paying commutation money. Many eligible men pooled their money to cover the cost of any one of them drafted. Families used

4847-455: The Board of Inquiry to question the conscientious objectors' sincerity. Military tribunals tried men found by the Board to be insincere for a variety of offenses, sentencing 17 to death , 142 to life imprisonment , and 345 to penal labor camps. Many of these sentences were commuted after the war's end. In 1917, a number of radicals and anarchists , including Emma Goldman , tried to challenge

4978-771: The Christian Crusader fortresses in the Holy Land. The Mamluks were the most successful defence against the Mongol Ilkhanate of Persia and Iraq from entering Egypt. On the western coast of Africa, Berber Muslims captured non-Muslims to put to work as laborers. They generally converted the younger people to Islam and many became quite assimilated. In Morocco, the Berber looked south rather than north. The Moroccan Sultan Moulay Ismail , called "the Bloodthirsty" (1672–1727), employed

5109-484: The House floor by antiwar Congressman Daniel Webster of New Hampshire . The United States first employed national conscription during the American Civil War . The vast majority of troops were volunteers; of the 2,200,000 Union soldiers, about 2% were draftees, and another 6% were substitutes paid by draftees. The Confederacy had far fewer inhabitants than the Union , and Confederate President Jefferson Davis proposed

5240-742: The Janissaries in origin and means of development were the Mamluks of Egypt in the Middle Ages . The Mamluks were usually captive non-Muslim Iranian and Turkic children who had been kidnapped or bought as slaves from the Barbary coasts. The Egyptians assimilated and trained the boys and young men to become Islamic soldiers who served the Muslim caliphs and the Ayyubid sultans during the Middle Ages . The first mamluks served

5371-639: The Kapikulu system willingly, as they saw this as a potentially invaluable career opportunity for their children. Eventually the Sultan turned to foreign volunteers from the warrior clans of Circassians in southern Russia to fill his Janissary armies. As a whole the system began to break down, the loyalty of the Jannissaries became increasingly suspect. Mahmud II forcibly disbanded the Janissary corps in 1826. Similar to

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5502-578: The Korean War, a student carrying at least 12 semester hours was spared until the end of his current semester. Though the United States signed the Korean War Armistice on July 27, 1953, technology brought new promises and threats. American air and nuclear power fueled the Eisenhower doctrine of "massive retaliation." This strategy demanded more machines and fewer foot soldiers, so the draft slipped to

5633-627: The Navy or Air Force. Congress passed the Universal Military Training and Service Act in 1951 to meet the demands of the war. It lowered the induction age to 18½ and extended active-duty service commitments to 24 months. Despite the early combat failures and later stalemate in Korea, the draft has been credited by some as playing a vital role in turning the tide of war. A February 1953 Gallup Poll showed that 70 percent of Americans surveyed felt that

5764-421: The President of the United States the commander-in-chief of both the federal military and the militia when in federal service. The Second Militia Act of 1792 defined the first group who could be called up as "each and every free able-bodied white male citizen" between the ages of 18 and 45. The administration asserts the right to fill the ranks of the regular army by compulsion ... Is this, sir, consistent with

5895-423: The Prussian armies faced Napoleon's forces that outnumbered their own in some cases by more than ten to one. Scharnhorst advocated adopting the levée en masse , the military conscription used by France. The Krümpersystem was the beginning of short-term compulsory service in Prussia, as opposed to the long-term conscription previously used. In the Russian Empire , the military service time "owed" by serfs

6026-428: The SSS had handled the draft fairly. Gallup reported that 64 percent of the demographic group including all draft age men (males 21 to 29) believed the draft to be fair. To improve equity in the system, President Dwight D. Eisenhower signed an executive order on July 11, 1953, that ended the paternity deferment for married men. In large part, the change in the draft served the purposes of the burgeoning Cold War. From

6157-438: The Selective Service System in early 1943. The Navy and Marine Corps enlisted inductees and volunteers under the same service agreements, but with different service obligations, while the Army placed wartime inductees and volunteers into a special service component known as the Army of the United States , commonly known as the "AUS"; service commitments were set at the length of the war plus six months. Paul V. McNutt , head of

6288-418: The Selective Service System moved away from a national lottery to administrative selection by its more than 6,000 local boards . On December 5, 1942, presidential Executive Order 9279 closed voluntary enlistment for all men from the ages of 18 to 37 for the duration of the war, providing protection for the nation's home front manpower pool. The Navy and Marine Corps began procuring their personnel through

6419-411: The Selective Service System remained intact. Draft evasion accounted for about 4% of the total inducted. About 373,000 alleged evaders were investigated with just over 16,000 being imprisoned. Opposition was nonetheless encountered, especially in the northern cities where some African-Americans protested the system. The Nation of Islam was at the forefront, with many Black Muslims jailed for refusing

6550-445: The Sultan's Kapıkulu forces increased to about 100,000. In later years, Sultans turned to the Barbary Pirates to supply their Jannissaries corps. Their attacks on ships off the coast of Africa or in the Mediterranean, and subsequent capture of able-bodied men for ransom or sale provided some captives for the Sultan's system. Starting in the 17th century, Christian families living under the Ottoman rule began to submit their sons into

6681-443: The System on July 31, 1941; he remained in post until 1969. This act came when other preparations, such as increased training and equipment production, had not yet been approved. Nevertheless, it served as the basis for the conscription programs that continue to the present. The act set a cap of 900,000 men to be in training at once, and limited military service to 12 months unless Congress deemed it necessary to extend such service in

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6812-432: The US, men who do not register with the Selective Service cannot apply for citizenship, receive federal financial aid, grants or loans, be employed by the federal government, be admitted to public colleges or universities, or, in some states, obtain a driver's license. Many American libertarians oppose conscription and call for the abolition of the Selective Service System , arguing that impressment of individuals into

6943-433: The Union Army. Although both sides resorted to conscription, the system did not work effectively for either. The Confederate Congress on April 16, 1862, passed an act requiring military service for three years from all white males aged 18 to 35 not legally exempt. It later extended the obligation. The U.S. Congress passed the Militia Act of 1862 which mirrored the 1792 Act except to allow African-Americans to serve in

7074-412: The United States ended in January 1973, and the U.S. Armed Forces moved to an all-volunteer military except for draftees called up through the end of 1972. Conscription remains in place on a contingency basis, however, in that all male U.S. citizens, even those residing abroad, and all male immigrants, whether documented or undocumented but residing within the United States, are required to register with

7205-441: The United States, every male resident is required by law to register with the Selective Service System within 30 days following his 18th birthday and be available for a draft; this is often accomplished automatically by a motor vehicle department during licensing or by voter registration. According to Milton Friedman the cost of conscription can be related to the parable of the broken window in anti-draft arguments. The cost of

7336-404: The ages of 18 and 25 must register for selective service." This amendment omitted the word "male", which would have extended a potential draft to women; however, the amendment was removed before the National Defense Authorization Act was passed. Feminists have argued, first, that military conscription is sexist because wars serve the interests of what they view as the patriarchy ; second, that

7467-480: The all-volunteer American armed forces. It is estimated by the British military that in a professional military, a company deployed for active duty in peacekeeping corresponds to three inactive companies at home. Salaries for each are paid from the military budget. In contrast, volunteers from a trained reserve are in their civilian jobs when they are not deployed. Under the total defense doctrine, conscription paired with periodic refresher training ensures that

7598-401: The armed forces amounts to involuntary servitude . For example, Ron Paul , a former U.S. Libertarian Party presidential nominee, has said that conscription "is wrongly associated with patriotism , when it really represents slavery and involuntary servitude". The philosopher Ayn Rand opposed conscription, opining that "of all the statist violations of individual rights in a mixed economy,

7729-442: The back burner. However, SSS director Gen. Hershey urged caution, fearing the conflict looming in Vietnam. In May 1953, he told his state directors to do everything possible to keep the SSS alive in order to meet expected needs. Following the 1953 Korean War Armistice, Congress passed the Reserve Forces Act of 1955 with the aim of improving National Guard and federal Reserve Component readiness while also constraining its use by

7860-428: The basis of a very large and powerful military . Most European nations later copied the system in peacetime, so that men at a certain age would serve 1 to 8 years on active duty and then transfer to the reserve force . Conscription is controversial for a range of reasons, including conscientious objection to military engagements on religious or philosophical grounds; political objection, for example to service for

7991-456: The basis that it violates gender equality , and some countries, especially in Europe , have extended conscription obligations to women. In 2006, eight countries ( China , Eritrea , Israel , Libya , Malaysia , North Korea , Peru , and Taiwan ) conscripted women into military service. Norway introduced female conscription in 2015, making it the first NATO member to have a legally compulsory national service for both men and women, and

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8122-483: The character of a free government? Is this civil liberty? Is this the real character of our Constitution ? No, sir, indeed it is not ... Where is it written in the Constitution, in what article or section is it contained, that you may take children from their parents, and parents from their children, and compel them to fight the battles of any war, in which the folly or the wickedness of government may engage it? Under what concealment has this power lain hidden, which now for

8253-450: The civilian workforce. Every soldier conscripted in the army is taken away from his civilian work, and away from contributing to the economy which funds the military. This may be less a problem in an agrarian or pre-industrialized state where the level of education is generally low, and where a worker is easily replaced by another. However, this is potentially more costly in a post-industrial society where educational levels are high and where

8384-488: The constable and the marshals). Men were summoned by the bailiff (or the sénéchal in the south). Bailiffs were military and political administrators installed by the King to steward and govern a specific area of a province following the king's commands and orders. The men summoned in this way were then summoned by the lieutenant who was the King's representative and military governor over an entire province comprising many bailiwicks , seneschalties and castellanies. All men from

8515-408: The draft in American English , is the practice in which the compulsory enlistment in a national service , mainly a military service , is enforced by law. Conscription dates back to antiquity and it continues in some countries to the present day under various names. The modern system of near-universal national conscription for young men dates to the French Revolution in the 1790s, where it became

8646-399: The draft frequently pointed out that the Depression had resulted in a substantial reduction of the birth rate in order to back up their doubts regarding the return to an all-volunteer military at a time when it was known that the number of men reaching military age was going to fall significantly. The Korean War era marked the first time that any form of student deferment had been used. During

8777-533: The draft, and their leader Elijah Muhammad was sentenced to federal prison for 5 years for inciting draft resistance. Organized draft resistance also developed in the Japanese American internment camps , where groups like the Heart Mountain Fair Play Committee refused to serve unless they and their families were released. 300 Nisei men from eight of the ten War Relocation Authority camps were arrested and stood trial for felony draft evasion ; most were sentenced to federal prison. American Communists also opposed

8908-511: The entire able-bodied population of a country can be mobilized to defend against invasion or assist civil authorities during emergencies. For this reason, some European countries have reintroduced or debated reintroducing conscription during the onset of the Second Cold War . Military Keynesians often argue for conscription as a job guarantee . For example, it was more financially beneficial for less-educated young Portuguese men born in 1967 to participate in conscription than to participate in

9039-413: The extra personnel for its planned invasion of Japan. However, the Japanese surrendered and the idea was abandoned. During the Great Patriotic War , the Red Army conscripted nearly 30 million men. Men's rights activists , feminists , and opponents of discrimination against men have criticized military conscription, or compulsory military service, as sexist . The National Coalition for Men,

9170-458: The federally supported state militias as the National Guard, aligning their training with active duty needs so they could be quickly put into federal service. In 1933, Congress reorganized the National Guard under its Article I enumerated power to "raise and support armies" instead of its power to "Provide for organizing, arming and disciplining the Militia". This avoids the constraint on federal militia service that it can only be used "to execute

9301-409: The film leaves one wishing that Paramount had provided a worthier screen play, particularly since this is his first starring vehicle. This is not to say that there are not moments of sharp suspense in 'Lucky Jordan,' moments that are as toughly melodramatic as you are likely to encounter in a dozen such films. But the over-all effect is far from satisfying, for the plot is hackneyed and about as porous as

9432-495: The first conscription act on March 28, 1862; it was passed into law the next month. Resistance was both widespread and violent, with comparisons made between conscription and slavery. Both sides permitted conscripts to hire substitutes to serve in their place. In the Union, many states and cities offered bounties and bonuses for enlistment. They also arranged to take credit against their draft quota by claiming freed slaves who enlisted in

9563-563: The first country in the world to draft women on the same formal terms as men. In practice only motivated volunteers are selected to join the army in Norway. Sweden introduced female conscription in 2010, but it was not activated until 2017. This made Sweden the second nation in Europe to draft women, and the second in the world (after Norway) to draft women on the same formal terms as men. Denmark will extend conscription to women from 2027, also on

9694-458: The first time comes forth, with a tremendous and baleful aspect, to trample down and destroy the dearest rights of personal liberty? Daniel Webster, December 9, 1814 House of Representatives Address During the War of 1812 , President James Madison and his Secretary of War James Monroe unsuccessfully attempted to create a national draft of 40,000 men. The proposal was fiercely criticized on

9825-591: The high proportion of civilians affected by World War II after the German invasion attracted many volunteers for " The Great Patriotic War ". Medical doctors of both sexes could and would be conscripted (as officers). Also, the Soviet university education system required Department of Chemistry students of both sexes to complete an ROTC course in NBC defense , and such female reservist officers could be conscripted in times of war. The United States came close to drafting women into

9956-458: The highly competitive job market with men of the same age who continued to higher education. Throughout history, women have only been conscripted to join armed forces in a few countries, in contrast to the universal practice of conscription from among the male population. The traditional view has been that military service is a test of manhood and a rite of passage from boyhood into manhood. In recent years, this position has been challenged on

10087-481: The initial 1 million target in the first six weeks of the war. One ascribed motivation was to thwart former president Theodore Roosevelt , who proposed raising a volunteer division, which would have upstaged Wilson. However, there is no evidence that Roosevelt had enough support to carry out that plan, and because Wilson had just started his second term, the former President's prospects for substantial political gain seemed dubious. The Selective Service Act of 1917

10218-642: The interest of national defense. An amendment added 18 more months to this service period on August 18, 1941. After the Pearl Harbor attack the STSA was further amended (December 19, 1941), extending the term of service to the duration of the war plus six months and requiring the registration of all men 18 to 64 years of age. During World War II, 49 million men were registered, 36 million classified, and 10 million inducted. 18- and 19-year-olds were made liable for induction on November 13, 1942. By late 1942,

10349-498: The king or the local lord, bringing along the weapons and armor according to their wealth. These levies fought as footmen, sergeants, and men at arms under local superiors appointed by the king or the local lord such as the arrière-ban in France. Arrière-ban denoted a general levy, where all able-bodied males age 15 to 60 living in the Kingdom of France were summoned to go to war by the King (or

10480-402: The land-holding aristocracy of the time and were required to serve with their own armour and weapons for a certain number of days each year. The historian David Sturdy has cautioned about regarding the fyrd as a precursor to a modern national army composed of all ranks of society, describing it as a "ridiculous fantasy": The persistent old belief that peasants and small farmers gathered to form

10611-640: The laws of the Union, suppress insurrections and repel invasions." Able-bodied men between the ages of 17 and 45 outside of the National Guard are defined in the Militia Act and under the laws of some states as the unorganized militia , which may be called into state or federal service as needed. In 1917, the administration of President Woodrow Wilson decided to rely primarily on conscription, rather than voluntary enlistment, to raise military manpower for World War I when only 73,000 volunteers enlisted out of

10742-550: The least likely to be the skilled labor needed for the war effort. Poor men were also less likely to convince local boards that they were primary breadwinners who could be deferred to support dependents. Forms of resistance ranged from peaceful protest to violent demonstrations and from humble letter-writing campaigns asking for mercy to newspapers demanding reform. The most common tactics were dodging and desertion, and some communities in isolationist areas even sheltered and defended their draft dodgers as political heroes. Nearly half

10873-473: The middle of the 14th century, Ottoman Sultan Murad I developed personal troops to be loyal to him, with a slave army called the Kapıkulu . The new force was built by taking Christian children from newly conquered lands, especially from the far areas of his empire, in a system known as the devşirme (translated "gathering" or "converting"). The captive children were forced to convert to Islam . The Sultans had

11004-424: The military draft is the worst. It is an abrogation of rights. It negates man's fundamental right—the right to life—and establishes the fundamental principle of statism : that a man's life belongs to the state, and the state may claim it by compelling him to sacrifice it in battle." In 1917, a number of radicals and anarchists, including Emma Goldman , challenged the new draft law in federal court, arguing that it

11135-504: The military for six years. In the decades prior to World War I universal conscription along broadly Prussian lines became the norm for European armies, and those modeled on them. By 1914 the only substantial armies still completely dependent on voluntary enlistment were those of Britain and the United States. Some colonial powers such as France reserved their conscript armies for home service while maintaining professional units for overseas duties. The range of eligible ages for conscripting

11266-689: The military in noncombatant roles, another 12,000 went to the Civilian Public Service program, and nearly 6,000 went to prison. The second peacetime draft began with passage of the Selective Service Act of 1948 after the STSA expired. The new law required all men of age 18 to 26 to register. It also created the system for the "Doctor Draft", aimed at inducting health professionals into military service. Unless otherwise exempted or deferred (see Berry Plan ), these men could be called for up to 21 months of active duty and five years of reserve duty service. Congress further tweaked this act in 1950 although

11397-695: The military is a sexist institution and that conscripts are therefore indoctrinated into sexism; and third, that conscription of men normalizes violence by men as socially acceptable. Feminists have been organizers and participants in resistance to conscription in several countries. Conscription has also been criticized on the ground that, historically, only men have been subjected to conscription. Men who opt out or are deemed unfit for military service must often perform alternative service, such as Zivildienst in Austria , Germany and Switzerland , or pay extra taxes, whereas women do not have these obligations. In

11528-496: The military services, with little of the resistance that characterized the Civil War, thanks to a well-received campaign by the government to increase support for the war, and shut down newspapers and magazines that published articles against the war, but there was resistance in some areas ( see Green Corn Rebellion ). The draft was universal and included black men on the same terms as whites, although they served in different units. In all 367,710 black Americans were drafted (13% of

11659-796: The military, such as siviilipalvelus (alternative civil service) in Finland and Zivildienst (compulsory community service) in Austria and Switzerland. Several countries conscript male soldiers not only for armed forces, but also for paramilitary agencies, which are dedicated to police -like domestic-only service like internal troops , border guards or non-combat rescue duties like civil defence . As of 2023, many states no longer conscript their citizens, relying instead upon professional militaries with volunteers . The ability to rely on such an arrangement, however, presupposes some degree of predictability with regard to both war-fighting requirements and

11790-510: The militias and authorizing a militia draft within a state when it could not meet its quota with volunteers. This state-administered system failed in practice and Congress passed the Enrollment Act of 1863, the first genuine national conscription law, replacing the Militia Act of 1862, which required the enrollment of every male citizen and those immigrants (aliens) who had filed for citizenship, between 20 and 45 years of age, unless exempted by

11921-404: The most fit and capable subtract from the productivity of the economy; add to this the cost of training them, and in some countries paying them. Compared to these extensive costs, some would argue there is very little benefit; if there ever was a war then conscription and basic training could be completed quickly, and in any case there is little threat of a war in most countries with conscription. In

12052-671: The new draft law in federal court, arguing that it was a direct violation of the Thirteenth Amendment 's prohibition against slavery and involuntary servitude . The Supreme Court unanimously upheld the constitutionality of the draft act in the Selective Draft Law Cases on January 7, 1918. The decision said the Constitution gave Congress the power to declare war and to raise and support armies. The Court, relying partly on Emerich de Vattel 's The Law of Nations , emphasized

12183-469: The papers. After he is left alone with Kesselman and a lone guard, Jordan grabs the guard's gun. He then tells Kesselman he will surrender the papers to the government out of a sense of new-found patriotism. The FBI arrives and nabs the entire ring. Jill tells Lucky he will probably get a medal, but he is returned to the stockade to serve the remainder of his punishment. The film was based on an original screenplay by Charles Leonard, Prelude to Glory , about

12314-411: The policy. Douglass asserted, "What is freedom? It is the right to choose one's own employment. Certainly it means that, if it means anything. And when any individual or combination of individuals, undertakes to decide for any man when he shall work, where he shall work, at what he shall work, and for what he shall work, he or they practically reduce him to slavery." The Militia Act of 1903 reorganized

12445-481: The post–World War II surplus of military manpower left little need for draft calls until President Truman's declaration of a national emergency in December 1950. Only 20,348 men were inducted in 1948 and only 9,781 in 1949. Between the Korean War 's outbreak in June 1950 and the armistice agreement in 1953, Selective Service inducted over 1.5 million men. Another 1.3 million volunteered, usually choosing

12576-458: The potential for a draft was a critical element in maintaining a constant flow of volunteers. On numerous occasions, General Hershey told Congress that for every man drafted, three or four more were scared into volunteering. Assuming that his assessment was accurate, this would mean that more than 11 million men volunteered for service because of the draft between January 1954 and April 1975. Conscription Conscription , also known as

12707-449: The preserve, asks a guard to use a phone to notify authorities of Jordan's location. The guard instead connects her to Kilpatrick, who deceives her by masquerading as a government agent, causing her to unwittingly assist in Jordan's capture. Herr Kesselman, the spy ring's chief, oversees an interrogation of Jordan, who is threatened with torture and quickly invents a story about the location of

12838-569: The president. Toward this end, it mandated a six-year service commitment, in a combination of reserve and active duty time, for every line military member regardless of their means of entry. Meanwhile, the SSS kept itself alive by devising and managing a complex system of deferments for a swelling pool of candidates during a period of shrinking requirements. The greatest challenge to the draft came not from protesters but from lobbyists seeking additional deferments for their constituent groups such as scientists and farmers. Many government leaders felt that

12969-473: The principle of the reciprocal rights and duties of citizens: It may not be doubted that the very conception of a just government and its duty to the citizen includes the reciprocal obligation of the citizen to render military service in case of need, and the right to compel it. To do more than state the proposition is absolutely unnecessary in view of the practical illustration afforded by the almost universal legislation to that effect now in force. Conscription

13100-478: The realm. The bulk of the Anglo-Saxon English army, called the fyrd , was composed of part-time English soldiers drawn from the freemen of each county. In the 690s laws of Ine of Wessex , three levels of fines are imposed on different social classes for neglecting military service. Some modern writers claim military service in Europe was restricted to the landowning minor nobility. These thegns were

13231-405: The reciprocal rights and duties of citizens. "It may not be doubted that the very conception of a just government in its duty to the citizen includes the reciprocal obligation of the citizen to render military service in case of need and the right to compel." It can be argued that in a cost-to-benefit ratio , conscription during peacetime is not worthwhile. Months or years of service performed by

13362-418: The return of conscription. One national survey found that 67% of respondents believed that a German - Italian victory would endanger the United States, and that 71% supported "the immediate adoption of compulsory military training for all young men". Similarly, a November 1942 survey of American high-school students found that 69% favored compulsory postwar military training. The World War I system served as

13493-467: The richest noble to the poorest commoner were summoned under the arrière-ban and they were supposed to present themselves to the King or his officials. In medieval Scandinavia the leiðangr ( Old Norse ), leidang ( Norwegian ), leding , ( Danish ), ledung ( Swedish ), lichting ( Dutch ), expeditio ( Latin ) or sometimes leþing ( Old English ), was a levy of free farmers conscripted into coastal fleets for seasonal excursions and in defence of

13624-552: The right to hold land. It is possible that this right was not to hold land per se but specific land supplied by the state. Various forms of avoiding military service are recorded. While it was outlawed by the Code of Hammurabi , the hiring of substitutes appears to have been practiced both before and after the creation of the code. Later records show that Ilkum commitments could become regularly traded. In other places, people simply left their towns to avoid their Ilkum service. Another option

13755-799: The same time as the Roman Army changed from a conscript to a professional force. Similarly, Aristotle linked the division of armed service among the populace intimately with the political order of the state. Niccolò Machiavelli argued strongly for conscription in The Prince and The Art of War and saw the professional armies, made up of mercenary units, as the cause of the failure of societal unity in Italy. Other proponents, such as William James , consider both mandatory military and national service as ways of instilling maturity in young adults. Some proponents, such as Jonathan Alter and Mickey Kaus , support

13886-457: The scene. Jordan forces Jill to accompany him to the city. She responds by angrily discarding a briefcase containing army documents. After sneaking back into his headquarters, Jordan learns from disloyal underling Slip that the two men he encountered outside the base were after the briefcase Jill discarded. An enemy spy ring has offered $ 50,000 for it. After retrieving the briefcase and its information, Jordan orders Slip to arrange an exchange. Later,

14017-532: The scope of hostilities. Many states that have abolished conscription still, therefore, reserve the power to resume conscription during wartime or times of crisis. States involved in wars or interstate rivalries are most likely to implement conscription, and democracies are less likely than autocracies to implement conscription. With a few exceptions, such as Singapore and Egypt, former British colonies are less likely to have conscription, as they are influenced by British anti-conscription norms that can be traced back to

14148-603: The situation had since changed with the 2013 and 2015 restriction removals. Miller's opinion was reversed by the Fifth Circuit , stating that only the Supreme Court could overturn the Supreme Court precedence from Rostker . The Supreme Court considered but declined to review the Fifth Circuit's ruling in June 2021. In an opinion authored by Justice Sonia Sotomayor and joined by Justices Stephen Breyer and Brett Kavanaugh ,

14279-498: The states sometimes drafted men for militia duty or to fill state Continental Army units, but the central government did not have the authority to conscript except for purposes of naval impressment . The 1789 constitution lists among of the enumerated powers of Congress the ability to create its own armies and navy for unlimited purposes, and to fund and regulate state militias that could be called up only for federal law enforcement and domestic defense. The new constitution also made

14410-477: The substitute provision to select which member should go into the army and which would stay home. Another popular means of procuring a substitute was to pay a soldier whose period of enlistment was about to expire—the advantage of this method was that the Army could retain a trained veteran in place of a raw recruit. Of the 168,649 men procured for the Union Army through the draft, 117,986 were substitutes, leaving 50,663 who had their personal services conscripted. There

14541-599: The three justices agreed that the male-only draft was likely unconstitutional given the changes in the military's stance on the roles, but because Congress had been reviewing and evaluating legislation to eliminate its male-only draft requirement via the National Commission on Military, National, and Public Service (NCMNPS) since 2016, it would have been inappropriate for the Court to act at that time. On 1 October 1999, in Taiwan ,

14672-412: The thugs surprise Jordan, knock him unconscious, and run off with the papers. Jordan tracks the spy ring to a botanical preserve on Long Island , where he finds Slip and a traitor named Kilpatrick holding the papers. Jordan grabs the documents and flees. The preserve's exits are immediately locked, but Jordan hides the papers and an explanatory note inside a man's umbrella. Jill, who has trailed Jordan to

14803-409: The total), compared to 2,442,586 White (86.9%). Along with a general opposition to American involvement in a foreign conflict, Southern farmers objected to perceived unfair conscription practices that exempted members of the upper class and industrial workers. Draft boards were localized and based their decisions on social class : the poorest were the most often conscripted because they were considered

14934-524: The war by forming the "American Peace Committee", which tried to organize a coalition of anti-war groups. This lasted until Germany attacked the Soviet Union in June 1941, whereupon they changed the committee's name to the "American People's Committee" and supported aid to Britain, the draft and other preparations for war. Of the more than 72,000 men registering as conscientious objectors (CO), nearly 52,000 received CO status. Of these, over 25,000 entered

15065-442: The work, military service, does not disappear even if no salary is paid. The work effort of the conscripts is effectively wasted, as an unwilling workforce is extremely inefficient. The impact is especially severe in wartime, when civilian professionals are forced to fight as amateur soldiers. Not only is the work effort of the conscripts wasted and productivity lost, but professionally skilled conscripts are also difficult to replace in

15196-414: The workforce is sophisticated and a replacement for a conscripted specialist is difficult to find. Even more dire economic consequences result if the professional conscripted as an amateur soldier is killed or maimed for life; his work effort and productivity are lost. Classical republicans promoted conscription as a tool for maintaining civilian control of the military , thereby preventing usurpation by

15327-691: The young boys trained over several years. Those who showed special promise in fighting skills were trained in advanced warrior skills, put into the sultan's personal service, and turned into the Janissaries , the elite branch of the Kapıkulu . A number of distinguished military commanders of the Ottomans, and most of the imperial administrators and upper-level officials of the Empire, such as Pargalı İbrahim Pasha and Sokollu Mehmet Paşa , were recruited in this way. By 1609,

15458-416: Was 25 years at the beginning of the 19th century. In 1834 it was decreased to 20 years. The recruits were to be not younger than 17 and not older than 35. In 1874 Russia introduced universal conscription in the modern pattern, an innovation only made possible by the abolition of serfdom in 1861. New military law decreed that all male Russian subjects, when they reached the age of 20, were eligible to serve in

15589-462: Was a violation of the Thirteenth Amendment 's prohibition against slavery and involuntary servitude. However, the Supreme Court unanimously upheld the constitutionality of the draft act in the case of Arver v. United States on 7 January 1918, on the ground that the Constitution gives Congress the power to declare war and to raise and support armies. The Court also relied on the principle of

15720-471: Was arbitrary and unpredictable for commoners. While the money lenders were not poor, several overlords tapped them for income. Levies became necessary for the survival of the overlord, allowing the lord to impose taxes at will. These levies included tansen tax on agricultural land for ceremonial expenses. Y akubu takumai tax was raised on all land to rebuild the Ise Grand Shrine , and munabechisen tax

15851-464: Was assigned to the organization. The passage of a conscription act was opposed by some, including Dorothy Day and George Barry O'Toole , who were concerned that such conscription would not provide adequate protection for the rights of conscientious objectors. However, much of Hershey's work was codified into law with the Selective Training and Service Act of 1940 (STSA). In the summer of 1940, after Nazi Germany conquered France , Americans supported

15982-617: Was based on considerations of equity, but Congress was entitled, in the exercise of its constitutional powers, to focus on the question of military need, rather than 'equity.'" In 2013, Judge Gray H. Miller of the United States District Court for the Southern District of Texas ruled that the Service's men-only requirement was unconstitutional, as while at the time Rostker was decided, women were banned from serving in combat,

16113-487: Was carefully drawn to remedy the defects in the Civil War system and—by allowing exemptions for dependency, essential occupations, and religious scruples—to place each man in his proper niche in a national war effort. The act established a "liability for military service of all male citizens"; authorized a selective draft of all those between 21 and 31 years of age (later from 18 to 45); and prohibited all forms of bounties, substitutions, or purchase of exemptions. Administration

16244-643: Was common during the Second World War: in Britain, it was commonly known as "call-up" and extended to age 51. Nazi Germany termed it Volkssturm ("People's Storm") and included boys as young as 16 and men as old as 60. During the Second World War, both Britain and the Soviet Union conscripted women. The United States was on the verge of drafting women into the Nurse Corps because it anticipated it would need

16375-431: Was entrusted to local boards composed of leading civilians in each community. These boards issued draft calls in order of numbers drawn in a national lottery and determined exemptions. In 1917, 10 million men were registered. This was deemed to be inadequate, so age ranges were increased and exemptions reduced, and so by the end of 1918 this increased to 24 million men that were registered with nearly 3 million inducted into

16506-538: Was expanded to meet national demand during the World Wars . In the United States, the Selective Service System drafted men for World War I initially in an age range from 21 to 30 but expanded its eligibility in 1918 to an age range of 18 to 45. In the case of a widespread mobilization of forces where service includes homefront defense, ages of conscripts may range much higher, with the oldest conscripts serving in roles requiring lesser mobility. Expanded-age conscription

16637-532: Was her first film role. The film was Ladd's second since becoming a star, and the first for which he was billed alone above the title. The film was retitled Lucky Jordan in July 1942. Ladd's briefcase in the film is the same that he had used as Raven in This Gun for Hire . He believed that the prop would bring good luck. In a contemporary review for The New York Times , critic Howard Thompson wrote: "[Ladd's] portrayal of Lucky Jordan will not disappoint, though

16768-519: Was imposed on all houses . At the time, land in Kyoto was acquired by commoners through usury and in 1422 the shogun threatened to repossess the land of those commoners who failed to pay their levies. The system of military slaves was widely used in the Middle East , beginning with the creation of the corps of Turkic slave-soldiers ( ghulams or mamluks ) by the Abbasid caliph al-Mu'tasim in

16899-474: Was much evasion and overt resistance to the draft, and the New York City draft riots were in direct response to the draft and were the first large-scale resistance against the draft in the United States. The problem of Confederate desertion was aggravated by the inequitable inclinations of conscription officers and local judges. The three conscription acts of the Confederacy exempted certain categories, such as

17030-531: Was to sell Ilkum lands and the commitments along with them. With the exception of a few exempted classes, this was forbidden by the Code of Hammurabi. Under the feudal laws on the European continent, landowners in the medieval period enforced a system whereby all peasants , freemen commoners and noblemen aged 15 to 60 living in the countryside or in urban centers, were summoned for military duty when required by either

17161-463: Was unpopular from left-wing sectors at the start, with many Socialists jailed for "obstructing the recruitment or enlistment service". The most famous was Eugene Debs , head of the Socialist Party of America , who ran for president in 1920 from his Atlanta prison cell. He had his sentence commuted to time served and was released by President Warren G. Harding on December 25, 1921. Also notably,

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