First Peacetime Draft: U.S. Prepares for War
Congress passed the Selective Training and Service Act on September 16, 1940 (signed by FDR on that date), establishing the first peacetime military draft in American history. The law required all men between 21 and 36 to register, and 16 million did so within weeks. The first drawing was held on October 29, 1940, at the same glass bowl used for the World War I draft. Draftees served for twelve months, a term extended to eighteen months in August 1941 by a single vote in the House of Representatives. Without the peacetime draft, the United States would have entered World War II after Pearl Harbor with an army of roughly 270,000 men. Instead, it had 1.6 million under arms and the training infrastructure to mobilize twelve million more.
September 14, 1940
86 years ago
Key Figures & Places
What Else Happened on September 14
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