Argumentative Essay: Women In The Draft

President Franklin Roosevelt signed the Selective Training and Service Act of 1940 which established the Selective Service System as an independent Federal agency within the Department of Defense (Smith, par. 3). Young men were only drafted in America's greatest conflicts- the Civil War, Vietnam War, World War I, and the lead-up to World War II (Bandow, par. 3). Nearly 2.2 million men were drafted during 1961 to 1973 (South, par. 25). This practice continued during the Cold War as the U.S. sought to protect friendly war-ravaged states (Bandow, par. 3). From 1948 until 1973, young men were drafted to fill open spots in the armed forces which could not be filled through voluntary means (Smith, par. 4). The registration requirement was suspended in 1975 but it was resumed again in 1980, registration continues today as a hedge against underestimating the number of servicemen needed in a future crisis (Smith, par. 10). In 1973, the United States military went to full volunteer service that marked the end of the draft. Since the all-volunteer military has been active, there have been 144 executed operations compared to 19 operations prior to 1973 (South, par. 56). Currently, there have been talks of reinstating

Another thing that should prevent women to be in the draft is emotion. Women are complex beings with many chemical emotions causing them to react differently than men. Women’s brains perceive things in a more maternal way there for they consider circumstances differently. If a situation was complicated and needed an immediate reaction a woman might not be the right person to make an instant and thought out decision. She might reflect on it in a way that didn’t conjure what the troop needed at the moment. Women that are forced to be in war can easily get overwhelmed. Men can come through due to instinct after hundreds of years of being the ones who take care of the physical and difficult tasks at hand but women might not be as likely to react logically and can be easily inundated by the stress. Having maternal instinct rather than survival technique can be a vast disadvantage in combat causing emotion to be a handicap.

During the Vietnam War 27 million American men registered for the “Draft”. A American man was required to register for the draft at the age of 18. Men between the ages of 18-26 years old fought in Vietnam unless they were in college or Medically disabled. 80% of the middle and lower classes fought in the war, and about ⅔ of the men were volunteers to fight.

During the Vietnam War, Americans were selected for military service by a government agency called the selective service. Those young men between the ages of eighteen and twenty six were forced into an involuntary process called the draft. Protesting against conscription or “the Draft” had always been a part of wartime America. Though for many citizens the Vietnam War would be the drawing line. Mentioned in What’s Your Number? an article written by Historynet, the first drawing of numbers using a draft lottery system to select who would and would and would not be drafted for the Vietnam War took place on December 1, 1969 (Historynet 2009). This marks the beginning of turmoil and uncertainty for those men born between the years 1944 and 1950

The draft started on April 16, 1862 for the Confederate States during the Civil War. The Union then conducted their own draft on March 3, 1863. The Northern 1862 draft was an attempt to let states handle their own conscriptions, instead of the old volunteer militia. The next draft took place on September 16, 1940 for World War I and remained in effect continuously until 1973. The president, Woodrow Wilson, decided that “A draft was needed and nearly 3,000,000 soldiers were drafted following the Service Act of 1917.” (Understanding the U.S. Military Draft History 1). The reasoning behind President Wilson calling for the draft is because “Before the draft only 73,000 soldiers volunteered during the first 6 weeks of World War I” (Understanding the U.S. Military Draft History 1). Before July of 1973 “The draft was in effect continuously from 1940 to 1973” (Smith 1). This means that more than 10,000,000 men were drafted and sent off into battle throughout the past wars.

Then around the time of World War 2 there was another draft. This draft was known as the first peace wartime draft . This draft was confirmed on September 16th 1940. It declared that all men between the ages of twenty-one and forty-five had to register for the U.S army . This draft also required that all men drafted had to serve at least a year. During this period the time of twelve months was extended and this resulted in many soldiers leaving and going a wall. A common symbol found in the barracks of these soldiers was O.H.I.O. this stood for “over the hills in October” . Although many soldiers left during that time, many new people signed up to join because of the attack on Pearl Harbor. Not only did many new men register but the woman too. The woman’s jobs were usually paramedics and nurses .

During the time of the civil war, the south called for a draft in 1862,Which called for men between the ages of 18 and 35 to serve for three years. Then they dropped the age to 17 to 50 in case they had to fill in for another man. Abraham Lincoln drafted up to 300,000 men for a total of nine months. The Draft Act was the first to be mandatory to all male citizens or aliens who were american citizens. Married men were never drafted into the war not

As the US military opens combat roles to women, several politicians ask that registration for the draft be required for women, eliciting the support of some young Americans.

The draft began in 1940, when President Roosevelt signed the Selective Training and Service Act, requiring all men eighteen and older to sign up for the draft in case we ever have a lack of troops to defend America’s freedom, or another world war. In Rostker v. Goldberg in 1981, the Supreme Court decided that omitting women from the requirement to sign up for the draft was not, in fact, unconstitutional (Women and the Draft, sss.gov). However, as of today, there has been much speculation as to whether or not the gender restriction will be lifted.

By the summer of 1940, Germany had conquered France, and in September that year The Selective Training and Service Act of 1940 – the first peacetime conscription in United States history – was enacted requiring all men between the ages of 21 and 35 to register for the draft. My father registered for the draft and as an engineering student was given a deferment from active duty until after graduation.

Conscription was first used in the United States during the American Civil War. The Union sought troops by offering cash rewards to enlistees. Support for conscription was not widespread in the North, and public resistance culminated in the Draft Riot of 1863. Afterward the draft was suspended with the end of the war in 1865, and it would not return until the beginning of world war I. The restitution of the draft was the result of U.S. entry into World War I in April 1917. The Selective Service Act, signed by President Woodrow Wilson on May 18, 1917, created the Selective Service System. In the beginning it targeting male citizens age 21 to 30, the draft was eventually expanded to include all able-bodied men age 18 to 45. After the armistice

held today men and women between the ages of 18-25 would be drafted into an 18-month

One study (Binkin & Bach) found that many NATO and several WARSAW PACT countries employed women in combat roles during World War II. Russia was reported as using military women on the front lines. In Israel, where they are actually conscripted, women have also experienced armed combat. (Binkin & Bach) found that in the first phase of Israel’s war of Liberation, one out of every five soldiers was female and they shared equality in both offensive and defensive battle situations. Holm found that some 7,500 military women served in S.E. Asia during the Vietnam War. She maintains that these women proved the modern American military woman is fully capable of functioning effectively in a military role in a combat environment, even under direct hostile fire.

When it comes to combat assignments and the needs of the military, men take precedence over all other considerations, including career prospects of female service members. Female military members have been encouraged to pursue opportunities and career enhancement within the armed forces, which limit them only to the needs and good of the service due to women being not as “similarly situated” as their male counterparts when it comes to strength or aggressiveness, and are not able to handle combat situations.

Women are already fighting "shoulder-to-shoulder" with males in the U.S. military, according to Senator Kirsten Gillibrand (McAuliff, 2012). In fact about 144 women have died "in action" in Afghanistan and Iraq, McAuliff's article explains. About 900 women have been wounded in battle, but currently there is no "formal