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Conscription is commonly known as the draft, but the concepts are not exactly the same. Conscription is

the compulsory induction of individuals into the Armed Services, whereas the draft is the procedure by

which individuals are chosen for conscription. Men within a certain age group must register with the

Selective Service for possible conscription, but conscription itself was suspended in 1973.

Conscription first came into use as a legal term in France in 1798. It derives from the Latin

conscriptionem, which refers to the gathering of troops by written orders, and conscribere, which

means "to put a name on a list or roll, especially a list of soldiers." A person who becomes a member of

the armed forces through the process of conscription is called a conscript.

Conscription typically involves individuals who are deemed fit for military service. At times, however,

governments have instituted universal military service, in which all men or all people of a certain age are

conscripted.

Most governments use conscription at some time, usually when the voluntary enlistment of soldiers fails

to meet military needs. Conscription by national governments became widespread in Europe during the

nineteenth century.

Some of the American colonies employed conscription. During the Revolutionary War, the American

government used selective, temporary conscription to fill the ranks of its military.

The United States used conscription again briefly during the Civil War. The Union Enrollment Act of 1863

drafted all able-bodied men between twenty and forty-five years of age. The act provoked a hostile

public response because it excused from military service those who were able to pay a fee of three

hundred dollars. The law incited violent public disturbances, called the Draft Riots, in New York City

between July 13 and 16, 1863. One thousand people were injured in the riots.

In 1917, one month after the entry of the United States into World War I, Congress passed the Selective

Draft Act (40 Stat. 76). The act created a government office to oversee conscription. It also authorized

local draft boards to select eligible individuals for conscription. The following year, the Supreme Court

upheld the constitutionality of conscription, noting that Article I of the Constitution gives Congress the

power to "raise and support Armies" (Selective Draft cases, 245 U.S. 366, 38 S. Ct. 159, 62 L. Ed. 349

[1918]).

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Congress instituted the first peacetime use of conscription in 1940 when it passed the Selective Training

and Service Act (54 Stat. 885). This act, which expired in 1947, enrolled those who served in U.S. armed

forces during World War II. In 1948, Congress passed the Selective Service Act (50 U.S.C.A. app. 451 et

seq.), which was used to induct individuals for service in the Korean War (1950

53) and the VietnamWar (195475). Presidential authority to conscript individuals into the U.S. armed forces ended in 1973.

No individual has been conscripted into the military since then.

In 1976, the Selective Service System was placed on a standby status, and local offices of the agency

were closed. President jimmy carter issued a proclamation in 1980 requiring all males who were born

after January 1, 1960, and who had attained age eighteen to register with the Selective Service at their

local post office or at a U.S. embassy or consulate outside the United States (Presidential Proclamation

No. 4771, 3 C.F.R. 82 [1981]). Those who fail to register are subject to prosecution by the federal

government.

In 1981, the Supreme Court upheld the constitutionality of requiring only men, and not women, to

register with the Selective Service (rostker v. goldberg, 453 U.S. 57, 101 S. Ct. 2646, 69 L. Ed. 2d 478).

The United States has never conscripted women into military service, nor has it ever instituted universal

military service. It has conscripted only individuals meeting certain age, mental, and physical standards.

Congress has allowed the deferral of conscription for certain individuals, including those who need to

support dependents or are pursuing an education. Among those who have been declared exempt from

service are sole surviving sons, conscientious objectors to war, and ministers of religion.