Selective service Act of 1917 - wikipedia Selective service Act of 1917 Selective Service Act of 1917 Other short titles Conscription Act of 1916 Enrollment Act of 1916 Long title An Act to authorize the President to increase temporarily the military establishment of the United States. Nicknames Selective Draft Act of 1916 Enacted by the 65th United States Congress Effective May 18, 1917 Citations Public law 69 - 96 Statutes at Large 40 Stat. 76, Chapter 15 Codification Titles amended 50 U.S.C. : War and National Defense U.S.C. sections created 50 U.S.C. Appendix § § 201 -- 211, 213, 214 Legislative history Introduced in the House as H.R. 3545 by Julius Kahn ( R -- CA ) on April 27, 1917 Passed the House on April 28, 1917 ( 398 -- 24 ) Passed the Senate on April 28, 1917 ( 81 -- 8, in lieu of S. 1871 ) Reported by the joint conference committee on May 16, 1917 ; agreed to by the House on May 16, 1917 ( 198 -- 179 ) and by the Senate on May 17, 1917 ( 65 -- 8 ) Signed into law by President Woodrow Wilson on May 18, 1917 Uncle Sam pointing his finger at the viewer in order to recruit soldiers for the American Army during World War I, 1917 - 1918. Sheet music cover for patriotic song, 1917 The Selective Service Act of 1917 or Selective Draft Act ( Pub. L. 65 -- 12, 40 Stat. 76, enacted May 18, 1917 ) authorized the United States federal government to raise a national army for service in World War I through conscription. It was envisioned in December 1916 and brought to President Woodrow Wilson 's attention shortly after the break in relations with Germany in February 1917. The Act itself was drafted by then - Captain ( later Brigadier General ) Hugh S. Johnson after the United States entered World War I by declaring war on Germany. The Act was canceled with the end of the war on November 11, 1918. The Act was upheld as constitutional by the United States Supreme Court in 1918. Contents 1 History 1.1 Origins 1.2 Effects 1.3 Differences from previous drafts 1.4 National registration days and termination 2 Draft categories 3 African - Americans 4 See also 5 Footnotes 6 External links History Origins At the time of World War I, the US Army was small compared with the mobilized armies of the European powers. As late as 1914, the Regular Army had under 100,000 men, while the National Guard ( the organized militias of the states ) numbered around 115,000. The National Defense Act of 1916 authorized the growth of the Army to 165,000 and the National Guard to 450,000 by 1921, but by 1917 the Army had only expanded to around 121,000, with the National Guard numbering 181,000. By 1916, it had become clear that any participation by the United States in the conflict in Europe would require a far larger army. While President Wilson at first wished to use only volunteer troops, it soon became clear that this would be impossible. When war was declared, Wilson asked for the Army to increase to a force of one million. But by six weeks after war was declared, only 73,000 men had volunteered for service. Wilson accepted the recommendation of Secretary of War Newton D. Baker for a draft. General Enoch H. Crowder, the Judge Advocate General of the United States Army, when first consulted, was opposed. But later, with the assistance of Captain Hugh Johnson and others, Crowder guided the bill through Congress and administered the draft as the Provost Marshal General. A problem that came up in the writing of the bill and its negotiation through Congress was the desire of former President Theodore Roosevelt to assemble a volunteer force to go to Europe. President Wilson and others, including army officers, were reluctant to permit this for a variety of reasons. The final bill contained a compromise provision permitting the president to raise four volunteer divisions, a power Wilson did not exercise. To persuade an uninterested populace to support the war and the draft, George Creel, a veteran of the newspaper industry, became the United States ' official war propagandist. He set up the Committee on Public Information, which recruited 75,000 speakers, who made 750,000 four - minute speeches in 5,000 cities and towns across America. Creel later helped form the American Alliance for Labor and Democracy, with union leader Samuel Gompers as president, to win working - class support for the war and `` unify sentiment in the nation ''. The AALD had branches in 164 cities, and many labor leaders went along although `` rank - and - file working class support for the war remained lukewarm... '', and the campaign was ultimately unsuccessful. Many prominent Socialist leaders became pro-war, though the majority did not. Effects By the guidelines set down by the Selective Service Act, all males aged 21 to 30 were required to register to potentially be selected for military service. At the request of the War Department, Congress amended the law in August 1918 to expand the age range to include all men 18 to 45, and to bar further volunteering. By the end of World War I, some two million men volunteered for various branches of the armed services, and some 2.8 million had been drafted. This meant that more than half of the almost 4.8 million Americans who served in the armed forces were drafted. Due to the effort to incite a patriotic attitude, the World War I draft had a high success rate, with fewer than 350,000 men '' dodging '' the draft. Differences from previous drafts Young men at the first national registration day held in association with the Selective Service Act of 1917. The biggest difference between the draft established by the Selective Service Act of 1917 and the Civil War draft was that substitutes were not allowed. During the Civil War, a drafted man could avoid service by hiring another man to serve in his place. This option was primarily used by wealthy men, and was resented by those who could n't afford it or considered it dishonorable. This practice was prohibited in Section Three of the Selective Service Act of 1917 : No person liable to military service shall hereafter be permitted or allowed to furnish a substitute for such service ; nor shall any substitute be received, enlisted, or enrolled in the military service of the United States ; and no such person shall be permitted to escape such service or to be discharged therefrom prior to the expiration of his term of service by the payment of money or any other valuable thing whatsoever as consideration his release from military service or liability there to. National registration days and termination During World War I there were three registrations. The first, on June 5, 1917, was for all men between the ages of 21 and 30. The second, on June 5, 1918, registered those who attained age 21 after June 5, 1917. A supplemental registration, included in the second registration, was held on August 24, 1918, for those becoming 21 years old after June 5, 1918. The third registration was held on September 12, 1918, for men age 18 through 45. The Selective Service Act was upheld by the United States Supreme Court in the Selective Draft Law Cases, 245 U.S. 366 ( 1918 ). The Solicitor General 's argument, and the court 's opinion, were based primarily on Kneedler v. Lane, 45 Pa. 238, 252 ( 1863 ), and Vattel 's 1758 treatise The Law of Nations. After the signing of the armistice of November 11, 1918, the activities of the Selective Service System were rapidly curtailed. On March 31, 1919, all local, district, and medical advisory boards were closed, and on May 21, 1919, the last state headquarters closed operations. The Provost Marshal General was relieved from duty on July 15, 1919, thereby finally terminating the activities of the Selective Service System of World War I. Draft categories Conscription was by class. The first candidates were to be drawn from Class I. Members of each class below Class I were available only if the pool of all available and potential candidates in the class above it were exhausted. Class Categories ( May 1917 -- July 1919 ) I. Eligible and liable for military service. Unmarried registrants with no dependents, Married registrants with independent spouse or one or more dependent children over 16 with sufficient family income if drafted. II. Temporarily deferred, but available for military service. Married registrants with dependent spouse or dependent children under 16 with sufficient family income if drafted. III. Temporarily exempted, but available for military service. Local officials. Registrants who provide sole family income for dependent parents or dependent siblings under 16. Registrants employed in agricultural labor or industrial enterprises essential to the war effort. IV. Exempted due to extreme hardship. Married registrants with dependent spouse or dependent children with insufficient family income if drafted. Registrants with deceased spouse who provide sole family income for dependent children under 16. Registrants with deceased parents who provide sole family income for dependent siblings under 16. V. Exempted or ineligible for induction into military service. State or Federal officials. Officers and enlisted men in the military or naval service of the United States, Licensed pilots employed in the pursuit of their vocation. Members of the clergy. Students who on or before May 18, 1917 had been preparing for the ministry in a recognized theological or divinity school. Registrants who were deemed either medically disabled ( permanently physically or mentally unfit ) or `` morally unfit '' for military service. Registrants shown to have been convicted of any crime designated as treason or felony, or an `` infamous '' crime. Enemy aliens and resident aliens. African - Americans The American military was entirely segregated at the time of World War I. While the Army had several regiments of black `` Buffalo Soldiers '', many white supremacist politicians such as Sen. James K. Vardaman ( D - Mississippi ) and Sen. Benjamin Tillman ( D - South Carolina ) staunchly opposed any expanded military role for black Americans. Nevertheless, the War Department decided to include blacks in the draft. A total of 290,527 black Americans were ultimately registered for the draft during the two calls of June 2 and September 12, 1917 -- 9.6 percent of the total American pool for potential conscription. Draft board officials were told to tear off the lower left - hand corner of the Selective Service form of a black registrant, indicating his designation for segregated units. The August 1917 Houston Riot, when armed black soldiers fired upon Houston police and civilians, also affected the War Department 's decision - making. The great majority of black soldiers were employed only in labor functions, such as road - building and freight - handling. Only two black combat units of were ultimately established -- the 92nd and 93rd Infantry Divisions. Black Americans were entirely excluded from the United States Marine Corps and were consigned to menial labor in the United States Navy for the duration of the war. See also Conscription in the United States Selective Service System Footnotes Wikisource has original text related to this article : Selective Service Act of 1917 ^ Jump up to : Leach, Jack Franklin ( 1952 ). Conscription in the United States : Historical Background. Rutland, Vermont : C.E. Tuttle Pub. Co. p. vi. OCLC 1727243. Jump up ^ Grotelueschen, Mark E. ( 2007 ). The AEF Way of War : The American Army and Combat in World War I. Cambridge University Press. p. 11. Jump up ^ Zinn, Howard ( 2003 ). People 's History of the United States. Harper Collins. p. 364. Jump up ^ Coffman, Edward M. ( 1998 ). The War to End All Wars : The American Military Experience in World War I. University Press of Kentucky. pp. 25 -- 28. Jump up ^ Weinstein, James ( 1969 ). The Corporate Ideal in the United States 1900 -- 1918. Boston : Beacon Press. Jump up ^ Zinn, pp. 364 -- 365. Jump up ^ Coffman, p. 29. Jump up ^ `` Selective Service System : History & Records ''. Retrieved 2005 - 12 - 27. Jump up ^ `` World War I Draft Registration Cards '', US National Archives ^ Jump up to : Swarthmore College Peace Collection, Military Classifications For Draftees, World War I ( 1917 ) ^ Jump up to : Williams, Chad L. ( 2010 ). Torchbearers of Democracy : African American Soldiers in the World War I Era. Chapel Hill, North Carolina : University of North Carolina Press. p. 53. Jump up ^ Williams, Torchbearers of Democracy, p. 54. Jump up ^ Williams, Torchbearers of Democracy, p. 2. Jump up ^ Williams, Torchbearers of Democracy, p. 6. External links Geheran, Michael : Selective Service Act, in : 1914 - 1918 - online. International Encyclopedia of the First World War. Strauss, Lon : Social Conflict and Control, Protest and Repression ( USA ), in : 1914 - 1918 - online. International Encyclopedia of the First World War. Wood, Margaret. `` World War I : Conscription Laws. '' Library of Congress Blog. September 13, 2016. Last accessed May 9, 2017. `` World War I. '' Library of Congress Online. Last accessed May 9, 2017. `` An Act To authorize the President to increase temporarily the Military Establishment of the United States. '' Statutes at Large. May 18, 1917, H.R. 3545. Last accessed May 9, 2017. An Act Amending the Act entitled `` An Act to authorize the President to increase temporarily the Military Establishment of the United States, '' approved May eighteenth, nineteen hundred and seventeen. Statutes at Large. Web. August 31, 1918, H.R. 12731. Last accessed May 9. 2017. Woodrow Wilson 28th President of the United States ( 1913 -- 1921 ) 34th Governor of New Jersey ( 1911 -- 1913 ) 13th President of Princeton University ( 1902 -- 1910 ) Presidency 1913 inauguration Suffrage Parade 1917 inauguration The New Freedom Clayton Antitrust Act Farm Loan Act Federal Employees ' Compensation Act Federal Reserve System Federal Reserve Act Federal Income Tax amendment Federal Trade Commission Act Federal Trade Commission Revenue Act of 1913 Flag Day National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics Occupation of Haiti Bryan -- Chamorro Treaty Philippine Autonomy Act World War I entry campaigns home front Committee on Public Information Espionage Act of 1917 Selective Service Act of 1917 Four Minute Men Sedition Act of 1918 National War Labor Board The Inquiry American Commission to Negotiate Peace Paris Peace Conference, 1919 Treaty of Versailles The Big Four Fourteen Points League of Nations charter 1919 Nobel Peace Prize Wilsonian Armenia Silent Sentinels Women 's Suffrage amendment Roosevelt desk Judicial appointments Supreme Court Cabinet State of the Union Address 1913 1914 1915 1916 1917 1918 1920 Life Birthplace and Presidential Library papers and manuscripts Boyhood home in Georgia Boyhood home in South Carolina Princeton University president Summer White House ( Harlakenden Shadow Lawn ) Woodrow Wilson House Gravesite Books Congressional Government When a Man Comes to Himself The New Freedom ( 1913 ) Elections New Jersey gubernatorial election, 1910 1912 Democratic National Convention 1912 U.S. presidential election 1916 Democratic National Convention 1916 U.S. presidential election Legacy Wilsonianism Woodrow Wilson Foundation Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs Celestial Sphere Woodrow Wilson Memorial Woodrow Wilson Bridge Woodrow Wilson National Fellowship Foundation U.S. Postage stamps U.S. Currency Popular culture Wilson ( 1944 film ) Profiles in Courage ( 1965 series ) Wilson ( 2013 book ) Woodrow Wilson and the Birth of the American Century ( 2002 documentary ) Family Joseph Ruggles Wilson ( father ) Jessie Janet Woodrow ( mother ) Ellen Axson Wilson ( wife, 1885 -- 1914 ; death ) Edith Bolling Wilson ( wife, 1915 -- 1924 ) Margaret Wilson ( daughter ) Jessie Wilson Sayre ( daughter ) Eleanor Wilson McAdoo ( daughter ) William McAdoo ( son - in - law ) Francis Sayre, Jr. ( grandson ) James Woodrow ( maternal uncle ) Related Progressive Era Jefferson Literary and Debating Society ← William Howard Taft Warren G. Harding → Retrieved from `` https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Selective_Service_Act_of_1917&oldid=834280487 '' Categories : 1917 in American law Conscription in the United States United States federal defense and national security legislation United States in World War I 1917 in military history 1917 in the United States 65th United States Congress Conscription law World War I legislation Talk Contents About Wikipedia Italiano 中文 Edit links This page was last edited on 4 April 2018, at 21 : 22. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution - ShareAlike License ; additional terms may apply. By using this site, you agree to the Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. Wikipedia ® is a registered trademark of the Wikimedia Foundation, Inc., a non-profit organization. About Wikipedia

Question: what did the selective service act authorized the government to do
Answer: authorized the United States federal government to raise a national army for service in World War I through conscription