No Conscription League " This article is about a league in the United States . The British No Conscription Fellowship was formed in the United Kingdom when World War I was declared . " Formation . The No Conscription League in the United States was founded by anarchist Emma Goldman and Alexander Berkman in 1917 in response to the draft in World War I . It was enforced by the " Selective Service Act " of 1917 , which granted the federal government the right to raise a national army . It was viewed as a destroyer of the freedom to ethical and political choice granted by the constitution of the United States . The members of this league strongly opposed government enforced conscription ; they saw it as a violation of the liberty of American people . This oppression was justified by Woodrow Wilson ' s Espionage Act , which prohibited any action that interferes with the US military or government affairs . Many were prosecuted under this act , including those in the no conscription league . Those charged were fined a maximum of 10 , 000 dollars and were sentenced to up to 20 years of imprisonment . Manifesto . Emma Goldman and the members of her league published a piece of literature known as the No Conscription League manifesto . This document goes in great detail about the freedoms that we have as Americans , and how the government is oppressing our certain unalienable rights . She urges the nation for support and promotes that we need to protect and fight for our liberty as citizens . This pamphlet went into circulation with over 100 , 000 printed , which caused fear in the eyes of the US government . The following is the platform on which the league is founded , taken from the manifesto itself , " We oppose conscription because we are internationalists , anti - militarists , and opposed to all wars waged by capitalistic governments . We will fight for what we choose to fight for ; we will never fight simply because we are ordered to fight . We believe that the militarization of America is an evil that far outweighs , in its anti - social and anti - libertarian effects , any good that may come from America ' s participation in the war . We will resist conscription by every means in our power , and we will sustain those who , for similar reasons , refuse to be conscripted . " Gatherings . Emma Goldman and Alexander Berkman held a mass no conscription league meeting on June 4 , 1917 . In addition to Goldman and Berkman , speakers included Louis Baury , " Mother " Yusher , Stella Comyn Ballantine , Leonard D . Abbott , Katia Siebel , and Rose Yuster . After the police asked to see many participants selective service enrollment card . Many people did not have these cards and were detained and taken to jail . There was much fear due to the governmental restrictions such as the Espionage Act of 1917 . Government Responds . Due to the mass number of publications of this manifesto the government retaliated in defense to the people in opposition of the draft . Anti draft meetings were forbidden as well as those speaking out against the draft was to be arrested . In response to the mass meeting listed in the previous category Emma Goldman and Alexander Berkman were arrested with bail set at 25 , 000 dollars each . In the PBS time line on Emma Goldman regarding her arrest , “ Berkman and Goldman were found guilty of conspiracy against the selective draft law in New York City . They were fined $ 10 , 000 , sentenced to two years ' imprisonment , and immediately transported to federal penitentiaries : Berkman was sent to Atlanta State Penitentiary in Georgia and Goldman was taken to Jefferson City Penitentiary in Missouri ” .