World War II - America's First Peacetime Draft

by Chris Calle

Title

World War II - America's First Peacetime Draft

Artist

Chris Calle

Medium

Painting - Mixed Media On Cold Press Illustration Board

Description

One of the most controversial bits of legislation to ever enter the hallowed halls of Congress was the Selective Training and Service Act of 1940. Only after weeks of intense and heated debate did it pass in September of that year to authorize the first peacetime draft in the history of the nation. The new law required men between the ages of twenty-one and thirty-five to register at local draft boards across the country on October 16 -- over sixteen million men registered. Two weeks later, U.S. President Franklin D. Roosevelt watched as Secretary of War Henry L. Stimson plucked the first number in the draft from a bowl filled with capsules numbered 1 to 8,994. The number was one hundred fifty-eight; 6,175 men across the nation held that honor. Those who were deemed qualified for service were then required to report for duty. Local draft boards classified individuals in more than a dozen different categories. Some were 1-A, meaning "available for military service;" others were classified as 4-F which were rejected as "physically, mentally or morally unfit for service." In all, some sixteen million Americans served their country during the war. Some were volunteers, but the vast majority were drafted under the terms of that controversial act of 1940.

Please note the "Fine Art America" watermark will not appear on the painting or any print reproduction.

Artwork Copyright © 1991 Wind River Studios Holdings, Inc. All Rights Reserved under United States and international copyright laws. You may not reproduce, distribute, transmit, or otherwise exploit the Artwork in any way. Any sale of the physical original does not include or convey the Copyright or any right comprised in the Copyright. WRSH Stock Number XB13103

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July 21st, 2022

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