National service in the United States of America
Encyclopedia
National service in the United States of America has a long tradition, extending to the founding of the country. National service
takes multiple forms in the U.S.A., including community service
, military service
, and other forms.
lobbied heavily to ban a professional, standing army, and pushed for the creation of a universal and classified militia
system that obligated every physically capable male to render service. Though he failed to have such a clause written into the U.S. Constitution or Bill of Rights
, Jefferson continued to push for a universal and classified militia until his death in 1826.
Led by James Madison
and Alexander Hamilton
, the Federalists believed that a professional, standing army
under the control of the federal government was necessary.
The Federalists won the debate, in part because of circumstances beyond their control. The first of these circumstances was Shays' Rebellion
. The uprising was triggered by veterans of the American Revolutionary War
who were losing their farms to unscrupulous lenders and regressive Massachusetts
taxes that heavily burdened small farmers to repay the war debt from the very war they fought in. Individuals unable to pay were often thrown into debtors' prisons. The various local militias that comprised Shay’s "Regulators" went from town to town, shutting down Debtor’s Courts and tax collection. They were eventually defeated by 4,400 mercenaries hired by Governor Bowdoin in cooperation with Boston
financiers. The political spin from the incident was that militias could not be relied upon and controlled, despite the exceptional circumstances that caused some of the Massachusetts militiamen to rebel in the first place.
The second circumstance was the Battle of the Wabash
(Fort Recovery, Ohio) in the Northwest Indian War
in 1791. A force of 1,000 Miamis, Shawnees, Buckongahelas, and Delawares massacred a militia-heavy US Army under the control of General Arthur St. Clair. The Native Americans inflicted a 97% casualty rate on St. Clair’s force, making it one of worst losses in US military history. In response, President Washington and Congress raised the Legion of the United States
, a professional combined-arms brigade of cavalry, artillery, and infantry under the control of one of Washington’s old subordinates, General “Mad” Anthony Wayne. The Legion defeated the Northwest Territory Tribes at the Battle of Fallen Timbers
in 1794, thus affirming the place for a federally-controlled, standing army in the new country, ostensibly to fight Native Americans on the Frontier.
The door was closed on the issue with the Militia Act of 1792
. The 1792 Act codified the responsibility of all Americans in providing for the Nation's defense and mandated that every physically capable male between the ages of 18 and 45 be available for military service. The 1792 Act did not classify the militia (set service requirements according to age, i.e., 18 to 21 year-olds perform active service, 21 years and up perform voluntary or contingency service), or make the provision for select units (active-duty units that might serve alongside the regular Army), or provide uniform and detailed regulation throughout the States. Lastly, it did not provide financial ways and means to bring a National Militia into being.
In essence, the Militia Act of 1792 was a compromise between all parties. The Federalists would not have to pay for the militia, which was always a concern. Also, many of the Anti-Federalists did not want the Federal Government meddling in the regulation of their states' militias. They regarded it as an improper extension of federal power.
Washington and Jefferson remained skeptical. Both wanted a classified or select militia, and they predicted the inadequate results of the 1792 Act. In 1805, Jefferson attempted to improve the system as President, but his efforts did not gain the support of Congress. In many states, the militias gradually devolved until existing almost exclusively on paper by the 1840s.
, President James Madison
and United States Secretary of War
James Monroe sought a military draft, but Congress vehemently opposed it. Conscription continued to remain the domain of the States through levies to form militias. The federal draft was first applied in the American Civil War
, though on a very limited basis with only 2% of the Union Army being draftees. It was reinstated again for World War I
with the Selective Service Act of 1917
.
, President Theodore Roosevelt
's Secretary of War, Elihu Root
, pushed for a reformation of the old Militia System into a dedicated National Guard Bureau within the United States Department of War
. The resulting Militia Act of 1903
(also known as the Dick Act due to it sponsorship by Senator Charles Dick from Ohio), classified all American males between the ages of 17 and 45 as either part of the organized militia (the National Guard), or a member of the unorganized militia (all males within the age range who are not members of the National Guard).
On June 3, 1916, President Woodrow Wilson signed into law the National Defense Act of 1916. The 1916 Defense Act increased the size and scope of the National Guard and created the Junior ROTC and ROTC (Reserve Officer Training Corps) for high schools and college campuses.
(Burke-Wadsworth Act). The 1940 Selective Service Act was significant because it was the first time in US History that conscription was enacted in peacetime, in spite of opposition from religious groups. The Act also contained a provision allowing for conscientious objection. This clause was a distinct departure from the World War I era when many Conscientious Objectors were jailed. Under the 1940 Act, all males between the ages of 21 and 35 were required to register, with draftees being selected via lottery. Draftees were to serve for no more than 12 months, and their service was to be limited to the US or US territories only. The 1940 draft was not a popular program, but public sentiment changed with the bombing of Pearl Harbor
in 1941. To further conscription during the War, the draft age was lowered to 17.
During World War II, US participation was invoked at virtually every level of American society. Over 16 million men and women served in uniform, over 12% of a population of 130 million. Additionally, over 400,000 gave their lives; the largest sacrifice in any American war with the exception of the Civil War.
. Following World War II, US Army end strength dropped from 8 million in the spring of 1945 to 684,000 by 1 July 1947, a reduction of 89 divisions to 12. Over the next year it was reduced again from 12 to 10. Spurred by tremendous public pressure to “bring the boys home,” Congress had little interest in a “Who’s next?” mentality. Besides, with the advent of the nuclear era, all future wars would be fought with airplanes and atom bombs. Demobilization, in turn, was conducted without much forethought to its effects on readiness. In Germany
, as veteran American units were disintegrated, the remnants were rolled up into the ad hoc United States Constabulary
. In Japan
, the 1st Cavalry Division was at 25% manning its first year of occupation duty, with minimally trained teenagers as its only replacements. The Army had dropped its basic training requirement from 13 weeks to eight, and in November and December 1946 only four weeks were required. By 1950, the four divisions that remained in Japan were at 48.8% strength, with their combat service support units only at 25.9%. Lastly, of the three divisions sent to Korea in 1945 to prevent Soviet incursion there, two were deactivated and the third sent to Japan in 1948. These forces were further derelict in the absence of logistics and combat training. Between 1945 and 1950, the Army procured nothing except food, clothing, and medical supplies. No new weapons, vehicles, equipment, spare parts, or ammunition was thought necessary. Combat training was equally nonexistent.
To offset the rapid disintegration of the Army, General Marshall hoped President Harry S. Truman
and Congress would enact Universal Military Training (UMT), requiring all young men to receive one year of military training so the Army could expediently ramp up in time of war. This never happened, but when Army end-strength fell to a dismal 538,000 soldiers in June 1948, Congress begrudgingly passed the Selective Service Act of 1948
. Budget conflicts, though, resulted in adding only 100,000 new soldiers. Nuclear deterrence aside, America's occupation of Germany and Japan during this time was made possible by the absence of any insurgency, or a Soviet invasion.
General Marhsall ordered the War Department to produce a Universal Military Service pamphlet in 1944. General Marshall’s staff considered the pamphlet too controversial, so it was never disseminated. The pamphlet survived only in the archives at the Library of Congress
.
Despite General Marshal’s unsuccessful promotion of Universal Military Training immediately following World War II, he would get another opportunity when he became the 3rd Secretary of Defense in September 1950. In the Summer of 1950, the initial actions of the Korean War (including Task Force Smith) painfully demonstrated the US military’s lack of preparedness. In response, US military end-strength was increased from 1,460,000 to 3,250,000 by the Summer of 1951. Though the immediate problem was addressed, Marshall sought a permanent solution for national defense, and pushed strenuously for UMT. President Truman had been considering such a program for several years. Their combined efforts resulted in the Universal Military Training and Service Act of 1951.
The Universal Military Training and Service Act of 1951 set the statutory terms of service for the military at a minimum of 8 years, lowered the draft age from 19 to 18½, increased active-duty service time from 21 to 24 months, and contained a provision obligating all young American males to UMT. There was one catch in the legislation though. The UMT clause had to be activated by further legislation for it to go into effect. Despite successive attempts over the next several years, such legislation was never passed.
President Eisenhower took office in 1953 and ended hostilities in the Korean War. The Army and Marine infantries decreased in size. Eisenhower’s "New Look" defense policy shifted back to a reliance on airplanes and atom bombs, thus further decreasing the possibility of universal military service.
significantly damaged America’s desire for conscription
. The ‘search and destroy’ approach to counter-insurgency
degraded the fighting to virtual attrition warfare
. In turn, soldiers were placed in exceedingly difficult circumstances
that maximized hazards and multiplied provocations for misconduct and breaks in discipline. Seeking to insulate future military operations from the ups and downs of American civilian control of the military
, military leaders looked to examples like the Israel
i 1967 Six-Day War
as proof that all future conflicts would move so fast that there would be no time to train conscripts. Combined with the gaining influence of the Military-Industrial Complex
, the country was gradually sold on the virtues of a technologically-driven, professional military. In 1973, President Richard Nixon
allowed the draft to expire, and the all volunteer force was born.
In 1974, President Gerald Ford
granted amnesty to all draft evaders, and terminated the Selective Service Act (started in 1917) with Proclamation 4360, March 25, 1975.
reinstated the Selective Service System with Proclamation 4771, July 2, 1980. According to current Selective Service regulations, all American males between the ages of 18 and 26 are eligible for service. Failure to register within 30 days of a person’s 18th birthday may result in five years imprisonment or a $250,000 fine. Despite numerous court challenges to Selective Service, the Supreme Court has always upheld the sovereign right of the federal government to conscript.
and World War II
created the modern, American ethos for national service. First, the challenges of the Great Depression brought about large-scale, government-sponsored work programs to help rehabilitate the economy. The Federal Emergency Relief Administration
, Civilian Conservation Corps
, Public Works Administration
, Works Progress Administration
, and other agencies provided employment opportunities for millions of Americans while they performed a type of National Service. The results of these programs created most of America’s modern infrastructure.
Those Americans not involved in the fighting during World War II made direct contributions in other ways: rationing, price controls, purchasing war bonds, civil defense, and working in war industries. The War Production Board
, War Manpower Commission
, Office of Price Administration
, Office of War Mobilization
and other agencies were created to support the war effort.
established the Peace Corps
to provide assistance to developing nations. President Kennedy stated, "The wisdom of this idea is that someday we'll bring it home to America." Since that time, over 187,000 Americans have worked in 139 countries.
In 1964, President Lyndon B. Johnson
created VISTA (Volunteers in Service to America
), to assist in the War on Poverty
. VISTA originally included the National Teacher Corps, the Job Corps
, and the University Year of Action. The organization is now a part of AmeriCorps
.
and Michael Brown
formed City Year
in Boston. City Year enlists high school and college graduates to perform a year of community service and tutoring in K-12 schools. City Year became the model for AmeriCorps.
In September 1993, President Bill Clinton
signed the National and Community Service Trust Act of 1993, creating AmeriCorps
and the Corporation for National and Community Service
. AmeriCorps provides volunteers opportunities in non-profit organizations including JumpStart
, Habitat for Humanity, and Big Brothers Big Sisters of America
. Over two million Americans provide community service each year through AmeriCorps and its sister programs, Senior Corps
, National Civilian Community Corps
, Learn and Serve America
, and the U.S.A. Freedom Corps under the direction of the Corporation for National and Community Service.
) and Representative Charles Rangel (New York) introduced the Universal National Service Act of 2003 (S. 89 / H.R. 163). H.R. 163 failed in the United States House of Representatives
by a vote of 2–402 on October 5, 2004. On February 14, 2006, Congressman Charles Rangel (New York) introduced the Universal National Service Act of 2006 (H.R. 4752). The bill never made it out of committee. On January 10, 2007, Congressman Charles Rangel (New York
) introduced the Universal National Service Act of 2007 (H.R. 393). The bill never made it out of committee. On September 10, 2007, Time Magazine published a full issue dedicated to promoting National Service, signaling the beginning of a new public debate on the issue.
In January 2008, various military, civic, education, and social justice
leaders, including R. Sargent Shriver (founder of the Peace Corps
), Alan Khazei and Michael Brown (founders of City Year
), and Shirley Sagawa (1st Director of AmeriCorps
), in conjunction with 106 private organizations, started the Service Nation
Campaign. The stated goal of the campaign is to significantly increase voluntary national service in the United States.
On July 21, 2008, John McCain
announced he would speak at the Service Nation
Summit on service in a presidential candidate forum.
National service
National service is a common name for mandatory government service programmes . The term became common British usage during and for some years following the Second World War. Many young people spent one or more years in such programmes...
takes multiple forms in the U.S.A., including community service
Community service
Community service is donated service or activity that is performed by someone or a group of people for the benefit of the public or its institutions....
, military service
Military service
Military service, in its simplest sense, is service by an individual or group in an army or other militia, whether as a chosen job or as a result of an involuntary draft . Some nations require a specific amount of military service from every citizen...
, and other forms.
Military national service
Thomas JeffersonThomas Jefferson
Thomas Jefferson was the principal author of the United States Declaration of Independence and the Statute of Virginia for Religious Freedom , the third President of the United States and founder of the University of Virginia...
lobbied heavily to ban a professional, standing army, and pushed for the creation of a universal and classified militia
Militia
The term militia is commonly used today to refer to a military force composed of ordinary citizens to provide defense, emergency law enforcement, or paramilitary service, in times of emergency without being paid a regular salary or committed to a fixed term of service. It is a polyseme with...
system that obligated every physically capable male to render service. Though he failed to have such a clause written into the U.S. Constitution or Bill of Rights
United States Bill of Rights
The Bill of Rights is the collective name for the first ten amendments to the United States Constitution. These limitations serve to protect the natural rights of liberty and property. They guarantee a number of personal freedoms, limit the government's power in judicial and other proceedings, and...
, Jefferson continued to push for a universal and classified militia until his death in 1826.
Led by James Madison
James Madison
James Madison, Jr. was an American statesman and political theorist. He was the fourth President of the United States and is hailed as the “Father of the Constitution” for being the primary author of the United States Constitution and at first an opponent of, and then a key author of the United...
and Alexander Hamilton
Alexander Hamilton
Alexander Hamilton was a Founding Father, soldier, economist, political philosopher, one of America's first constitutional lawyers and the first United States Secretary of the Treasury...
, the Federalists believed that a professional, standing army
Standing army
A standing army is a professional permanent army. It is composed of full-time career soldiers and is not disbanded during times of peace. It differs from army reserves, who are activated only during wars or natural disasters...
under the control of the federal government was necessary.
The Federalists won the debate, in part because of circumstances beyond their control. The first of these circumstances was Shays' Rebellion
Shays' Rebellion
Shays' Rebellion was an armed uprising in central and western Massachusetts from 1786 to 1787. The rebellion is named after Daniel Shays, a veteran of the American Revolutionary War....
. The uprising was triggered by veterans of the American Revolutionary War
American Revolutionary War
The American Revolutionary War , the American War of Independence, or simply the Revolutionary War, began as a war between the Kingdom of Great Britain and thirteen British colonies in North America, and ended in a global war between several European great powers.The war was the result of the...
who were losing their farms to unscrupulous lenders and regressive Massachusetts
Massachusetts
The Commonwealth of Massachusetts is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States of America. It is bordered by Rhode Island and Connecticut to the south, New York to the west, and Vermont and New Hampshire to the north; at its east lies the Atlantic Ocean. As of the 2010...
taxes that heavily burdened small farmers to repay the war debt from the very war they fought in. Individuals unable to pay were often thrown into debtors' prisons. The various local militias that comprised Shay’s "Regulators" went from town to town, shutting down Debtor’s Courts and tax collection. They were eventually defeated by 4,400 mercenaries hired by Governor Bowdoin in cooperation with Boston
Boston
Boston is the capital of and largest city in Massachusetts, and is one of the oldest cities in the United States. The largest city in New England, Boston is regarded as the unofficial "Capital of New England" for its economic and cultural impact on the entire New England region. The city proper had...
financiers. The political spin from the incident was that militias could not be relied upon and controlled, despite the exceptional circumstances that caused some of the Massachusetts militiamen to rebel in the first place.
The second circumstance was the Battle of the Wabash
St. Clair's Defeat
St. Clair's Defeat also known as the Battle of the Wabash, the Battle of Wabash River or the Battle of a Thousand Slain, was fought on November 4, 1791 in the Northwest Territory between the United States and the Western Confederacy of American Indians, as part of the Northwest Indian War...
(Fort Recovery, Ohio) in the Northwest Indian War
Northwest Indian War
The Northwest Indian War , also known as Little Turtle's War and by various other names, was a war fought between the United States and a confederation of numerous American Indian tribes for control of the Northwest Territory...
in 1791. A force of 1,000 Miamis, Shawnees, Buckongahelas, and Delawares massacred a militia-heavy US Army under the control of General Arthur St. Clair. The Native Americans inflicted a 97% casualty rate on St. Clair’s force, making it one of worst losses in US military history. In response, President Washington and Congress raised the Legion of the United States
Legion of the United States
The Legion of the United States was a reorganization and extension of the United States Army from 1792 to 1796 under the command of Major General Anthony Wayne.-Origins:The impetus for the Legion came from General Arthur St...
, a professional combined-arms brigade of cavalry, artillery, and infantry under the control of one of Washington’s old subordinates, General “Mad” Anthony Wayne. The Legion defeated the Northwest Territory Tribes at the Battle of Fallen Timbers
Battle of Fallen Timbers
The Battle of Fallen Timbers was the final battle of the Northwest Indian War, a struggle between American Indian tribes affiliated with the Western Confederacy and the United States for control of the Northwest Territory...
in 1794, thus affirming the place for a federally-controlled, standing army in the new country, ostensibly to fight Native Americans on the Frontier.
The door was closed on the issue with the Militia Act of 1792
Militia Act of 1792
The Militia Act of 1792 was a series of statutes enacted by the second United States Congress in 1792. The act provided for the President of the United States to take command of the state militias in times of imminent invasion or insurrection.-History:...
. The 1792 Act codified the responsibility of all Americans in providing for the Nation's defense and mandated that every physically capable male between the ages of 18 and 45 be available for military service. The 1792 Act did not classify the militia (set service requirements according to age, i.e., 18 to 21 year-olds perform active service, 21 years and up perform voluntary or contingency service), or make the provision for select units (active-duty units that might serve alongside the regular Army), or provide uniform and detailed regulation throughout the States. Lastly, it did not provide financial ways and means to bring a National Militia into being.
In essence, the Militia Act of 1792 was a compromise between all parties. The Federalists would not have to pay for the militia, which was always a concern. Also, many of the Anti-Federalists did not want the Federal Government meddling in the regulation of their states' militias. They regarded it as an improper extension of federal power.
Washington and Jefferson remained skeptical. Both wanted a classified or select militia, and they predicted the inadequate results of the 1792 Act. In 1805, Jefferson attempted to improve the system as President, but his efforts did not gain the support of Congress. In many states, the militias gradually devolved until existing almost exclusively on paper by the 1840s.
The creation of the federal draft
During the War of 1812War of 1812
The War of 1812 was a military conflict fought between the forces of the United States of America and those of the British Empire. The Americans declared war in 1812 for several reasons, including trade restrictions because of Britain's ongoing war with France, impressment of American merchant...
, President James Madison
James Madison
James Madison, Jr. was an American statesman and political theorist. He was the fourth President of the United States and is hailed as the “Father of the Constitution” for being the primary author of the United States Constitution and at first an opponent of, and then a key author of the United...
and United States Secretary of War
United States Secretary of War
The Secretary of War was a member of the United States President's Cabinet, beginning with George Washington's administration. A similar position, called either "Secretary at War" or "Secretary of War," was appointed to serve the Congress of the Confederation under the Articles of Confederation...
James Monroe sought a military draft, but Congress vehemently opposed it. Conscription continued to remain the domain of the States through levies to form militias. The federal draft was first applied in the American Civil War
American Civil War
The American Civil War was a civil war fought in the United States of America. In response to the election of Abraham Lincoln as President of the United States, 11 southern slave states declared their secession from the United States and formed the Confederate States of America ; the other 25...
, though on a very limited basis with only 2% of the Union Army being draftees. It was reinstated again for World War I
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
with the Selective Service Act of 1917
Selective Service Act of 1917
The Selective Service Act or Selective Draft Act was passed by the Congress of the United States on May 18, 1917. 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...
.
Creation of the National Guard
After witnessing numerous problems with the Militia during the Spanish-American WarSpanish-American War
The Spanish–American War was a conflict in 1898 between Spain and the United States, effectively the result of American intervention in the ongoing Cuban War of Independence...
, President Theodore Roosevelt
Theodore Roosevelt
Theodore "Teddy" Roosevelt was the 26th President of the United States . He is noted for his exuberant personality, range of interests and achievements, and his leadership of the Progressive Movement, as well as his "cowboy" persona and robust masculinity...
's Secretary of War, Elihu Root
Elihu Root
Elihu Root was an American lawyer and statesman and the 1912 recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize. He was the prototype of the 20th century "wise man", who shuttled between high-level government positions in Washington, D.C...
, pushed for a reformation of the old Militia System into a dedicated National Guard Bureau within the United States Department of War
United States Department of War
The United States Department of War, also called the War Department , was the United States Cabinet department originally responsible for the operation and maintenance of the United States Army...
. The resulting Militia Act of 1903
Militia Act of 1903
The National Guard Bureau is the federal instrument responsible for the administration of the National Guard of the United States established by the United States Congress as a joint bureau of the Department of the Army and the Department of the Air Force. It was created by the Militia Act of 1903...
(also known as the Dick Act due to it sponsorship by Senator Charles Dick from Ohio), classified all American males between the ages of 17 and 45 as either part of the organized militia (the National Guard), or a member of the unorganized militia (all males within the age range who are not members of the National Guard).
On June 3, 1916, President Woodrow Wilson signed into law the National Defense Act of 1916. The 1916 Defense Act increased the size and scope of the National Guard and created the Junior ROTC and ROTC (Reserve Officer Training Corps) for high schools and college campuses.
World War II
With the anticipation of war in Europe, Congress passed the Selective Training and Service Act of 1940Selective Training and Service Act of 1940
The Selective Training and Service Act of 1940, also known as the Burke-Wadsworth Act, was passed by the Congress of the United States on September 17, 1940, becoming the first peacetime conscription in United States history when President Franklin D. Roosevelt signed it into law two days later...
(Burke-Wadsworth Act). The 1940 Selective Service Act was significant because it was the first time in US History that conscription was enacted in peacetime, in spite of opposition from religious groups. The Act also contained a provision allowing for conscientious objection. This clause was a distinct departure from the World War I era when many Conscientious Objectors were jailed. Under the 1940 Act, all males between the ages of 21 and 35 were required to register, with draftees being selected via lottery. Draftees were to serve for no more than 12 months, and their service was to be limited to the US or US territories only. The 1940 draft was not a popular program, but public sentiment changed with the bombing of Pearl Harbor
Pearl Harbor
Pearl Harbor, known to Hawaiians as Puuloa, is a lagoon harbor on the island of Oahu, Hawaii, west of Honolulu. Much of the harbor and surrounding lands is a United States Navy deep-water naval base. It is also the headquarters of the U.S. Pacific Fleet...
in 1941. To further conscription during the War, the draft age was lowered to 17.
During World War II, US participation was invoked at virtually every level of American society. Over 16 million men and women served in uniform, over 12% of a population of 130 million. Additionally, over 400,000 gave their lives; the largest sacrifice in any American war with the exception of the Civil War.
Post World War II: the question of universal military training
The downsizing of the US military after World War II, without proper regard to future threats, left America's forces ill-trained and poorly manned and equipped for the Korean WarKorean War
The Korean War was a conventional war between South Korea, supported by the United Nations, and North Korea, supported by the People's Republic of China , with military material aid from the Soviet Union...
. Following World War II, US Army end strength dropped from 8 million in the spring of 1945 to 684,000 by 1 July 1947, a reduction of 89 divisions to 12. Over the next year it was reduced again from 12 to 10. Spurred by tremendous public pressure to “bring the boys home,” Congress had little interest in a “Who’s next?” mentality. Besides, with the advent of the nuclear era, all future wars would be fought with airplanes and atom bombs. Demobilization, in turn, was conducted without much forethought to its effects on readiness. In Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
, as veteran American units were disintegrated, the remnants were rolled up into the ad hoc United States Constabulary
United States Constabulary
The United States Constabulary was a United States Army military Constabulary force. From 1946 to 1952, in the aftermath of World War II, it acted as an occupation and security force in the U.S...
. In Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
, the 1st Cavalry Division was at 25% manning its first year of occupation duty, with minimally trained teenagers as its only replacements. The Army had dropped its basic training requirement from 13 weeks to eight, and in November and December 1946 only four weeks were required. By 1950, the four divisions that remained in Japan were at 48.8% strength, with their combat service support units only at 25.9%. Lastly, of the three divisions sent to Korea in 1945 to prevent Soviet incursion there, two were deactivated and the third sent to Japan in 1948. These forces were further derelict in the absence of logistics and combat training. Between 1945 and 1950, the Army procured nothing except food, clothing, and medical supplies. No new weapons, vehicles, equipment, spare parts, or ammunition was thought necessary. Combat training was equally nonexistent.
- "Immediately following the end of World War II, General Jacob Devers, Chief of Army Field Forces, suspended all unit live-fire training even though the Army had a well-developed, wartime tested series of live fire exercises for squads, platoons, and companies. His rationale, and that of his successor, General Mark Clark, was simple: safety. Safety was a greater concern to the Army’s peacetime leaders than training readiness."
To offset the rapid disintegration of the Army, General Marshall hoped President Harry S. Truman
Harry S. Truman
Harry S. Truman was the 33rd President of the United States . As President Franklin D. Roosevelt's third vice president and the 34th Vice President of the United States , he succeeded to the presidency on April 12, 1945, when President Roosevelt died less than three months after beginning his...
and Congress would enact Universal Military Training (UMT), requiring all young men to receive one year of military training so the Army could expediently ramp up in time of war. This never happened, but when Army end-strength fell to a dismal 538,000 soldiers in June 1948, Congress begrudgingly passed the Selective Service Act of 1948
Selective Service Act of 1948
The Selective Service Act of 1948, also known as the Elston Act, , was a major revision of the Articles of War of the United States and established the current implementation of the Selective Service System...
. Budget conflicts, though, resulted in adding only 100,000 new soldiers. Nuclear deterrence aside, America's occupation of Germany and Japan during this time was made possible by the absence of any insurgency, or a Soviet invasion.
General Marhsall ordered the War Department to produce a Universal Military Service pamphlet in 1944. General Marshall’s staff considered the pamphlet too controversial, so it was never disseminated. The pamphlet survived only in the archives at the Library of Congress
Library of Congress
The Library of Congress is the research library of the United States Congress, de facto national library of the United States, and the oldest federal cultural institution in the United States. Located in three buildings in Washington, D.C., it is the largest library in the world by shelf space and...
.
Despite General Marshal’s unsuccessful promotion of Universal Military Training immediately following World War II, he would get another opportunity when he became the 3rd Secretary of Defense in September 1950. In the Summer of 1950, the initial actions of the Korean War (including Task Force Smith) painfully demonstrated the US military’s lack of preparedness. In response, US military end-strength was increased from 1,460,000 to 3,250,000 by the Summer of 1951. Though the immediate problem was addressed, Marshall sought a permanent solution for national defense, and pushed strenuously for UMT. President Truman had been considering such a program for several years. Their combined efforts resulted in the Universal Military Training and Service Act of 1951.
The Universal Military Training and Service Act of 1951 set the statutory terms of service for the military at a minimum of 8 years, lowered the draft age from 19 to 18½, increased active-duty service time from 21 to 24 months, and contained a provision obligating all young American males to UMT. There was one catch in the legislation though. The UMT clause had to be activated by further legislation for it to go into effect. Despite successive attempts over the next several years, such legislation was never passed.
President Eisenhower took office in 1953 and ended hostilities in the Korean War. The Army and Marine infantries decreased in size. Eisenhower’s "New Look" defense policy shifted back to a reliance on airplanes and atom bombs, thus further decreasing the possibility of universal military service.
The Vietnam War
The Vietnam WarVietnam War
The Vietnam War was a Cold War-era military conflict that occurred in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from 1 November 1955 to the fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975. This war followed the First Indochina War and was fought between North Vietnam, supported by its communist allies, and the government of...
significantly damaged America’s desire for conscription
Conscription
Conscription is the compulsory enlistment of people in some sort of national service, most often military service. Conscription dates back to antiquity and continues in some countries to the present day under various names...
. The ‘search and destroy’ approach to counter-insurgency
Counter-insurgency
A counter-insurgency or counterinsurgency involves actions taken by the recognized government of a nation to contain or quell an insurgency taken up against it...
degraded the fighting to virtual attrition warfare
Attrition warfare
Attrition warfare is a military strategy in which a belligerent side attempts to win a war by wearing down its enemy to the point of collapse through continuous losses in personnel and matériel....
. In turn, soldiers were placed in exceedingly difficult circumstances
Cannon fodder
Cannon fodder is an informal, derogatory term for military personnel who are regarded or treated as expendable in the face of enemy fire. The term is generally used in situations where soldiers are forced to deliberately fight against hopeless odds in an effort to achieve a strategic goal...
that maximized hazards and multiplied provocations for misconduct and breaks in discipline. Seeking to insulate future military operations from the ups and downs of American civilian control of the military
Civilian control of the military
Civilian control of the military is a doctrine in military and political science that places ultimate responsibility for a country's strategic decision-making in the hands of the civilian political leadership, rather than professional military officers. One author, paraphrasing Samuel P...
, military leaders looked to examples like the Israel
Israel
The State of Israel is a parliamentary republic located in the Middle East, along the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea...
i 1967 Six-Day War
Six-Day War
The Six-Day War , also known as the June War, 1967 Arab-Israeli War, or Third Arab-Israeli War, was fought between June 5 and 10, 1967, by Israel and the neighboring states of Egypt , Jordan, and Syria...
as proof that all future conflicts would move so fast that there would be no time to train conscripts. Combined with the gaining influence of the Military-Industrial Complex
Military-industrial complex
Military–industrial complex , or Military–industrial-congressional complex is a concept commonly used to refer to policy and monetary relationships between legislators, national armed forces, and the industrial sector that supports them...
, the country was gradually sold on the virtues of a technologically-driven, professional military. In 1973, President Richard Nixon
Richard Nixon
Richard Milhous Nixon was the 37th President of the United States, serving from 1969 to 1974. The only president to resign the office, Nixon had previously served as a US representative and senator from California and as the 36th Vice President of the United States from 1953 to 1961 under...
allowed the draft to expire, and the all volunteer force was born.
In 1974, President Gerald Ford
Gerald Ford
Gerald Rudolph "Jerry" Ford, Jr. was the 38th President of the United States, serving from 1974 to 1977, and the 40th Vice President of the United States serving from 1973 to 1974...
granted amnesty to all draft evaders, and terminated the Selective Service Act (started in 1917) with Proclamation 4360, March 25, 1975.
The Selective Service System
President Jimmy CarterJimmy Carter
James Earl "Jimmy" Carter, Jr. is an American politician who served as the 39th President of the United States and was the recipient of the 2002 Nobel Peace Prize, the only U.S. President to have received the Prize after leaving office...
reinstated the Selective Service System with Proclamation 4771, July 2, 1980. According to current Selective Service regulations, all American males between the ages of 18 and 26 are eligible for service. Failure to register within 30 days of a person’s 18th birthday may result in five years imprisonment or a $250,000 fine. Despite numerous court challenges to Selective Service, the Supreme Court has always upheld the sovereign right of the federal government to conscript.
Non-military national service
The Great DepressionGreat Depression
The Great Depression was a severe worldwide economic depression in the decade preceding World War II. The timing of the Great Depression varied across nations, but in most countries it started in about 1929 and lasted until the late 1930s or early 1940s...
and World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
created the modern, American ethos for national service. First, the challenges of the Great Depression brought about large-scale, government-sponsored work programs to help rehabilitate the economy. The Federal Emergency Relief Administration
Federal Emergency Relief Administration
Federal Emergency Relief Administration was the new name given by the Roosevelt Administration to the Emergency Relief Administration which President Herbert Hoover had created in 1932...
, Civilian Conservation Corps
Civilian Conservation Corps
The Civilian Conservation Corps was a public work relief program that operated from 1933 to 1942 in the United States for unemployed, unmarried men from relief families, ages 18–25. A part of the New Deal of President Franklin D...
, Public Works Administration
Public Works Administration
The Public Works Administration , part of the New Deal of 1933, was a large-scale public works construction agency in the United States headed by Secretary of the Interior Harold L. Ickes. It was created by the National Industrial Recovery Act in June 1933 in response to the Great Depression...
, Works Progress Administration
Works Progress Administration
The Works Progress Administration was the largest and most ambitious New Deal agency, employing millions of unskilled workers to carry out public works projects, including the construction of public buildings and roads, and operated large arts, drama, media, and literacy projects...
, and other agencies provided employment opportunities for millions of Americans while they performed a type of National Service. The results of these programs created most of America’s modern infrastructure.
Those Americans not involved in the fighting during World War II made direct contributions in other ways: rationing, price controls, purchasing war bonds, civil defense, and working in war industries. The War Production Board
War Production Board
The War Production Board was established as a government agency on January 16, 1942 by executive order of Franklin D. Roosevelt.The purpose of the board was to regulate the production and allocation of materials and fuel during World War II in the United States...
, War Manpower Commission
War Manpower Commission
The War Manpower Commission was a World War II agency of the United States Government charged with planning to balance the labor needs of agriculture, industry and the armed forces. It was created by President Franklin D. Roosevelt in Executive Order 9139 of April 18, 1942. Its chairman was Paul V...
, Office of Price Administration
Office of Price Administration
The Office of Price Administration was established within the Office for Emergency Management of the United States government by Executive Order 8875 on August 28, 1941. The functions of the OPA was originally to control money and rents after the outbreak of World War II.President Franklin D...
, Office of War Mobilization
Office of War Mobilization
The Office of War Mobilization was an independent agency of the United States government headed by Former Supreme Court Justice James F. Byrnes that coordinated all government agencies involved in the war effort during World War II...
and other agencies were created to support the war effort.
The early 1960s
In 1961, President John F. KennedyJohn F. Kennedy
John Fitzgerald "Jack" Kennedy , often referred to by his initials JFK, was the 35th President of the United States, serving from 1961 until his assassination in 1963....
established the Peace Corps
Peace Corps
The Peace Corps is an American volunteer program run by the United States Government, as well as a government agency of the same name. The mission of the Peace Corps includes three goals: providing technical assistance, helping people outside the United States to understand US culture, and helping...
to provide assistance to developing nations. President Kennedy stated, "The wisdom of this idea is that someday we'll bring it home to America." Since that time, over 187,000 Americans have worked in 139 countries.
In 1964, President Lyndon B. Johnson
Lyndon B. Johnson
Lyndon Baines Johnson , often referred to as LBJ, was the 36th President of the United States after his service as the 37th Vice President of the United States...
created VISTA (Volunteers in Service to America
Volunteers in Service to America
VISTA or Volunteers in Service to America is an anti-poverty program created by Lyndon Johnson's Economic Opportunity Act of 1964 as the domestic version of the Peace Corps. Initially, the program increased employment opportunities for conscientious people who felt they could contribute tangibly to...
), to assist in the War on Poverty
War on Poverty
The War on Poverty is the unofficial name for legislation first introduced by United States President Lyndon B. Johnson during his State of the Union address on January 8, 1964. This legislation was proposed by Johnson in response to a national poverty rate of around nineteen percent...
. VISTA originally included the National Teacher Corps, the Job Corps
Job Corps
Job Corps is a program administered by the United States Department of Labor that offers free-of-charge education and vocational training to youth ages 16 to 24.-Mission and purpose:...
, and the University Year of Action. The organization is now a part of AmeriCorps
AmeriCorps
AmeriCorps is a U.S. federal government program that was created under President Bill Clinton by the National and Community Service Trust Act of 1993 and later expanded by 50 percent under President George W. Bush...
.
The advent of the Corporation for National and Community Service
In 1988, social entrepreneurs Alan KhazeiAlan Khazei
Alan Khazei is an American social entrepreneur. He is the founder and chief executive officer of Be the Change, Inc., a Boston-based group dedicated to building national coalitions of non-profit organizations and citizens to enact legislation on issues such as poverty and education...
and Michael Brown
Michael Brown (City Year)
Michael Brown, Chief Executive Officer and Co-Founder, City Year, Inc.Michael Brown is Co-Founder and CEO of , an education-focused, nonprofit organization. In partnership with public schools, City Year deploys teams of City Year AmeriCorps members to schools to help keep off-track students in...
formed City Year
City Year
City Year is an education-focused nonprofit organization that partners with public schools to provide full-time targeted intervention keeping students in school and on track to graduate...
in Boston. City Year enlists high school and college graduates to perform a year of community service and tutoring in K-12 schools. City Year became the model for AmeriCorps.
In September 1993, President Bill Clinton
Bill Clinton
William Jefferson "Bill" Clinton is an American politician who served as the 42nd President of the United States from 1993 to 2001. Inaugurated at age 46, he was the third-youngest president. He took office at the end of the Cold War, and was the first president of the baby boomer generation...
signed the National and Community Service Trust Act of 1993, creating AmeriCorps
AmeriCorps
AmeriCorps is a U.S. federal government program that was created under President Bill Clinton by the National and Community Service Trust Act of 1993 and later expanded by 50 percent under President George W. Bush...
and the Corporation for National and Community Service
Corporation For National and Community Service
The Corporation for National and Community Service is a federal agency that engages more than five million Americans in service through Senior Corps, AmeriCorps, and Learn and Serve America, and other national service initiatives...
. AmeriCorps provides volunteers opportunities in non-profit organizations including JumpStart
JumpStart
JumpStart is an educational media franchise for children, consisting mostly of educational games, produced by Knowledge Adventure. The series is distributed as Jump Ahead in the United Kingdom...
, Habitat for Humanity, and Big Brothers Big Sisters of America
Big Brothers Big Sisters of America
Big Brothers Big Sisters of America is a 501 non-profit organization whose mission is to help children reach their potential through professionally supported, one-to-one relationships with mentors that try to have a measurable impact on youth....
. Over two million Americans provide community service each year through AmeriCorps and its sister programs, Senior Corps
Senior Corps
Senior Corps is a United States government agency under the authority of the Corporation For National and Community Service. Its stated mission is to provide aid to senior citizens in communities while promoting a sense of community...
, National Civilian Community Corps
National Civilian Community Corps
National Civilian Community Corps , or AmeriCorps NCCC is an AmeriCorps program that engages 18– to 24-year-olds in team-based national and community service in the United States. National Civilian Community Corps teams complete about four different six- to eight-week-long projects during their...
, Learn and Serve America
Learn and Serve America
Learn and Serve America is a United States government program under the authority of the Corporation For National and Community Service. Its mission is to provide opportunities for students nation-wide to participate in service learning projects, and to gain valuable experience while helping...
, and the U.S.A. Freedom Corps under the direction of the Corporation for National and Community Service.
Post 9-11
After 9-11, a variety of programs were initiated to encourage Americans to serve. President George H.W. Bush initiated the U.S.A. Freedom Corps within months of the attacks. On January 7, 2003, Senator Ernest F. Hollings (South CarolinaSouth Carolina
South Carolina is a state in the Deep South of the United States that borders Georgia to the south, North Carolina to the north, and the Atlantic Ocean to the east. Originally part of the Province of Carolina, the Province of South Carolina was one of the 13 colonies that declared independence...
) and Representative Charles Rangel (New York) introduced the Universal National Service Act of 2003 (S. 89 / H.R. 163). H.R. 163 failed in the United States House of Representatives
United States House of Representatives
The United States House of Representatives is one of the two Houses of the United States Congress, the bicameral legislature which also includes the Senate.The composition and powers of the House are established in Article One of the Constitution...
by a vote of 2–402 on October 5, 2004. On February 14, 2006, Congressman Charles Rangel (New York) introduced the Universal National Service Act of 2006 (H.R. 4752). The bill never made it out of committee. On January 10, 2007, Congressman Charles Rangel (New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
) introduced the Universal National Service Act of 2007 (H.R. 393). The bill never made it out of committee. On September 10, 2007, Time Magazine published a full issue dedicated to promoting National Service, signaling the beginning of a new public debate on the issue.
In January 2008, various military, civic, education, and social justice
Social justice
Social justice generally refers to the idea of creating a society or institution that is based on the principles of equality and solidarity, that understands and values human rights, and that recognizes the dignity of every human being. The term and modern concept of "social justice" was coined by...
leaders, including R. Sargent Shriver (founder of the Peace Corps
Peace Corps
The Peace Corps is an American volunteer program run by the United States Government, as well as a government agency of the same name. The mission of the Peace Corps includes three goals: providing technical assistance, helping people outside the United States to understand US culture, and helping...
), Alan Khazei and Michael Brown (founders of City Year
City Year
City Year is an education-focused nonprofit organization that partners with public schools to provide full-time targeted intervention keeping students in school and on track to graduate...
), and Shirley Sagawa (1st Director of AmeriCorps
AmeriCorps
AmeriCorps is a U.S. federal government program that was created under President Bill Clinton by the National and Community Service Trust Act of 1993 and later expanded by 50 percent under President George W. Bush...
), in conjunction with 106 private organizations, started the Service Nation
Service Nation
ServiceNation is the name of an organization campaign to increase support for expanding national service programs like the Peace Corps, Americorps, Senior Corps, and through service-learning experiences in schools and colleges...
Campaign. The stated goal of the campaign is to significantly increase voluntary national service in the United States.
On July 21, 2008, John McCain
John McCain
John Sidney McCain III is the senior United States Senator from Arizona. He was the Republican nominee for president in the 2008 United States election....
announced he would speak at the Service Nation
Service Nation
ServiceNation is the name of an organization campaign to increase support for expanding national service programs like the Peace Corps, Americorps, Senior Corps, and through service-learning experiences in schools and colleges...
Summit on service in a presidential candidate forum.
See also
- Alternative serviceAlternative serviceAlternative service is a form of national service performed in lieu of conscription for various reasons, such as conscientious objection, inadequate health, or political reasons. See "labour battalion" for examples of the latter case...
- Conscription in the United StatesConscription in the United StatesConscription in the United States has been employed several times, usually during war but also during the nominal peace of the Cold War...
- Service NationService NationServiceNation is the name of an organization campaign to increase support for expanding national service programs like the Peace Corps, Americorps, Senior Corps, and through service-learning experiences in schools and colleges...
- Greatest GenerationGreatest Generation"The Greatest Generation" is a term coined by journalist Tom Brokaw to describe the generation who grew up in the United States during the deprivation of the Great Depression, and then went on to fight in World War II, as well as those whose productivity within the war's home front made a decisive...
External links
- Americans for a National Service Act - Pro-national-service campaign