![]() Thus, many 18-year-olds protested that they should not be forced to fight in a war if they had no say in electing the leaders… History of the DraftĬonscription during the 1960s took place under the legal authority of the peacetime draft, because the United States never formally declared war on North Vietnam. Draftees could be under 21 (18 at the youngest), and at that time, nobody under the age of 21 was allowed to vote. The Vietnam War draft was controversial because people who did not support the war and had no say in formulating war policy were nevertheless being forced to fight. Almost every American was either eligible to go to war or knew someone who was. Although the Selective Service’s deferment system meant that men of lower socioeconomic standing were most likely to be sent to the front lines, no one was completely safe from the draft. Ironically, as the draft continued to fuel the war effort, it also intensified the antiwar cause. Antiwar activists viewed the draft as immoral and the only means for the government to continue the war with fresh soldiers. Some sought refuge in college or parental deferments others intentionally failed aptitude tests or otherwise evaded thousands fled to Canada the politically connected sought refuge in the National Guard and a growing number engaged in direct resistance. ![]() While many soldiers did support the war, at least initially, to others the draft seemed like a death sentence: being sent to a war and fight for a cause that they did not believe in. ![]() Although only 25 percent of the military force in the combat zones were draftees, the system of conscription caused many young American men to volunteer for the armed forces in order to have more of a choice of which division in the military they would serve. military drafted 2.2 million American men out of an eligible pool of 27 million. During the Vietnam War era, between 19, the U.S. ![]() The military draft brought the war to the American home front. ![]()
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