Historians: Why was the draft abolished?

[Philosoraptor]

I'm old enough to remember watching Walter Cronkite and the Vietnam war on the evening news over dinner, watching men die every night, wondering when my number might come up.

I remember 58,000 men died, many of them drafted.

What was the reason the draft was abolished? And what would be the reason for bringing it back?

One thing though, MY son AINT' goin' to bush's war.

[lligrd]

1. It Was Aboloshed Because The People Said No More

Not so hard to figure out. What is hard to figure out is why it took so long. And how long into the next quagmure will it take for people to say the same.

[ClintonTyree]

2. After the fiasco in Viet Nam....

it was decided that a draft was no longer needed because we were in a "peacetime" mode. :rofl: The United States is NEVER in a "peacetime" mode. There's always someone or something we want to conquer or destroy, being the beacon of democracy and freedom that we are. :puke:

Having no culture of our own, America is intent upon destroying everyone else's. Bombs away!

[H2O Man]

3. Seceral reasons.

First, because the military recognized that unwilling participants were frequently the weak links in the troops. In a high school gym class, having the kids who are forced to participate in sports on your team can result in your losing a game. In war, it gets people killed.

Second, Nixon recognized the damage the war in Vietnam was doing within the United States. By doing away with the draft, he was attempting to relieve some of the domestic pressures. He also, unlike the current redident in the White House, did care about the opinions of the young people in the country.

There were other important factors, including some members of congress. The combination of those factors was what led to Nixon ending the draft.

[izzie]

5. I think you are right on this. They were trying to calm down things

after Vietnam plus I also think they had trouble with the powerful. Their sons were getting out of it and that also looked very bad. If they had no draft that part would be off the table. Those were the guys with the vote or could buy votes. So when the people wanted it gone it fit in with what was also best for them. That is a voice that the powerful does hear when it hits them. It is funny how times change things. During WW1 Germany, England had their best educated etc. on the front lines or in the battles. Even in Russia the royals were on the lines. I wonder why this was so and not so now. My guess is that these people really believed in that war and what they were fighting for. It turned out it was the death call for the elite in most of the countries that fought.

[Bitwit1234]

4. I was worried during the Viet Nam War

that my sons might get drafted. And now it is my grand sons and great nephews. I think the first two people to put on the uniform should be bush's two chippies....and the rest of the republicans butts who support this war. SEND ALL FIVE OF ROMMENYS SPAWN.

[Philosoraptor]

6. I remember the draft was HIGHLY unpopular.

I don't know how we made it through those years without at total societal breakdown.

[unc70]

7. The draft lottery and eliminating most deferrals/dodges

Before the lottery, the local county draft boards had nearly total control on who "qualified" for a deferment. At first, almost any excuse would do: have a child, college student, medical, critical occupation (teacher, ministry), or hardship. As the war progressed, various categories of deferment were eliminated; having a child (a la Cheney) was no longer enough.

Everyone knew that the Selective Service system was corrupt; as it became increasingly more difficult to avoid being drafted, the lottery was viewed as a fairer method. And it was. If your number came up, it was nearly impossible to avoid induction. (The NG was still a possibility, but they had long waiting lists for limited slots.)

Now with the sons of everyone at risk, the already-waning support for the war took a nosedive.

BTW in the first year of the lottery, each county was at a different place in the ordering by birth dates. One county might have reached its quota by number 150, another might be nearing 300. In later years, the was made uniform over the entire country.


It was all a lot more complicated than this.

[kenny blankenship]

10. draft board vs. LOTTERY : a very important point that is almost always ignored in draft flamefests!

(So often that one suspects that it is being deliberately ignored.)

Thank you for bringing it up.

The lottery system closed many of the loopholes that allowed middle class kids an easy out from the draft. Medical deferments could still be pursued and the rich still had an advantage in pursuing them. The very rich could shop for a doctor who would diagnose them out of contention (maybe, the Army doctor might disagree with a blatantly unfounded diagnosis).
But the rich ALWAYS will have these kinds of advantages no matter what system is used to fill out the ranks. The rich do not serve now at all, unless they choose to because, like a young relative of mine, they think that a war would be fun. And usually when they choose to it is of course in a leadership position (Westpoint route) which virtually ensures that they won't be shot at like common grunts.

The lottery (begun Dec. 1969) ended the automatic deferment for college attendance, thus precipitating the children of the middle class into the war. These were kids with time on their hands and money to travel. Within 6 months, Washington D.C. began to see the large antiwar demonstrations on a whole new scale. These would be the largest demonstrations in US history until the Bush era. News reports speak of the government districts of city being "shut down" by protest. The lottery got people's attention for damn sure - the attention of people with political representation in the system - even though Nixon's troop draw downs were supposed to bring about the quiet continuation of the war in a "Vietnam-ized" "wind-down" phase. No accident that in about 3 years of the lottery's inception, the US ground force participation in the war, and the draft itself, were to become history.

Now, although I know the lottery draft moved the country decisively against continuation of the Vietnam war, that doesn't mean that I'm totally sold on the idea of the draft ending this one. Yes, if a draft were announced and it were just like the 69-73 lottery, the Iraq war (US ground forces occupation) would come to an explosive end. Absolutely. But the Generals and warpigs who got us into this mess and who keep us there aren't so stupid that they would make the same mistake again. They know this history even better than we do. If there was a draft, they would try to avoid one that hits classes of people with a voice in our political system. (Granted, more and more strata are finding themselves without effective representation) They have spoken in previous years of a "skills draft". Maybe now, with the Surge on and grinding our troops down, and with all reserves having been thrown into the grinder, a selective skills draft would not come close enough to fulfilling their need for mass manpower. But maybe "lack of skills" could be used as a "qualification" to fill out the ranks. Those with the smallest prospects in civilian life could be preyed on by the Selective Service under a rubric of a "skills draft" - if the language were twisted in just the right way. The randomness (and assumed fairness) of the lottery were what ignited public opinion against the Vietnam war. A generation later, the selectiveness, the non-randomness of the proposed skills draft didn't seem to stir much resentment when the idea was being floated in the media. Most people assumed that oh, this doesn't mean me. They want techies.If the Pentagon and the War Party can define skills down to standards like "can fog a mirror", and "gets Presidential gym class awards for fitness" maybe they can have their so-called skills draft, keep 100,000 new GIs at all times in the pipeline (conscripted selectively from lower socio-economic brackets), and the people who can buy political representation won't complain.

[AnotherGreenWorld]

8. If everyone had a stake in the war,

the people would be more critical.

When it is primarily the poor who fight wars, people don't give a shit.

[hedgehog]

9. I don't remember the abolishment, but I remember when Jimmy

Carter was snookered into setting up the program to bring it back, It was Jimmy Carter who ordered that all young men register for the draft. The ACLU was going to challenge it in court, so I sent them some money. I never saw that the ACLU brought a case into court, so after that I was mad at both Jimmy Carter and the ACLU!

Poor Jimmy - he was a good man who had too much respect for the Establishment.