| Shorttitle: | Selective Training and Service Act of 1940 |
| Longtitle: | An Act to provide for the common defense by increasing the personnel of the armed forces of the United States and providing for its training. |
| Nickname: | Burke–Wadsworth Act |
| Enacted By: | 76th |
| Effective Date: | September 16, 1940 Armand |
| Cite Public Law: | 76-783 |
| Cite Statutes At Large: | , Chapter 720 |
| Title Amended: | 50 U.S.C.: War and National Defense |
| Sections Created: | 50 U.S.C. Appendix § 301 et seq. |
| Introducedin: | Senate |
| Introducedby: | Edward R. Burke (D–NE), James W. Wadsworth Jr. (R–NY) |
| Passedbody1: | Senate |
| Passeddate1: | August 28, 1940 |
| Passedvote1: | 58–31 |
| Passedbody2: | House |
| Passeddate2: | September 7, 1940 |
| Passedvote2: | 263–149, in lieu of H.R. 10132 |
| Conferencedate: | September 14, 1940 |
| Passedbody3: | House |
| Passeddate3: | September 14, 1940 |
| Passedvote3: | 233–124 |
| Passedbody4: | Senate |
| Passeddate4: | September 14, 1940 |
| Passedvote4: | 47–25 |
| Signeddate: | September 16, 1940 |
The Selective Training and Service Act of 1940, also known as the Burke–Wadsworth Act,,[1] was the first peacetime conscription in United States history. This Selective Service Act required that men who had reached their 21st birthday but had not yet reached their 36th birthday register with local draft boards. Later, when the U.S. entered World War II, all men from their 18th birthday until the day before their 45th birthday were made subject to military service, and all men from their 18th birthday until the day before their 65th birthday were required to register.[2]
The first peacetime conscription in the United States, the act required all American men between the ages of 21 and 35 to register and be placed in order for call to military service determined by a national lottery. If drafted, a man served on active duty for 12 months, and then in a reserve component for 10 years, until he reached the age of 45, or was discharged, whichever came first. Inductees had to remain in the Western Hemisphere or in United States possessions or territories located in other parts of the world. The act provided that except in time of war, not more than 900,000 men were to be in training at any one time. Section 5 (g) of the Act contained a provision for conscientious objection:[3]
Nothing contained in this Act shall be constructed to require any person to be subject to combatant training and service in the land and naval forces of the United States who, by reason of religious training and belief, is conscientiously opposed to participation in war in any form.
Any such person claiming such exemption from combatant training and service because of such conscientious objections whose claim is sustained by the local draft board shall, if he is inducted into the land or naval forces under this Act, be assigned to noncombatant service as defined by the President, or shall if he is found to be conscientiously opposed to participation in such noncombatant service, in lieu of such induction, be assigned to work of national importance under civilian direction.
The draft began in October 1940, with the first men entering military service on November 18. By the early summer of 1941, President Franklin D. Roosevelt asked the U.S. Congress to extend the term of duty for the draftees beyond twelve months to a total of thirty months, plus any additional time that he might deem necessary for national security. On August 12, the United States House of Representatives approved the extension by a single vote;[4] Roosevelt's former Secretary of War Harry Woodring was among those opposed, writing to Senator Arthur Vandenberg that voluntary enlistment had not been fully tried.[5] As Under Secretary of the Army Karl R. Bendetsen said in an oral history interview, "Mr. Rayburn banged the gavel at a critical moment and declared the Bill had passed."[6] The Senate approved it by a wider margin, and Roosevelt signed the Service Extension Act of 1941 into law on August 18.
Some of the soldiers drafted in October 1940 talked about desertion once their original twelve-month obligation ended. Some painted the letters "O H I O" on the walls of their barracks in protest. These letters were an acronym for "Over the hill in October". In August 1941 the Congress extended the tour of duty--it passed the House by a one-vote margin--and O H I O collapsed.[7] Following the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, on December 7, 1941, millions of American men entered the United States military's ranks both by volunteering and by conscription.
Congress declared war in December, and amendments to the Selective Training and Service Act on December 20, 1941, made all men between the ages of 20 and 44 liable for military service, and required all men between the ages of 18 and 64 to register. The terminal point of service was extended to the duration of the conflict plus six months. Another amendment, signed on November 13, 1942, made the registered 18- and 19-year-olds liable for military service. From October 1940 until March 1947, when the wartime Selective Training and Service Act expired after extensions by Congress, over 10,000,000 men were inducted.
| Class | Description | Date established | Date abolished |
|---|---|---|---|
| I-A | Nominally available for military service. | ||
| I-A (B) | Nominally available for limited military service, but below standards for general military service. | ||
| I-A (H) | Nominally available for military service, age 38 to 44 inclusive. | ||
| I-A (L) | Nominally available for limited military service. | ||
| I-A, Remediable | Nominally available for military service after correction of defects. | ||
| I-A-O | Nominally available for noncombatant military service (conscientious objector). | ||
| I-A-O (B) | Nominally available for limited military service, but below standards for general military service (conscientious objector and applicable to ages 18 to 25 only). | ||
| I-A-O (H) | Nominally available for noncombatant military service, age 38 to 44 inclusive. | ||
| I-A-O (L) | Nominally available for noncombatant limited military service (conscientious objector). | ||
| I-A-O, Remediable | Nominally available for noncombatant military service after correction of defects (conscientious objector). | ||
| I-B | Nominally available for limited military service. | ||
| I-B, Remediable | Nominally available for limited military service after correction of defects. | ||
| I-B-O | Conscientious objector nominally available for limited noncombatant military service. | ||
| I-B-O, Remediable | Nominally available for limited noncombatant military service after correction of defects. | ||
| I-C, Inducted | Inducted member of armed forces. | ||
| I-C, Enlisted | Enlisted member of armed forces. | ||
| I-C, Discharged | Discharged (honorably) from the armed forces. | ||
| I-C Deceased | Deceased while in Class I-C. | ||
| I-C (H) | Enlisted or inducted member of armed forces, age 38 to 44 inclusive. | ||
| I-D | Deferred student, nominally available for general military service and available not later than July 1, 1941. | ||
| I-D-O | Deferred student, nominally available for general noncombatant military service. | ||
| I-E | Deferred student, nominally available for limited military service and available not later than July 1, 1941. | ||
| I-E-O | Deferred student, nominally available for limited noncombatant military service. | ||
| I-G | Member of or honorably separated from armed forces of cobelligerent nation, later extended to include registrants separated from American Field Service or Merchant Marine and persons interned by an enemy nation. | ||
| I-H | Deferred, aged 28 and over (men who had attained the 28th anniversary of the date of their birth on or before July 1, 1941, or on the 1st day of July of any subsequent year, and were therefore, not acceptable to the armed forces). | ||
| Class | Description | Date established | Date abolished |
|---|---|---|---|
| II-A | Deferred in support of national health, safety, or interest (merged into Class II-B effective Aug 31 1945). | ||
| II-A (F) | II-A previously rejected for military service. | ||
| II-A (H) | Deferred in support of national health, safety, or interest, age 38 to 44 inclusive. | ||
| II-A (L) | II-A previously found qualified for limited military service | ||
| II-B | Deferred in war production. | ||
| II-B (F) | II-B previously rejected for military service. | ||
| II-B (H) | Deferred in war production, age 38 to 44 inclusive. | ||
| II-B (L) | II-B previously found qualified for limited military service. | ||
| II-C | Deferred in agriculture. | ||
| II-C (F) | II-C previously rejected for military service. | ||
| II-C (H) | Deferred in agriculture, age 38 to 44 inclusive. | ||
| II-C (L) | II-C previously found qualified for limited military service. | ||
| Class | Description | Date established | Date abolished |
|---|---|---|---|
| III-A | Deferred for dependency reasons (re-established Nov 15 1945). | ||
| III-A (H) | Deferred for dependency reasons. age 38 to 44 inclusive. | ||
| III-B | Deferred both by reason of dependency and occupation essential to the war effort. | ||
| III-B (H) | Deferred both by reason of dependency and occupation essential to the war effort, age 38 to 44 inclusive. | ||
| III-C | Deferred both by reason of dependency and by agricultural occupation. | ||
| III-C (H) | Deferred both by reason of dependency and by agricultural occupation, age 38 to 44 inclusive. | ||
| III-D | Deferred by reason of extreme hardship and privation to wife, child, or parent. | ||
| III-D (H) | Deferred by reason of extreme hardship and privation to wife, child, or parent, age 38 to 44 inclusive. | ||
| Class | Description | Date established | Date abolished | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| IV-A | Man who had completed service. This classification was applicable in time of peace only, and on Dec 11 1941, local boards were ordered to reclassify all men in this class. | |||
| IV-A | A reappearance of the old IV-A, this time for men deferred by reason of age. From Nov 18 1942 to Oct 5 1944, men 45 and older were classified in Class IV-A. From Jan 1 1943, men 38 to 44 years old were classified in Class IV-H. The latter class was eliminated on Mar 6 1943 with the introduction of the "(H)" identifier. On Oct 5 1944, the "(H)" identifier was eliminated, except for men already in the armed forces, and those men so classified were ordered reclassified into Class IV-A. On Jul 6 1945, the regulations governing Class IV-A were simplified to include all men 38 and older. | |||
| IV-B | Public official deferred by law. | |||
| IV-B (H) | Public official deferred by law, age 38 to 44 inclusive, | |||
| IV-C | Any alien. | |||
| IV-C | Reconstructed for enemy alien not acceptable to armed forces and certain neutral aliens. | |||
| IV-C | Any registrant, whether a national of the United States or an alien who because of his nationality or ancestry was within a class of persons not acceptable to armed forces or to Director of Selective Service for work of national importance. | |||
| IV-C (H) | Any registrant, whether a national of the United States or an alien who because of his nationality or ancestry was within a class of persons not acceptable to armed forces or to Director of Selective Service for work of national importance, age 38 to 44 inclusive. | |||
| IV-D | Minister of religion or divinity student. | |||
| IV-D (H) | Minister of religion or divinity student, age 38 to 44 inclusive. | |||
| IV-E | Conscientious objector, available for or assigned to civilian work of national importance. | |||
| IV-E (B) | Conscientious objector, under 26 years of age, acceptable under lowered physical standards for work of national importance. | |||
| IV-E, Deceased | Deceased while in Class IV-E. | |||
| IV-E, Discharged | Conscientious objector separated from work of national importance by issuance of a Certificate of Release. | |||
| IV-E-H | Conscientious objector, deferred by reason of being 28 and over. | |||
| IV-E (H) | Conscientious objector, available for or assigned to civilian work of national importance, age 38 to 44 inclusive. | |||
| IV-E (L) | Conscientious objector qualified for limited service. | |||
| IV-E-LS | Conscientious objector available for limited service in civilian work of national importance. | |||
| IV-E-S | Conscientious objector who would otherwise be in Class I-D or I-E. | |||
| IV-E, Separated | Conscientious objector separated from work of national importance other than by issuance of a Certificate of Release. | |||
| IV-F | Rejected for military service, physical, mental, or moral reasons. | |||
| IV-F (H) | Rejected for military service, physical, mental, or moral reasons, and age 38 to 44 inclusive. | |||
| IV-H | Deferred, age 38 to 44 inclusive. |
In 1947, President Harry S. Truman gave a full pardon to 1,523 people convicted of violating the Act.[8]