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Selective Draft Law Cases
United States Supreme Court
245 U.S. 366 (1918)
Facts
In 1917, Congress passed an act to authorize the president to temporarily increase the military force of the United States. The act made it the duty of all men aged 21 to 30 to register themselves for the draft. The act further gave the president the power to, via proclamation, select 500,000 men from the body of those registered for active duty as well as a second body of the same number if deemed necessary. The act also gave the president the power to create local boards that considered exemptions based on disability, current-active-duty status, or religious conflict. Several persons required by the act to register (defendants) failed to do so and were prosecuted under the act. They all defended the charges by denying that the Constitution conferred Congress the power to compel military service by selective draft. The defendants further argued that Congress’s power to raise and support armies could be accomplished via volunteer enlistments and that the draft constituted involuntary servitude.
Rule of Law
Issue
Holding and Reasoning (White, C.J.)
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