14. Opposition to the draft during World War One
As with all of America’s iterations of conscription, that of the First World War met with opposition both socially and politically. Conscientious objectors were punished by the military for non-compliance with the law, often in the army prison at Fort Leavenworth, Kansas. In 1918 the army created military tribunals to consider the cases of conscientious objectors and others who were opposed to the draft. The tribunals found over 500 to be insincere in their objections and those convicted were for a wide variety of crimes. At least 17 were sentenced to death, though most sentences were commuted after the war. The Selective Service Act granted conscientious objector status to members of the Amish, Quaker, Mennonite, and Church of the Brethren congregations only.
Political opposition to the draft (as well as to American involvement in the war) came from several sources, including radicals, socialists, anarchists, and some labor unions. Political opposition led to legal challenges to the Selective Service Act which reached the Supreme Court in 1918. The opponents to the Selective Service Act presented the argument that the law violated the 13th Amendment to the Constitution, which had barred involuntary servitude and slavery in the United States. The Supreme Court ruled in 1918 that the Act was constitutional. The draft ended with the war in 1918, and in 1926 the Army designed a modernized draft process and system, though it did not immediately impose it.