18. The Cold War draft and the Korean War
In 1948 the Selective Service System was reactivated to meet the needs of the military as the Cold War began to unfold. The 1948 Selective Service Act required the registration of all men ages 18 to 26. A call to active duty could result in a term of service for up to 21 months, and five years of reserve service. A system was created for the purpose of drafting medical personnel for active military duty. In 1950 President Truman declared a national emergency after the North Korean invasion of their southern neighbor. During the ensuing Korean War and the American involvement until 1953, over 1.5 million men were drafted into the Armed forces. Additionally many WW2 veterans serving in the reserves were called up.
Following the Korean conflict opposition voices in Congress and the national press rose to protest the existence of compulsory military service during peacetime. Changes to the national military posture following the Korean War focused on the use of nuclear weapons, then deliverable only by the Air Force on a reliable basis. Manpower requirements of all services dropped throughout the remainder of the 1950s while the Selective Service System developed a complex pattern of deferments based on the lobbying of congressmen for the benefit of their constituents. But the draft remained in place, and was applied in a new and novel way during the 1960s.