Selective Training and Service Act of 1940


The Selective Training and Service Act of 1940, also known as the Burke–Wadsworth Act,, 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.

Effects of the Act

The first peacetime conscription in the United States, the act required all American men between the ages of 21 and 45 to register for the draft. Draftees were selected by national lottery. If drafted, a man served on active duty for 12 months, and then in a reserve component for 10 years or until he reached the age of 45, 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 not more than 900,000 men were to be in training at any one time.

Section 5 of the Act contained a provision for conscientious objection:

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.

World War II draft

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 could deem necessary for national security. On August 12, the United States House of Representatives approved the extension by a single vote; 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. 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." The Senate approved it by a wider margin, and Roosevelt signed the Service Extension Act of 1941 into law on August 18.
Many of the soldiers drafted in October 1940 threatened to desert once the original twelve months of their service was up. Many of these men 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", which meant that the men intended to desert upon the end of their twelve months of duty. Desertions did occur, but they were not widespread. Following the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, on December 7, 1941, millions of American men entered the United States military's ranks both by volunteering and by conscription.
After the United States entered World War II, 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 six months after the war. Another amendment signed on November 13, 1942, called the registered 18- and 19-year-olds into 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.

Draft classifications

Class I: Acceptable for military service

ClassDescriptionDate establishedDate abolished
I-AAcceptable for military service.10-4-403-31-47
I-A Acceptable for limited military service, below standards for general military service.5-26-4511-27-46
I-A Acceptable for military service, age 38 to 44 inclusive.3-6-4310-5-44
I-A Available for limited military service.7-15-4310-5-44
I-A, RemediableAvailable for military service after correction of defects.2-26-428-18-42
I-A-OAvailable for noncombatant military service.10-4-403-31-47
I-A-O Acceptable for limited military service, below standards for general military service.5-26-4511-27-46
I-A-O Available for noncombatant military service, age 38 to 44 inclusive.3-6-4310-5-44
I-A-O Available for noncombatant limited military service.7-15-4310-5-44
I-A-O, RemediableAvailable for noncombatant military service after correction of defects.2-26-428-18-42
I-BAvailable for limited military service.10-4-408-18-42
I-B, RemediableAcceptable for limited military service after correction of defects.10-4-408-18-42
I-B-OConscientious objector available for limited noncombatant military service.10-4-408-18-42
I-B-O, RemediableAvailable for limited noncombatant military service after correction of defects.10-4-408-18-42
I-C, InductedInducted member of armed forces.10-4-403-31-47
I-C, EnlistedEnlisted member of armed forces.10-4-403-31-47
I-C, DischargedDischarged from the armed forces.10-5-443-31-47
I-C DeceasedDeceased while in Class I-C.4-21-443-31-47
I-C Enlisted or inducted member of armed forces, age 38 to 44 inclusive.3-6-443-31-47
I-DDeferred student, fit for general military service and available not later than July 1, 1941.10-4-408-31-41
I-D-ODeferred student, fit for general noncombatant military service.10-4-408-31-41
I-EDeferred student, fit for limited military service and available not later than July 1, 1941.10-4-408-31-41
I-E-ODeferred student, fit for limited noncombatant military service.10-4-408-31-41
I-GMember 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.5-23-453-31-47
I-HDeferred, aged 28 and over.8-31-4111-18-42

Class II: Deferred because of occupation

ClassDescriptionDate establishedDate abolished
II-ADeferred in support of national health, safety, or interest.10-4-408-31-45
II-A II-A previously rejected for military service.4-21-4411-27-46
II-A Deferred in support of national health, safety, or interest, age 38 to 44 inclusive.3-6-4310-5-44
II-A II-A previously found qualified for limited military service4-21-442-15-46
II-BDeferred in war production.10-4-403-31-47
II-B II-B previously rejected for military service.4-21-448-31-45
II-B Deferred in war production, age 38 to 44 inclusive.3-6-4310-5-44
II-B II-B previously found qualified for limited military service.4-21-448-31-45
II-CDeferred in agriculture.11-18-423-31-47
II-C II-C previously rejected for military service.4-21-4411-27-46
II-C Deferred in agriculture, age 38 to 44 inclusive.3-6-4310-5-44
II-C II-C previously found qualified for limited military service.4-21-442-15-46

Class III: Deferred because of dependency

ClassDescriptionDate establishedDate abolished
III-ADeferred for dependency reasons.10-4-4012-11-43
III-A Deferred for dependency reasons. age 38 to 44 inclusive.3-6-4312-11-43
III-BDeferred both by reason of dependency and occupation essential to the war effort.4-23-424-12-43
III-B Deferred both by reason of dependency and occupation essential to the war effort, age 38 to 44 inclusive.3-6-434-12-43
III-CDeferred both by reason of dependency and by agricultural occupation.11-18-422-17-44
III-C Deferred both by reason of dependency and by agricultural occupation, age 38 to 44 inclusive.3-6-4310-5-44
III-DDeferred by reason of extreme hardship and privation to wife, child, or parent.4-12-433-31-47
III-D Deferred by reason of extreme hardship and privation to wife, child, or parent, age 38 to 44 inclusive.4-12-4310-5-44

Class IV: Unacceptable for military service

ClassDescriptionDate establishedDate abolished
IV-AMan who had completed service. This classification was applicable in time of peace only, and on 12-11-41, local boards were ordered to reclassify all men in this class.10-4-4011-18-42
IV-AA reappearance of the old IV-A, this time for men deferred by reason of age. From 11-18-42 to 10-5-44, men 45 and older were classified in Class IV-A. From 1-1-43, men 38 to 44 years old were classified in Class IV-H. The latter class was eliminated on 3-6-43 with the introduction of the "" identifier. On 10-5-44, the "" identifier was eliminated, except for men already in the armed forces, and those men so classified were ordered reclassified into Class IV-A. On 7-6-45, the regulations governing Class IV-A were simplified to include all men 38 and older.11-18-423-31-47
IV-BPublic official deferred by law.10-4-403-31-47
IV-B Public official deferred by law, age 38 to 44 inclusive,3-6-4310-5-44
IV-CAny alien.10-4-4012-24-41
IV-CReconstructed for enemy alien not acceptable to armed forces and certain neutral aliens.12-4-413-31-47
IV-CAny 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.10-4-403-31-47
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, age 38 to 44 inclusive.3-6-4310-5-44
IV-DMinister of religion or divinity student.10-4-403-31-47
IV-D Minister of religion or divinity student, age 38 to 44 inclusive.3-6-4310-5-44
IV-EConscientious objector, available for or assigned to civilian work of national importance.10-4-403-31-47
IV-E Conscientious objector, under 26 years of age, acceptable under lowered physical standards for work of national importance.5-26-4511-27-46
IV-E, DeceasedDeceased while in Class IV-E.4-21-443-31-47
IV-E, DischargedConscientious objector separated from work of national importance by issuance of a Certificate of Release.11-4-443-31-47
IV-E-HConscientious objector, deferred by reason of being 28 and over.8-31-4111-19-42
IV-E Conscientious objector, available for or assigned to civilian work of national importance, age 38 to 44 inclusive.3-6-4310-5-44
IV-E Conscientious objector qualified for limited service.7-6-4410-5-44
IV-E-LSConscientious objector available for limited service in civilian work of national importance.8-31-418-18-42
IV-E-SConscientious objector who would otherwise be in Class I-D or I-E.10-4-408-31-41
IV-E, SeparatedConscientious objector separated from work of national importance other than by issuance of a Certificate of Release.4-21-443-31-47
IV-FRejected for military service, physical, mental, or moral reasons.10-4-403-31-47
IV-F Rejected for military service, physical, mental, or moral reasons, and age 38 to 44 inclusive.3-6-4310-5-44
IV-HDeferred, age 38 to 44 inclusive.1-1-433-6-43

Note