1955 Dwight D. Eisenhower - Renewing the Selective Service Act

 

Many of us have old family photos from the 1950s of men heading off to the military. Perhaps an uncle, father or even yourself; for young men in the 1950s and 1960s there was never a time when there was no draft. Through various times in our history, such as the Civil War and World War I, the draft was used to quickly induct a large number of soldiers, but when the war ended so did the draft. World War II was different. The draft that began with World War II lasted for almost 33 years. After several years of peace, the outbreak of the Korean War brought with it the Universal Military Training And Service Act of 1951 lowering the draft age from 19 to 18 years 6 months and increasing active-duty from 21 to 24 months. More than 1.5 million men were inducted into the armed services during the Korean War, but after the war the US continued to use the draft to build up our forces. In 1955, with the draft set to expire, President Dwight D. Eisenhower introduced a proposal to Congress that would renew the draft for another 4 years. Eisenhower declared in his 1955 State of the Union, that for the "foreseeable future" there would not be enough volunteers to sustain our standing forces and therefore the current draft must be extended.

"The first concerns the selective service act which expires next June 30th. For the foreseeable future, our standing forces must remain much larger than voluntary methods can sustain. We must, therefore, extend the statutory authority to induct men for two years of military service."

One week later on January 13, 1955, the President delivered a Special Message to the Congress on National Security Requirements where he outlined his proposal. The president introduced it with a three-part explanation of why an expansion of trained manpower was needed. First, the US military required enough active forces to launch a massive assault or conduct a lesser operation without mobilization, Second, trained reserves are required to reinforce active forces in combat or defend the US homeland.  Finally, there must be adequate number of trained reserves to quickly mobilize all our military strength. America was at peace, but Eisenhower reminded Congress that "Korea and Indo-China are bitter reminders of the ever-present threat of aggression."  Maintaining peace and security at home was the number one goal but training the military for emergencies including an atomic attack was also a necessity. Like his forefathers, Eisenhower understood the dangers to liberty of maintaining a large standing army, but the cost of not being prepared for an "all-out war" was too great to ignore. The United States needed "a formidable assurance to any aggressor that we would react to attack, instantly and powerfully". 

President Eisenhower thus proposed the following:

1. "that the present statutory provisions authorizing the induction of young men by the Selective Service System for 24 months of training and service, scheduled to expire July 1, 1955, be extended until July 1, 1959."
2. "that the existing special statutory provisions authorizing the registration and induction of doctors and dentists, also scheduled to expire on July 1, 1955, be extended until July 1, 1957."
3. "that legislation be enacted by the Congress to permit the strengthening of the reserve forces to meet essential mobilization requirements."

The term of service was to remain at 24 months as established in 1951, but Eisenhower proposed a new categorization process that prioritize who would be drafted and who would be deferred. The goal was to maximize both the need of the Armed Forces and the essential civilian skills needed for defense supporting activities outside of the military. These skills included science, engineering, and medical professions. In essence the Selective Service became not only a method of inducting men into the military, but also one of channeling men into vocations of national interest. In 1955 and again in both 1959 and 1963, Congress renewed the Draft authority with almost no debate or opposition. From 1954 to 1961, an additional 1.5 million were inducted. Just two years later, the king of Rock and Roll himself, Elvis Presley was drafted. Elvis received his draft notice on December 20,1957 and received one deferment to finish his movie King Creole before swearing in as an army Private on March 24, 1959.  

Here is a video from 1955 about the draft process including what types of deferments were available.  

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JAosF8masbU

References

"Annual Message To The Congress On The State Of The Union | The American Presidency Project". Presidency.Ucsb.Edu, 2021, https://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/documents/annual-message-the-congress-the-state-the-union-12.

"Special Message To The Congress On National Security Requirements | The American Presidency Project". Presidency.Ucsb.Edu, 2021, https://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/documents/special-message-the-congress-national-security-requirements.

"Elvis Presley Is Drafted". HISTORY, 2021, https://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/elvis-presley-is-drafted.

"When The Draft Calls Ended - Air Force Magazine". Air Force Magazine, 2021, https://www.airforcemag.com/article/0408draft/.