The Conscription Act

The Selective Service Act is passed and the United States begins to enter World War 1.

Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
Two Arms. Two Arms will discuss as we take a
bite out of history with Ingles Markets. On April sixth,
nineteen seventeen, the US formally joined the fight in World
War One. President Woodrow Wilson promised to offer our abundant
resources and manufacturing to help the Allies. What the Allies
really needed were men. The Allied forces on the Western
Front were dwindling, but at the time the US only
had around one hundred thousand volunteer serving, and they were

(00:22):
not trained for the warfare they'd face on the battlefield
of World War One. President Wilson saw the only solution
to be military conscription. He petitioned Congress that it was
the most democratic way of growing the armed forces at
the pace that was required. Congress passed the Selective Service Act,
and on May eighteenth, nineteen seventeen, President Wilson signed it
into law. The first troops arrived in Europe by June,
but the majority still needed mobilization and training. The US

(00:44):
didn't play substantial role for nearly a year. At the
end of World War One, around twenty four million men
registered on the Selective Service Act, four point eight million
Americans served in the war, and two point eight million
of them were drafted. This has been a bite out
of history with ingles markets