The Civil War Military Draft Act of 1863 was the first federal draft law. It was passed to add troops to the Union Army. Confederate states passed a draft law the year before. The Confederate law only applied to white men. The Union draft applied to male citizens but at the time most Black men weren’t considered citizens so in effect Black men were exempt from the draft. The Union’s draft law let wealthy men pay for substitutes to serve in their place.
After the Civil War there was no military draft law until the Selective Service Act of 1917 was passed in May, right after the US entered WWI. The draft expired after WWI but was resurrecxted right before the US entered WW2. Hard to believe it but it covered men up to age 64! The draft continued through the Korean War and the Vietnam War. Although no one has been drafted since 1973, young men have been required to register themselves for the draft just in case has .
The selective service system law changed in December 2025. It changed the system from self registration to automatic registration. The change will be fully implemented by December. With the change the government will use social security numbers, driver’s licenses and other fed sources to automatically register individuals within 30 days of their 18th birthday. The man should get a written notice of registration.
The changes to the Selective Service System does not call for a draft. It changes the way our young men will be registered for a draft just in case a draft is implemented. Men between 18 and 25 who have not registered already will be automatically registered.
