Uploaded May 2020 | Updated September 2026, 2 weeks ago
10 Educational Military Draft Facts
1. At least 119 people were killed during the 1863 New York Draft Riots protesting the unfair nature of draft laws. As written, the laws favored wealthy men, who could pay poor men to take their place on Civil War battlefields.
2. During WWII, because the army changed their draft policies to include men without teeth, the number of army dentists increased from 250 to 25,000.
3. During the Vietnam War, the founder of the pacifist Catholic Worker Movement, Dorothy Day, argued that there was moral justification for burning draft cards as a way of protesting violence.
4. Many nations around the world have compulsory military service laws, most commonly for young men only. Israel and Eritrea are among the few nations with mandatory military service for both men and women.
5. One of the earliest known legal codes, the Babylonian Code of Hammurabi, describes a system of military draft called "ilkum," whereby laborers were required to serve in the military in order to earn the right to own land.
6. During the pre-WWII drafts, one illiterate man, hoping to be excused from service, asked his wife to write the draft board and explain how much he was needed at home. Instead, his wife asked the board to please take her husband, as he was a “no-good” alcoholic who didn’t help out at home.
7. Actor Jimmy Stewart was rejected by the military after he was drafted - he was too thin. As a show of patriotism, Stewart went on a weight-gaining diet, hoping to reverse the decision. He was accepted by the Air Force after making weight and served in WWII with distinction.
8. The practice of conscripting citizens to serve in a military capacity dates back thousands of years to one the earliest human civilizations in Mesopotamia.
9. The first universal draft occurred during the 18th-century French Revolution. The new government drafted all unmarried, able-bodied men between the ages of 18 and 25 to defend France against invading European powers.
10. During the military draft in the years before America entered WWII, men who were fathers supporting a family were excused from service, causing some to refer to babies as “draft insurance.”
For more amazing military draft facts, check out our article here: factretriever.com/military-draft-facts
10 Educational Military Draft Facts
1. At least 119 people were killed during the 1863 New York Draft Riots protesting the unfair nature of draft laws. As written, the laws favored wealthy men, who could pay poor men to take their place on Civil War battlefields.
2. During WWII, because the army changed their draft policies to include men without teeth, the number of army dentists increased from 250 to 25,000.
3. During the Vietnam War, the founder of the pacifist Catholic Worker Movement, Dorothy Day, argued that there was moral justification for burning draft cards as a way of protesting violence.
4. Many nations around the world have compulsory military service laws, most commonly for young men only. Israel and Eritrea are among the few nations with mandatory military service for both men and women.
5. One of the earliest known legal codes, the Babylonian Code of Hammurabi, describes a system of military draft called "ilkum," whereby laborers were required to serve in the military in order to earn the right to own land.
6. During the pre-WWII drafts, one illiterate man, hoping to be excused from service, asked his wife to write the draft board and explain how much he was needed at home. Instead, his wife asked the board to please take her husband, as he was a “no-good” alcoholic who didn’t help out at home.
7. Actor Jimmy Stewart was rejected by the military after he was drafted - he was too thin. As a show of patriotism, Stewart went on a weight-gaining diet, hoping to reverse the decision. He was accepted by the Air Force after making weight and served in WWII with distinction.
8. The practice of conscripting citizens to serve in a military capacity dates back thousands of years to one the earliest human civilizations in Mesopotamia.
9. The first universal draft occurred during the 18th-century French Revolution. The new government drafted all unmarried, able-bodied men between the ages of 18 and 25 to defend France against invading European powers.
10. During the military draft in the years before America entered WWII, men who were fathers supporting a family were excused from service, causing some to refer to babies as “draft insurance.”
For more amazing military draft facts, check out our article here: factretriever.com/military-draft-facts
