Volunteers+and+ConscriptsBR

In 1917, the army and National Guard had a little more than 300,000 troops. A lot of men volunteered when war was declared, but more troops were needed. Many people thought that conscription-forced military service- was wrong. Instead of having the military run the draft, the Selective Service Act of 1917 made all men 21 to 30 register for the draft. A lottery told the order that they were called before a local draft board. Many local boards were in charge of the system. Members of the draft board were from local communities. It was believed that local people, knowing the community needs, would know which men to draft. Eventually, over 2.8 million Americans were drafted.