Drafted or Deferred: Practices Past and Present

[12], 249, [27] pages. Some endpaper discoloration noted. Cover has some wear and soiling. Includes Preface, Bibliographical Note and Guide to Footnotes, Glossary of Abbreviations, and Appendixes. Chapters cover Civilians Become Soldiers; Who Should Make the Selection?; Size of the Army; Should Freshmen and Fathers Fight?; The Farmers Stay at Home; From Manpower Surplus to Manpower Shortage, 1940-1942; The Turning Point--1943; The Manpower Pinch--1944; The Last Approach--1945; Soldiers at Work on Farm and in Factory; Work-or-fight: The Use of the Draft as a Manpower Sanction; The Choice Today: Soldier or Civilian? The author was a Professor of Labor and Industrial Relations and Social Science, Michigan State University. This volume focused on a choice made during WWII between whether an individual should be drafted or deferred to work in industry and agriculture. It will look at the criteria used, and will pay attention to the War Department's views, since an understanding of the military's role is essential. The last chapter will discuss what perspectives these experiences during WWII ought to give us. The richest sources of information for this study were the files of the Adjutant General's Records Branch. The files of the Army Service Forces were extremely helpful. Besides the host of primary sources available at the various record centers, there were available monographs prepared either by historical officers or by actual participants, usually written immediately after the war. These studies often explained much that a perusal of memoranda would not have made clear. This study of the experience during the Second World War should be recognized as being produced during the increasing tempo of American involvement during the Vietnam War, the increasing tempo of the antiwar movement, and the challenges facing local Draft Boards in handling student deferment, conscientious objector, critical occupation, and other special circumstance cases.…