54-468: Selective Service Act may refer to: Selective Service Act of 1917 , or Selective Draft Act, enacted April 28, 1917, for the American entry into World War I Selective Training and Service Act of 1940 , enacted September 16, 1940, in preparation for the American entry into World War II Selective Service Act of 1948 , enacted June 24, 1948, now known as
108-709: A War Council was formed (as distinct from the Council of National Defense ) consisting of the Secretary of War, his Assistant, the Chief of Staff of the United States Army , the Quartermaster General of the United States Army , the Chief of Ordnance and possibly others. The War Council was to oversee and coordinate all matters of supply and to plan for the effective use of the military power of
162-543: A candidate for the presidential nomination at the 1932 Democratic National Convention , but the convention chose Franklin D. Roosevelt . Newton Diehl Baker was born on December 3, 1871, in Martinsburg, West Virginia , the son of Newton Diehl Baker Sr. and Mary Ann (Dukehart) Baker. Baker's grandfather, Elias Baker, was a staunch unionist , his father, on the contrary, joined the Confederate Army , served as
216-690: A cavalryman, was wounded, and became a northern prisoner of war. After returning home in 1865, he obtained a medical degree from the University of Maryland Medical School and worked as a physician in Martinsburg until his death in 1906. Baker attended the village schools in Martinsburg through his second year in high school and finished his preparatory training at Episcopal High School in Alexandria, Virginia. In 1892, Baker graduated with bachelor's degree from Johns Hopkins University , where he
270-728: A cerebral hemorrhage in Shaker Heights, Ohio , on Christmas Day, December 25, 1937. After lying in state with full military honors at Trinity Cathedral and a simple funeral at the family's request, Baker was buried in Lake View Cemetery . His wife died on August 24, 1951. During World War II the Liberty ship SS Newton D. Baker was built in Panama City, Florida , and named in his honor. In 1957 Western Reserve University, now Case Western Reserve, erected
324-600: A compromise provision permitting the president to raise four volunteer divisions, a power Wilson did not exercise. To persuade an uninterested populace to support the war and the draft, George Creel , a veteran of the newspaper industry, became the United States' official war propagandist. He set up the Committee on Public Information , which recruited 75,000 speakers, who made 750,000 four-minute speeches in 5,000 cities and towns across America. Creel later helped form
378-534: A force of one million. But by six weeks after war was declared, only 73,000 men had volunteered for service. Wilson accepted the recommendation of Secretary of War Newton D. Baker for a draft. General Enoch H. Crowder , the Judge Advocate General of the United States Army , when first consulted, was opposed. But later, with the assistance of Captain Hugh Johnson and others, Crowder guided
432-658: A landmark case that established the constitutionality of zoning laws. Baker served on the Board of Trustees of Johns Hopkins University beginning in 1918 and was considered for appointment as president of the institution in 1928. In 1936, he resigned as a member of the Cuyahoga County Democratic Committee after serving for 26 years. He was elected to the American Philosophical Society that same year. He published
486-461: A lecture in pamphlet form as War in the Modern World in 1935. Baker married Elizabeth Wells Leopold, a faculty member at Wilson College , on July 5, 1902. They had two daughters (Margaret and Elizabeth) and a son, Newton D. Baker III, all of whom survived him, as did five grandchildren. Confined to his bed after December 3, 1937, because of a longstanding heart condition, Baker died of
540-515: A legal practice in Cleveland after graduating from Washington and Lee University School of Law . He became a progressive Democratic ally of Mayor Tom L. Johnson . Baker served as city solicitor of Cleveland from 1901 to 1909 before taking office as mayor in 1912. As mayor, he sought public transit reform, hospital improvement, and city beautification. Baker supported Woodrow Wilson at the 1912 Democratic National Convention , helping Wilson win
594-611: A member of the Permanent Court of Arbitration of The Hague , and he was reappointed to another six-year term by Roosevelt in 1935. In 1929, President Herbert Hoover appointed Baker to the Wickersham Commission on issues relating to law enforcement, criminal activity, police brutality, and Prohibition. He remained active in Democratic Party affairs and was considered as a serious prospect for
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#1732765950454648-539: A moment that vast audience was lifted from partisan thoughts to heights from which it could have a glimpse of the promised land of peace. ... Not only did Mr. Baker do his best, but he made one of the best and most moving speeches heard of late in any political meeting. He showed himself a disciple worthy to wear his master's mantle. He too has the spirit of prophecy upon him. Later at the convention, he nominated former Governor James M. Cox of Ohio as his state's " favorite son ." In 1928, President Coolidge appointed Baker
702-671: A pacifist at heart. He said, "I'm so much of a pacifist, I'm willing to fight for it." In 1917, Baker was elected an honorary member of the Virginia Society of the Cincinnati . . In 1918, Wilson told Baker that he hoped he would follow him into the White House in 1920. . Emmett Jay Scott served as Baker's Special Advisor of Black Affairs. After stepping down as Secretary of War in 1921, Baker returned to practicing law at Baker & Hostetler. For several years he
756-621: A sharp, analytical mind and considerable skill at administration. As Secretary of War, Baker presided over the American military participation in the First World War in 1917 and 1918, including the creation of a nationwide military draft . Baker selected Gen. John J. Pershing to head the American Expeditionary Forces . At Baker's insistence, Wilson made the American forces an independent fighting partner of
810-420: A speech that was the highlight of the convention, "political oratory at its peak" according to an exhaustive account of the convention: "According to reporters, men and women everywhere burst into tears. It was a tour de force , emotional and bordering on hysteria." He drew upon memories of Wilson, who had died just five months earlier and pleaded for a return to Wilsonian idealism: On fields of Europe I closed
864-667: A successful legal career and became involved in local politics. He helped the Democratic candidate Tom L. Johnson to become the mayor of Cleveland, and under his mentorship started his own public career. Johnson was a passionate advocate of Georgist political progressivism . Baker became exposed to Johnson's politics and also became a Georgist. He assisted Johnson in his fights against city's utility monopolies, e.g., Cleveland Electric Railway Company owned by Mark Hanna , which made Baker popular among Clevelanders. After serving as city solicitor from 1901 to 1909, he became mayor of
918-725: A vacation in Europe, and returned to Martinsburg. In January 1899, he became a junior partner at Foran, McTigne and Baker in Cleveland . Baker was small and thin. He was rejected for military service in the Spanish–American War because of poor eyesight. When Baker moved to Cleveland, his political sympathies belonged to the Democratic Party ; he supported the so-called Gold Democrats and their platform of gold standard, free trade, and civil service reform. He built
972-464: A vital role during Wilson's Democratic nomination for president at the convention by securing votes from Ohio delegates. Wilson wanted to bring him to Washington D.C. Though offered the post twice, Baker declined to serve as United States Secretary of the Interior during President Wilson's first term. A 1993 survey of historians, political scientists and urban experts conducted by Melvin G. Holli of
1026-531: Is different from Wikidata All article disambiguation pages All disambiguation pages Selective Service Act of 1917 The Selective Service Act of 1917 or Selective Draft Act ( Pub. L. 65–12 , 40 Stat. 76 , enacted May 18, 1917 ) authorized the United States federal government to raise a national army for service in World War I through conscription . It
1080-549: Is one of the nation's 100 largest firms. Baker High School and Newton D. Baker School of Arts located on W. 159th Street in West Park, Cleveland are both named after Baker. A dormitory at Ohio State University , dedicated in 1940, is named Baker Hall (see information about the building) Archived December 16, 2016, at the Wayback Machine in his honor. The Newton D. Baker dormitory at Washington and Lee University
1134-868: The United States Supreme Court in 1918. At the time of World War I, the US Army was small compared with the mobilized armies of the European powers. As late as 1914, the Regular Army had under 100,000 men, while the National Guard (the organized militias of the states) numbered around 115,000. The National Defense Act of 1916 authorized the growth of the Army to 165,000 and the National Guard to 450,000 by 1921, but by 1917
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#17327659504541188-493: The University of Illinois at Chicago ranked Baker as the eigteenth-best American big-city mayor to have served between the years 1820 and 1993. In 1916, following his tenure as mayor of Cleveland, Baker and two other partners founded the law firm of BakerHostetler . As the United States considered whether to enter World War I , President Woodrow Wilson had named Baker Secretary of War on 9 March 1916, because Baker
1242-490: The 1924 Democratic National Convention, during discussion of the party platform, Baker was the principal advocate of language committing the party to American membership in the League of Nations. After losing in the platform committee, which advocated a national referendum on the question, he raised the issue on the floor of the convention. Though he had no chance of winning over the delegates to support his position, he delivered
1296-529: The Allies against the Central Powers , rather than letting American troops be used to replenish British and French forces as those nations advised. At one meeting with British Prime Minister , David Lloyd George , Baker told him that "if we want advice as to who should command our armies, we would ask for it. But until then we do not want nor need it from anyone, least of all you." On December 15, 1917,
1350-497: The American Alliance for Labor and Democracy, with union leader Samuel Gompers as president, to win working-class support for the war and "unify sentiment in the nation". The AALD had branches in 164 cities, and many labor leaders went along although "rank-and-file working class support for the war remained lukewarm ...", and the campaign was ultimately unsuccessful. Many prominent Socialist leaders became pro-war, though
1404-408: The Army had only expanded to around 121,000, with the National Guard numbering 181,000. By 1916, it had become clear that any participation by the United States in the conflict in Europe would require a far larger army. While President Wilson at first wished to use only volunteer troops, it soon became clear that this would be impossible. When war was declared, Wilson asked for the Army to increase to
1458-455: The Democratic nomination for President in 1932, when he declined to announce his candidacy but worked behind the scenes in the hope of being chosen if Franklin D. Roosevelt failed to win the nomination. Yale University awarded him an honorary Doctor of Laws in 1932. Baker argued before the U.S. Supreme Court as counsel for the property owner in Village of Euclid v. Ambler Realty Co. ,
1512-708: The Military Selective Service Act See also [ edit ] Military Service Act (disambiguation) National Service Act (disambiguation) Topics referred to by the same term [REDACTED] This disambiguation page lists articles associated with the title Selective Service Act . If an internal link led you here, you may wish to change the link to point directly to the intended article. Retrieved from " https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Selective_Service_Act&oldid=1251580828 " Category : Disambiguation pages Hidden categories: Short description
1566-624: The Newton D. Baker Building in his honor. Located on the corner of Adelbert and Euclid , across from Severance Hall , it served as a large unit of general purpose classrooms and administrative offices. The building was torn down in November 2004. The Georgetown mansion Baker occupied while Secretary of War, now known as Newton D. Baker House , is on the National Register of Historic Places . The law firm he founded, Baker Hostetler,
1620-614: The War Department's decision-making. The great majority of black soldiers were employed only in labor functions, such as road-building and freight-handling. Only two black combat units were ultimately established – the 92nd and 93rd Infantry Divisions . Black Americans were entirely excluded from the United States Marine Corps and were consigned to menial labor in the United States Navy for
1674-425: The armed services, and some 2.8 million had been drafted. This meant that more than half of the almost 4.8 million Americans who served in the armed forces were drafted. Due to the effort to incite a patriotic attitude, the World War I draft had a high success rate, with fewer than 350,000 men "dodging" the draft. Section 7 of the act provided that men would be "as far as practicable...grouped into units by States and
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1728-488: The bill through Congress and administered the draft as the Provost Marshal General . A problem that came up in the writing of the bill and its negotiation through Congress was the desire of former President Theodore Roosevelt to assemble a volunteer force to go to Europe. President Wilson and others, including army officers, were reluctant to permit this for a variety of reasons. The final bill contained
1782-413: The city in 1911. As a city official, Baker's main interests were providing Cleveland with electricity (he built a municipal light plant), public transit reform, hospital improvement, and city beautification. He was a strong backer of Cleveland College , now a part of Case Western Reserve University . He and Augustus Raymond Hatton helped draft Ohio's home rule amendment. Its approval by voters in 1912
1836-524: The court's opinion were based primarily on Kneedler v. Lane , 45 Pa. 238, 252 (1863) and Vattel 's 1758 treatise The Law of Nations . After the signing of the armistice of November 11, 1918, the activities of the Selective Service System were rapidly curtailed. On March 31, 1919, all local, district, and medical advisory boards were closed, and on May 21, 1919, the last state headquarters closed operations. The Provost Marshal General
1890-490: The draft during the two calls of June 2 and September 12, 1917 – 9.6 percent of the total American pool for potential conscription. Draft board officials were told to tear off the lower left-hand corner of the Selective Service form of a black registrant, indicating his designation for segregated units. The August 1917 Houston Riot , when armed black soldiers fired upon Houston police and civilians, also affected
1944-501: The duration of the war. Newton D. Baker Newton Diehl Baker Jr. (December 3, 1871 – December 25, 1937) was an American lawyer, Georgist , politician, and government official. He served as the 37th mayor of Cleveland , Ohio from 1912 to 1915. As U.S. Secretary of War from 1916 to 1921, Baker presided over the United States Army during World War I . Born in Martinsburg, West Virginia , Baker established
1998-493: The expiration of his term of service by the payment of money or any other valuable thing whatsoever as consideration his release from military service or liability there to. During World War I, there were three registrations. The Selective Service Act was upheld by the United States Supreme Court in the Selective Draft Law Cases , 245 U.S. 366 (1918). The Solicitor General 's argument and
2052-464: The eyes of soldiers in American uniforms who were dying ... and oh, they were so superb and splendid: never a complaint; never a regret; willing to go if only two things might be: One, that mother might know that they died bravely, and the other, that somebody would pick up their sacrifice and build on earth a permanent temple of peace. ... And I swore an obligation to the dead that in season and out, by day and by night, in church, in political meeting, in
2106-409: The great majestic leader is standing here, using me to say to you, "Save mankind, do America's duty". When his allotted 20 minutes expired, the crowd roared for him to continue. After an hour he left the lectern to a tremendous ovation. Speakers who tried to argue against him were booed. Yet the final vote went against him by a margin of more than 2 to 1. According to a New York Times editorial, For
2160-451: The legal practice he co-founded. He served as an attorney in Village of Euclid v. Ambler Realty Co. , a landmark case that established the constitutionality of zoning laws. He was a strong supporter of the League of Nations and continued to advocate American participation in the League during the 1920s. Beginning in 1928, he served as a member of the Permanent Court of Arbitration . He was
2214-555: The majority did not. By the guidelines set down by the Selective Service Act, all males aged 21 to 30 were required to register to potentially be selected for military service. At the request of the War Department, Congress amended the law in August 1918 to expand the age range to include all men 18 to 45, and to bar further volunteering. By the end of World War I, some two million men volunteered for various branches of
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2268-512: The market-place, I intended to lift up my voice always and ever until their sacrifice were really perfected. ... I served Woodrow Wilson for five years. He is standing at the throne of God whose approval he won and has received. As he looks down from there I say to him: "I did my best. I am doing it now. You are still the captain of my soul. I feel your spirit here palpably about me." He is standing here, through my weak voice, his presence not that crippled, shrunken, broken figure that I last saw, but
2322-405: The military: A civilian's civilian, Baker saw the military as a necessity, but he had no awe of people in uniform, no romantic feelings toward them, and no dreams of glory. ... On the day President Woodrow Wilson announced Baker's appointment as secretary of war, he admitted his ignorance of military matters. "I am an innocent," he told reporters, "I do not know anything about this job." But he had
2376-589: The nation. Baker had inherited a supply chain problem of gargantuan proportions although at first in April the administration knew nothing of its scale. Problems began quickly to crop up and on 18 December, three days after its formation, Baker fired three of the five officers appointed to the War Council. He appointed George Washington Goethals as Quartermaster General on that day. He was occasionally attacked by military professionals who thought him incompetent or
2430-532: The political subdivisions of the same," the most prominent example being the " National Army " infantry divisions. The most important difference between the draft established by the Selective Service Act of 1917 and the Civil War draft was that substitutes were not allowed. During the Civil War , a drafted man could avoid service by hiring another man to serve in his place. A mostly inaccurate perception spread that substitutes were used primarily by wealthy men and
2484-470: The time of World War I. While the Army had several regiments of black " Buffalo Soldiers ", many politicians such as Sen. James K. Vardaman (Mississippi) and Sen. Benjamin Tillman (South Carolina) staunchly opposed any expanded military role for black Americans. Nevertheless, the War Department decided to include black people in the draft. A total of 2,290,527 black Americans were ultimately registered for
2538-592: The votes of the Ohio delegation. After leaving office, Baker accepted appointment as Secretary of War under President Wilson. He was one of several prominent Georgists appointed to positions in the Wilson Cabinet. Baker presided over the U.S. military's participation in World War I. He selected General John J. Pershing to command the American Expeditionary Forces , which he insisted act as an independent unit. He left office in 1921 and returned to BakerHostetler ,
2592-566: Was Baker's crowning achievement as a mayor. It granted Cleveland a right to draw its own charter and conduct the city business without state interference. When Baker worked on Wilson's behalf at the Democratic National Convention in Baltimore in 1912, he was considered as a possible vice-presidential contender. He and Wilson had been acquaintances since they were both at Johns Hopkins in the 1890s, and Baker played
2646-603: Was a member of Phi Gamma Delta fraternity. He attended lectures of Woodrow Wilson , who was a visiting professor at the time. After receiving his law degree from Washington and Lee University School of Law in 1894, he tried for a year to establish law practice in Martinsburg, and then became private secretary to Postmaster General William L. Wilson , who served in the Confederate cavalry with Baker's father. He stayed in Washington, D.C. until June 1897, then took
2700-690: Was acceptable to advocates and opponents of American participation in the conflict. The post also required legal expertise because of the War Department's role in administering the Philippines, the Panama Canal, and Puerto Rico. The New York Times called him a "warm supporter" of the President. At 44, he was the youngest member of the Cabinet. The American entry into World War I occurred in April 1917. One historian described his relationship to
2754-536: Was envisioned in December 1916 and brought to President Woodrow Wilson 's attention shortly after the break in relations with Germany in February 1917. The Act itself was drafted by then-Captain (later Brigadier General) Hugh S. Johnson after the United States entered World War I by declaring war on Germany. The Act was canceled with the end of the war on November 11, 1918. The Act was upheld as constitutional by
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#17327659504542808-413: Was relieved from duty on July 15, 1919, thereby finally terminating the activities of the Selective Service System of World War I. Conscription was by class. The first candidates were to be drawn from Class I. Members of each class below Class I were available only if the pool of all available and potential candidates in the class above it were exhausted. The American military was entirely segregated at
2862-570: Was resented by those who could not afford them or considered them dishonorable. The practice of substitutes was prohibited in Section Three of the Selective Service Act of 1917: No person liable to military service shall hereafter be permitted or allowed to furnish a substitute for such service; nor shall any substitute be received, enlisted, or enrolled in the military service of the United States; and no such person shall be permitted to escape such service or to be discharged therefrom prior to
2916-639: Was the leading proponent of American participation in the League of Nations . In 1922, the Encyclopædia Britannica published a brief account of Baker's life that drew sharp criticism. It said, in part, "The charge of pacifism was often brought against him and his career generally as Secretary was widely condemned throughout the United States." Among the prominent names who called the Encyclopedia to account were Livingston Farrand of Cornell and Ernest M. Hopkins of Dartmouth . At
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