Selective Service Act of 1917

The Selective Service Act or Selective Draft Act (Pub.L. 65–12, 40 Stat. 76, enacted May 18, 1917) authorized the federal government to raise a national army for the American entry into World War I through the compulsory enlistment of people. It 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, 1918. The Act was upheld by the United States Supreme Court in the Selective Draft Law Cases in 1918, a decision based partially on Vattel's The Law of Nations of 1758.

Books/Sources

• SELECTIVE SERVICE ACT OF 1917: An entry from Macmillan Reference USA's Major Acts of Congress - Adam P. Plant
• Report of the Provost Marshall General to the Secretary of War on the first draft under the Selective-service. - United States. Office of the Provost Marshal General.,

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