Army World War 1 Recruitment

Building an army takes more than just opening recruiting stations. Soldiers needed barracks, training areas, uniforms and equipment as well as a steady supply of recruits.

While many Americans rushed to recruiting stations and enlisted, the War Department recommended a draft to build what was called the National Army. "America's only other experience with the draft -- during the Civil War -- was not pleasant," Neumann said. "There were too many loopholes. It allowed rich men to buy substitutes. It was unfair."

And Americans had a distrust of a large standing army, going back to the founding of the republic. Many recent immigrants also disliked the idea of forced national service.

Ultimately a draft was instituted -- or Selective Service -- as it was the only way to go, and officials crafted legislation to eliminate most of the unfairness. The Selective Service Act passed on May 18, 1917, and all men age 21 to 30 were required to register with local draft boards. As the war continued, the age for registration went up to 45. Overall, 24,234,021 men registered for the draft, and inductees comprised 66 percent of those who served. This is a portion of those posters that we have labeled as 

Army World War 1 Recruiting

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