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#OTD20 | September 16, 1940

World War II Draft

September 16, 1940: A landmark moment in American history unfolds when F.D.R signs the Selective Training and Service Act of 1940.

Commonly known as the draft, the measure marks a critical step in preparing the nation for the challenges of World War II. Selective Service requires all men aged 21 – 45 to register and is the first peacetime draft in American history. By the end of the war in 1945, more than 50 million men sign-up and nearly 10 million serve in the military.

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The United States' draft and wartime preparations is chronicled in our program, World War II, from AMERICA IN THE 20TH CENTURY.

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Additional Resources

Access more information from Media Rich Learning and curated off-site sources.

National World War II Museum

Explore the classroom-focused research starter, "The Draft and World War II."

U.S. Department of Defense

Read the blog post: "First Peacetime Draft Enacted Just Before World War II."

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President Roosevelt and British Prime Minister Winston Churchill on Christmas Eve, 1941, standing at a White House podium weeks after the attack on Pearl Harbor, with an NBC microphone and a man in the foreground.

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