Burke–Wadsworth Act

E278405

The Burke–Wadsworth Act was the landmark 1940 U.S. law that established the first peacetime military draft in American history, preparing the nation’s armed forces on the eve of World War II.

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Label Occurrences
Burke–Wadsworth Act canonical 2

Statements (49)

Predicate Object
instanceOf United States federal law
World War II–era legislation
conscription law
administeredBy Selective Service System
affectedOrganization United States Army
United States Coast Guard
United States Marine Corps
United States Navy
ageRangeForLiabilityForService 21 to 45
ageRangeForRegistration 21 to 35
alsoKnownAs Selective Training and Service Act of 1940
appliedDuring World War II
appliedTo male citizens of the United States
male resident aliens in the United States
codifiedIn 50 U.S.C. Appendix
country United States of America
surface form: United States
createdAgency Selective Service System
enactedBy 76th United States Congress
established first peacetime conscription in United States history
exempted conscientious objectors from combatant service
followedBy Military Selective Service Act
surface form: Selective Service Act of 1948
governingBodyForImplementation local draft boards
historicalContext enacted shortly before United States entry into World War II
historicalSignificance first peacetime military draft in American history
inspiredBy growing international tensions in Europe and Asia
introducedBy Edward R. Burke
James W. Wadsworth Jr.
legislativeChamberOfIntroduction United States Senate
maximumInitialTrainingPeriod 12 months
namedAfter Edward R. Burke
James W. Wadsworth Jr.
policyArea United States military policy
military conscription
national defense
precededBy various state-level militia and draft laws
providedFor alternative noncombatant service for conscientious objectors
publicLawNumber Public Law 76-783
surface form: Public Law 783
purpose to establish a system of selective compulsory military training and service
to provide for the common defense by increasing the personnel of the armed forces of the United States
relatedConflict World War II
replacedBy Selective Training and Service Act of 1940
surface form: Selective Training and Service Act of 1940 amendments
requiredRegistration all eligible males within 30 days of reaching age 21
serviceBranch United States Army
shortTitle Selective Training and Service Act of 1940
signedBy President Franklin D. Roosevelt
surface form: Franklin D. Roosevelt
signingDate 1940-09-16
statutesAtLargeCitation 54 Stat. 885
tookEffectIn 1940
yearEnacted 1940

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Public Law 76-783 alsoKnownAs Burke–Wadsworth Act