‘Boys,Don’t Be Conscripted!’: Military Service and Cultural Perceptions of the Draftee in America,1917–1918

Abstract

This article examines the dominant cultural perceptions of the draftee in America during the First World War. It argues that the cultural stigma Americans attached to the stock figure of the draftee functioned as a significant source of opposition to the Selective Service System the US government implemented in 1917 as its primary means of mobilizing military manpower. Ultimately, the cultural stigmatization of the draftee merged with other currents of opposition to conscription as a major barrier to the successful implementation of the draft in the years 1917–1918.