SELECTIVE TRAINING AND SERVICE ACT SIGNED INTO LAW

Selective Training and Service Act signed into law

As war raged overseas but before the United States formally entered the Second World War, political leaders grappled with how to prepare a peacetime democracy for potential conflict. On September 16th, 1940, the president signed the Selective Training and Service Act, instituting the first peacetime draft in American history. Men within specified age brackets were required to register, and the legislation set up a nationwide system to induct and train soldiers on a large scale. The law was controversial in some quarters, but it reflected a growing recognition that modern war demanded mass mobilization and advance planning. In practical terms, the act allowed the Army to expand, organize new divisions, and improve training infrastructure before the attack on Pearl Harbor. When war came, this head start in building manpower and structure helped the United States absorb early shocks and eventually project power on multiple fronts. The peacetime draft thus stands as a crucial institutional step in turning a relatively small prewar force into a global army.