WWI Selective Service Draft Registration Cards

1917-1918

 

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There are a total of 5,109 WWI draft registration cards for Monroe County.

About the Draft:

On May 18, 1917, the Selective Service Act was passed, which authorized the president to increase the military establishment of the United States. As a result, every male living within the United States between the ages of eighteen and forty-five was required to register for the draft.

The World War I draft consisted of three separate registrations. The first on June 5, 1917, was for men aged twenty-one to thirty-one, men born between June 6, 1886 and June 5, 1896. The second on June 5, 1918, was for men who had turned twenty-one years of age since the previous registration—men born between June 6, 1896 and June 5, 1897. Men who had not previously registered and were not already in the military also registered. In addition, a supplemental registration on August 24, 1918, was for men who turned twenty-one years of age since June 5, 1918. The third on Sept 12, 1918, was for men aged eighteen to twenty-one and thirty-one to forty-five—men born between Sept 11, 1872 and Sept 12, 1900.

Each of the three separate registrations used a slightly different version of the draft registration card. Because different cards were used, the information included in each varies.

Not all men who registered for the draft actually served in the military, and not all men who served in the military registered for the draft. This civilian registration is often confused with induction into the military; however, only a small percentage of these men who registered were actually called up for military service.