The Vietnam War: causes and consequences

¶ … Military draft during the Vietnam War [...] how the military draft was a major issue that divided millions of American young men, and explain this dilemma and how it affected the Vietnam Conflict. The draft lottery, implemented in 1970, was contentious because not everyone agreed the United States should be fighting in Vietnam, and many young men simply refused to serve in the military in war they thought was morally wrong.

The Draft and Vietnam

Officially, the Vietnam War was only a "conflict" according to the United States Government, but on December 1, 1969, American instituted a draft for the armed services, which had not been done since the end of World War II. Before the lottery system of 1969, local Draft Boards were the method for selection and service in the military. The lottery system continued until 1973, with new numbers being drawn every year, based on birth dates. Because the Vietnamese Conflict was so extremely controversial, the draft itself also became extremely controversial. Although certainly not everyone drafted would serve in Vietnam, about thirty-eight percent of those drafted would end up in Vietnam (CNN). The draft caused a huge rift between young people, their parents, and the "establishment" during the war years. Many young men simply did not believe in the war in Vietnam, and refused to serve and fight in a war they did not agree with. They burned their draft cards, and many became known as "draft dodgers," by leaving the United States and going to live in Canada. Many of these young men felt the Vietnam Conflict was not even acknowledged to be a full-fledged war, and they would not fight for a country that would not even call a war.

Other young men felt it was their duty to serve their country no matter where they were fighting, and signed up willingly for the draft, because they believed in it, or because it was the law. Each group eyed the other with animosity and distrust. Those who signed up felt the draft dodgers were cowards who would not stand up for their country. The protesters felt that the war was immoral and those who fought for our government were also immoral. Brother was pitted against brother, and father against son as families around the nations took sides in the argument. In this, the situation was very much like the Civil War that pitted family against family in the War Between the States. The draft lottery created a rift in the country that took years to repair, and many have still never forgiven the government for starting the lottery up again. It was a difficult situation made more difficult by the controversy over the war itself. There was a growing national awareness that the United States and her young men did not belong in Asia, and that instead of drafting young men to fight and die in Vietnam, the United States should be leaving the fighting to the Vietnamese, and backing away from the war.