Conscription

Conscription is a general term for involuntary labour demanded by some established authority, e.g, Old Testament commentaries use the term to describe the levies of labour used to build the Temple, but it is most often used in the specific sense of government policies that require citizens to serve in their armed forces. It is known by various names — for example, the most recent conscription program in the United States was known colloquially as "the draft". Many nations do not maintain conscription forces, instead relying on a volunteer, or professional military, although many of these countries still reserve the possibility of conscription for wartime and "crises" of supply.

Draft evaders

Not everyone who was conscripted was willing to go to war. Many young people used their family's political connections to ensure that they were placed well away from any potential harm. They would avoid military service altogether through college deferments. Others with political influence often joined the military and served in what was termed a Champagne unit. Others used educational exemptions, became conscientious objectors or pretended to be conscientious objectors. For others, the most common method of avoiding the draft was to cross the border into another country. People who have been "called up" for military service and who attempted to avoid it in some way, were known as "draft-dodgers". U.S. draft-dodgers made their way to Canada or Mexico. Australian draft-dodgers had greater difficulty leaving their country due to the surrounding ocean, but "going bush" worked just as well in the short term for many of them.

Related Topics:
Champagne unit - Draft-dodger - Canada - Mexico - Australia

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Many people looked upon draft-dodgers with scorn as being "cowards", but some supported them in their efforts.

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