Draft dodger

Draft dodger, also called draft evader, is a term that became current during the Vietnam War to describe American citizens who defied and avoided ("dodged") the mandatory conscription policy of the time (called "the draft") by leaving the country —usually to Canada, or (less often) Mexico. The term was and is often applied to the larger group of draft-age anti-war protesters who avoided the draft but remained in the United States.

Related Topics:
Vietnam War - American - Mandatory conscription - Canada - Mexico - Anti-war protesters

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Avoidance of the draft was considered a criminal offense, while mandatory conscription policies and laws were active, and once evaders had left the country they could not return without facing arrest and enforced military assignment. This changed in 1977 when President Jimmy Carter issued an amnesty (in the form of a pardon) to all remaining draft evaders, as part of a general climate of "cultural reconciliation" after the end of the bitterly controversial and unpopular war.

Related Topics:
1977 - Jimmy Carter - Amnesty - Pardon

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The motivations for draft dodgers were manifold. Those who backed the war often argue they were cowards lacking in patriotism, but most draft dodgers had objections to the Vietnam War, which many saw as an unfair war. About 100,000 draft dodgers fled abroad throughout the war. Another large group hid within the United States.

Related Topics:
Coward - Patriotism

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The largest group of draft dodgers, about 20,000 to 90,000, fled to Canada. They were accepted as immigrants and no separate records of the number of draft dodgers were kept. Accepting them in Canada was at first controversial, but the Canadian government eventually chose to welcome them. As Canada had no draft at the time, draft evasion was not a criminal offence under Canadian law. The issue of deserters was more complex as desertion was a crime in Canada, and the Canadian military was strongly opposed to condoning it. The government maintained the theoretical right to prosecute these deserters, but in practice the government left them alone and border guards were instructed not to ask questions relating to the issue. The number of deserters was relatively small, with only some 1000 making it to Canada.

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While many of the draft dodgers returned home to the United States after they were pardoned in 1977, many others stayed in their adopted country. Sociologist John Hagan estimates that there were 50,000 draft dodgers who settled in Canada. This influx of young educated left-leaning people had a large effect on Canada. It was a boon to Canada's arts scene and to academia. They also helped push Canadian politics further to the left. A number of notable Canadians were draft dodgers such as Jay Scott, William Gibson, and Michael Hendricks.

Related Topics:
John Hagan - Jay Scott - William Gibson - Michael Hendricks

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In recent years the term draft dodger has been used often in American politics to attack candidates who managed to avoid serving in Vietnam (although no prominent political figure fled to Canada). Bill Clinton, George W. Bush, Howard Dean, and Dick Cheney have all been accused of being draft dodgers, even if none of them were, by the 1960s definition of the term.

Related Topics:
Bill Clinton - George W. Bush - Howard Dean - Dick Cheney - 1960s

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