- Home
- Books and Journals
- Supreme Court Drama: Cases That Changed America
- Volume 4
- Federal Powers and Separation of Powers
Selective Draft Law Cases 1918
Author | Daniel Brannen, Richard Hanes, Elizabeth Shaw |
Pages | 905-910 |
Page 905
Appellants: Joseph F. Arver and others
Appellee: United States of America
Appellants' Claim: That the Selective Draft Act of 1917 violated various provisions of the U.S. Constitution including Section 8 of Article I and the First and Thirteenth amendments.
Chief Lawyers for Appellants: T.E. Latimer, Edwin T. Taliferro, Harry Weinberger
Chief Lawyer for Appellee: John W. Davis, Solicitor General
Justices for the Court: Louis D. Brandeis, John H. Clarke, William R. Day, Oliver Wendell Holmes, Joseph McKenna, James C. McReynolds, Mahlon Pitney, Willis Van Devanter, Chief Justice Edward D. White
Justices Dissenting: None
Date of Decision: January 7, 1918
Decision: Ruled in favor of the United States by finding that the act did not violate any section of the U.S. Constitution.
Significance: The case was the first to reach the Supreme Court challenging the federal government's legal power to draft men into the military. With the power confirmed, the military draft was used at various times throughout the twentieth century including the Vietnam War (1964–1975).
Page 906
In 1917 as America entered World War I (1914–1918), patriotic songs sounded in the hearts and minds of young men enthusiastically answering the call to register for the newly-established draft. Encouraged by government posters as well as the songs, millions stood in long lines to sign up. Yet others chose to not heed the call and refused to register. America has a long history of using conscription (drafting citizens into military service) to raise short-term military forces in time of conflict. However, opposition to conscription by pacifists (those who believe disputes must be settled by peaceful means), members of certain religious groups, and opponents of particular wars has an equally long history.
Historically, during times of tension, America has often relied on volunteers to fight its wars. But, even in colonial times men were sometimes conscripted to serve in local militias (army of citizens called together in emergencies). Though colonies sent local militia troops to fight in the Revolutionary War (1775–1783), they denied George Washington's (1732–1799) request to gather a national army by conscription. The U.S. Constitution, adopted in 1789, gave Congress the "power to raise and support armies" but it neither called for nor prohibited conscription.
Not until the American Civil War (1861–1865), did the need to maintain massive armies bring a taste of national conscription to America. In April of 1862, the Confederate Congress (Southern states) passed a conscription law requiring every white man aged eighteen to thirty-five to serve for...
To continue reading
Request your trial- Volume 4
- Federal Powers and Separation of Powers
- Federal Powers and Separation of Powers
- Marbury v. Madison 1803
- McCulloch v. Maryland 1819
- McGrain v. Daugherty 1927
- Barron v. Baltimore 1833
- Dred Scott v. Sandford 1857
- Mississippi v. Johnson 1867
- Selective Draft Law Cases 1918
- United States v. Curtiss-Wright Export Corp. 1936
- Oregon v. Mitchell 1970
- United States v. Nixon 1974
- Nixon v. Fitzgerald 1982
- Morrison v. Olson 1988
- Clinton v. Jones 1997
Subscribers can access the reported version of this case.
You can sign up for a trial and make the most of our service including these benefits.
Why Sign-up to vLex?
-
Over 100 Countries
Search over 120 million documents from over 100 countries including primary and secondary collections of legislation, case law, regulations, practical law, news, forms and contracts, books, journals, and more.
-
Thousands of Data Sources
Updated daily, vLex brings together legal information from over 750 publishing partners, providing access to over 2,500 legal and news sources from the world’s leading publishers.
-
Find What You Need, Quickly
Advanced A.I. technology developed exclusively by vLex editorially enriches legal information to make it accessible, with instant translation into 14 languages for enhanced discoverability and comparative research.
-
Over 2 million registered users
Founded over 20 years ago, vLex provides a first-class and comprehensive service for lawyers, law firms, government departments, and law schools around the world.
Subscribers are able to see a list of all the cited cases and legislation of a document.
You can sign up for a trial and make the most of our service including these benefits.
Why Sign-up to vLex?
-
Over 100 Countries
Search over 120 million documents from over 100 countries including primary and secondary collections of legislation, case law, regulations, practical law, news, forms and contracts, books, journals, and more.
-
Thousands of Data Sources
Updated daily, vLex brings together legal information from over 750 publishing partners, providing access to over 2,500 legal and news sources from the world’s leading publishers.
-
Find What You Need, Quickly
Advanced A.I. technology developed exclusively by vLex editorially enriches legal information to make it accessible, with instant translation into 14 languages for enhanced discoverability and comparative research.
-
Over 2 million registered users
Founded over 20 years ago, vLex provides a first-class and comprehensive service for lawyers, law firms, government departments, and law schools around the world.
Subscribers are able to see a list of all the documents that have cited the case.
You can sign up for a trial and make the most of our service including these benefits.
Why Sign-up to vLex?
-
Over 100 Countries
Search over 120 million documents from over 100 countries including primary and secondary collections of legislation, case law, regulations, practical law, news, forms and contracts, books, journals, and more.
-
Thousands of Data Sources
Updated daily, vLex brings together legal information from over 750 publishing partners, providing access to over 2,500 legal and news sources from the world’s leading publishers.
-
Find What You Need, Quickly
Advanced A.I. technology developed exclusively by vLex editorially enriches legal information to make it accessible, with instant translation into 14 languages for enhanced discoverability and comparative research.
-
Over 2 million registered users
Founded over 20 years ago, vLex provides a first-class and comprehensive service for lawyers, law firms, government departments, and law schools around the world.
Subscribers are able to see the revised versions of legislation with amendments.
You can sign up for a trial and make the most of our service including these benefits.
Why Sign-up to vLex?
-
Over 100 Countries
Search over 120 million documents from over 100 countries including primary and secondary collections of legislation, case law, regulations, practical law, news, forms and contracts, books, journals, and more.
-
Thousands of Data Sources
Updated daily, vLex brings together legal information from over 750 publishing partners, providing access to over 2,500 legal and news sources from the world’s leading publishers.
-
Find What You Need, Quickly
Advanced A.I. technology developed exclusively by vLex editorially enriches legal information to make it accessible, with instant translation into 14 languages for enhanced discoverability and comparative research.
-
Over 2 million registered users
Founded over 20 years ago, vLex provides a first-class and comprehensive service for lawyers, law firms, government departments, and law schools around the world.
Subscribers are able to see any amendments made to the case.
You can sign up for a trial and make the most of our service including these benefits.
Why Sign-up to vLex?
-
Over 100 Countries
Search over 120 million documents from over 100 countries including primary and secondary collections of legislation, case law, regulations, practical law, news, forms and contracts, books, journals, and more.
-
Thousands of Data Sources
Updated daily, vLex brings together legal information from over 750 publishing partners, providing access to over 2,500 legal and news sources from the world’s leading publishers.
-
Find What You Need, Quickly
Advanced A.I. technology developed exclusively by vLex editorially enriches legal information to make it accessible, with instant translation into 14 languages for enhanced discoverability and comparative research.
-
Over 2 million registered users
Founded over 20 years ago, vLex provides a first-class and comprehensive service for lawyers, law firms, government departments, and law schools around the world.
Subscribers are able to see a visualisation of a case and its relationships to other cases. An alternative to lists of cases, the Precedent Map makes it easier to establish which ones may be of most relevance to your research and prioritise further reading. You also get a useful overview of how the case was received.
Why Sign-up to vLex?
-
Over 100 Countries
Search over 120 million documents from over 100 countries including primary and secondary collections of legislation, case law, regulations, practical law, news, forms and contracts, books, journals, and more.
-
Thousands of Data Sources
Updated daily, vLex brings together legal information from over 750 publishing partners, providing access to over 2,500 legal and news sources from the world’s leading publishers.
-
Find What You Need, Quickly
Advanced A.I. technology developed exclusively by vLex editorially enriches legal information to make it accessible, with instant translation into 14 languages for enhanced discoverability and comparative research.
-
Over 2 million registered users
Founded over 20 years ago, vLex provides a first-class and comprehensive service for lawyers, law firms, government departments, and law schools around the world.
Subscribers are able to see the list of results connected to your document through the topics and citations Vincent found.
You can sign up for a trial and make the most of our service including these benefits.
Why Sign-up to vLex?
-
Over 100 Countries
Search over 120 million documents from over 100 countries including primary and secondary collections of legislation, case law, regulations, practical law, news, forms and contracts, books, journals, and more.
-
Thousands of Data Sources
Updated daily, vLex brings together legal information from over 750 publishing partners, providing access to over 2,500 legal and news sources from the world’s leading publishers.
-
Find What You Need, Quickly
Advanced A.I. technology developed exclusively by vLex editorially enriches legal information to make it accessible, with instant translation into 14 languages for enhanced discoverability and comparative research.
-
Over 2 million registered users
Founded over 20 years ago, vLex provides a first-class and comprehensive service for lawyers, law firms, government departments, and law schools around the world.