The military draft.

• Position: GRAPH > NATIONAL

Debate over the draft in America is as old as the nation itself. In 1789, President George Washington asked Congress to pass a draft law, but lawmakers turned him down.

The first drafts in the U.S. occurred during the Civil War [1861-1865], when both the North and South conscripted soldiers into their battered armies. In 1863, anti-draft riots in New York tasted for five days and killed at least 100 people.

The draft didn't return until World War I. Half a million men were drafted in 1917 and 2.3 million in 1918. The first peacetime draft was instituted by the U.S. in 1940, after World War II began in Europe.

With the departure of U.S. troops from Vietnam in 1973, the draft ended. Today, America's military--about 1.4 million personnel on active duty--relies on voluntary enlistments.

ANALYZE THE GRAPH

1. After Japan attacked Pearl Harbor in Hawaii in December 1941, the U.S. entered World War II. In 1942, draftees totaled about

   (a) 1 million (c) 3 million (b) 2 million (d) 900,000

2. In 1917, not shown on the graph, the U.S. drafted 500,000 men to fight in World War I. This is about 200,000 more men than were drafted in

   (a) 1948 (c) 1970 (b) 1954 (d) 1968

3. After World War II, the number of draftees declined sharply. About how many fewer draftees were conscripted in 1946 than in 19447

   (a) 1,400,000 (c) 800,000 (b) 1,000,000 (d) 900,000

4. With the start of the Korean War in 1950, the U.S. ratcheted up the draft. About how many more draftees were there in 1952 than in 1950?

   (a) 150,000 (c) 180,000 (b) 220,000 (d)...