21 July 2026

"CONSCIENTIOUS OBJECTOR" ? WHAT HAPPENS IF YOU MUST REGISTER FOR THE SELECTIVE SERVICE DRAFT - UNITED STATES - AND ARE NOT ONE TO FIGHT?


I believe one can be patriotic but not agree with whatever the prevailing doings of the President or the House or the Senate or any politician that has influence on the citizens lives. I've done the genealogy for a family that had members on both sides of the Civil War.  I can just imagine the arguments at those dining tables.  So it has been, so it is - not everyone is for a War or on the same side of a question.

Conscientious Objectors are not officially "Conscientious Objectors" unless they state that WHEN THEY ARE ACTUALLY CALLED TO SERVE.  One registers and maybe there will be a draft, maybe there won't be, and maybe that person won't be called upon. Therefore, if you seek an ancestor's draft registration, their CO status will not be on those forms, which are often simple forms. A "CO" must prove they have a deep seated conviction, belonging to a religious organization that is anti-war is the primary way to prove this, such as being a member of the Jehovah Witnesses, and it can mean that the person must still serve, but not in "combat." (Other military records may have the information you seek.)

THE NUMBERS OF MEN/MALES WHO REGISTER ARE DEFINIING THEMSELVES AS "CO." HAS SOARED, some say 1000%. 

WOMEN/FEMALES STILL ARE NOT REQUIRED TO REGISTER.

I'm linking to a recommended website: If you or your loved-one wants to know "what happens next" if the United States continues or furthers its current participations and/or actions using the military, and people are once again actually drafted, this is what you want to read:

 GI RIGHTS HOTLINE MILITARY CONSCIENCIOUS OBJECTORS Wow!  Lots of information here!

(See the next post to find out where to get the military records for CO's

C 2026 Ancestry Worship - Genealogy BlogSpot


18 July 2026

NEW AUTOMATIC "SELECTIVE SERVICE" DRAFT REGISTRATION : OLD DRAFT REGISTRATIONS ARE VALUABLE GENEALOGY LINKS

CNBC New Draft Laws Starting Dec 2026


Oh, this change brings up so much history -


Not registering in the first place was one of the ways that some chose to evade being involved in war. Unpopular wars, wars not defined as wars or not officially declared, religious membership and non-violent lifestyles, and yes, the question of women's participation, all come to mind. There was no official involuntary service in the Revolutionary War because there was not yet a government of the United States and militia were voluntary and as for the Civil War, that's controversial too.

LETS LOOK AT THE HISTORY OF REGISTERING FOR THE MILITARY DRAFT (rather than voluntarily signing up for participation) IN THE UNITED STATES.

THERE WAS NO "SELECTIVE SERVICE" - DRAFT UNTIL WORLD WAR I

The SELECTIVE SERVICE ACT WAS passed on May 18, 1917, authorized the federal government of the United States of America to draft men for military service after voluntary enlistments for World War I proved insufficient, ultimately registering millions of American men between the ages of 18 and 45 in three waves.

REGISTRATION DID NOT and DOES NOT MEAN THE PERSON WILL BE DRAFTED TO SERVE.


The reason the Civil War enrollment is controversial is that this seems to apply to those to serve the Union, which won the war. An excerpt regarding the Civil War: No organized selection process. Those selected could pay cash in lieu of service, or hire substitutes. Induction was accomplished by district enrollment boards.


I consider the most valuable of these draft registrations for most Americans researching at this point, is the World War I draft registration.  Many "industrial age" immigrants who arrived in the late 1800's and early 1900's registered for this draft, WHICH DID NOT REQUIRE A MAN BE A CITIZEN OF THE UNITED STATES. Often the man registering will state the date they entered the United States and where they were born, revealing the name of the town where you can look for church records.


C 2026 Ancestry Worship - Genealogy BlogSpot
All Rights Reserved including Internet and International Rights

02 July 2026

250th ANNIVERSARY OF THE DECLARATION OF INDEPENDENCE - UNITED STATES HISTORY

The United States will celebrate its 250th anniversary on July 4, 2026, marking the semiquincentennial of the Declaration of Independence.



Smithsonian National Portrait Gallery
James Barton Longacre (11 Aug 1794)

Etching and stipple and line engraving on paper.
Public Domain

01 July 2026

Ancestry Worship - Genealogy