ANCESTRY WORSHIP - Genealogy: Selective Service

26 August 2026

CONSCIENTIOUS OBJECTORS : PLOWSHARES DIGITAL ON-LINE ARCHIVE FOR PEACE STUDIES : FREE SPEECH - FREEDOM OF RELIGION - CIVIL RIGHTS - INTERFAITH - AMISH - MENNONITE - CHURCH OF THE BRETHERN

Freedom of Religion, Free Speech - Our basic rights as Americans?

This post concludes the subject of CONSCIENTIOUS OBJECTORS at this time here at ANCESTRY WORSHIP - GENEALOGY.

I learned that three colleges in Indiana have collaborated in a project that appears on the PLOWSHARES DIGITAL ARCHIVE FOR PEACE STUDIES. The colleges are Earlham College, Goshen College, and Manchester University

PALNI PLOWSHARES DIGITAL ARCHIVE

Excerpts:

The Plowshares Digital Archive for Peace Studies provides primary documents - including minutes, diaries, correspondence, pamphlets, newspapers and periodicals - ranging in date from the 1700s to the present. The archive chronicles the social justice efforts of the students and faculty of these colleges as well as the members of their affiliated historic peace-churches - Quakers, Mennonites and the Church of the Brethren. This partnership, often supported by the Lilly Endowment, focuses on preserving and documenting the history of peace studies, social justice, and the peacemaking traditions of the historic peace churches: Quakers, Mennonites, and the Church of the Brethren.

Now, let's go over the subject a bit:

A person who registers for the United States Selective Service (Military Draft) may never be called to serve. Currently men/males but not women/females must register.

The time to state that one is a CO is when called to serve.

In the past there have been options including military service that is non-combative and working in non-military Public Service Camps.

The United States will by the end of 2026 have a vast database that includes all the 18-25 year old men/males possible to find. There will be stiff penalties for not registering.

If you are a CO, look to the past, and then to the present. At this moment, I don't know all the details when it comes to opting out of military service for the United States of America.

It is my opinion that patriotism has room for diverse opinions.

NARA is the first step to finding MILITARY SERVICE RECORDS including Draft Registrations, for ancestors and Next-of-Kin.

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.

SELECTIVE SERVICE TIME LINE US GOV

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