Draft Resistance

Since America's inception, the debate over the federal government's right to compel Americans into military service (i.e., the right to draft) has evoked passion and dissidence. Some resisters questioned whether the federal government had the authority to compel military service while others disagreed with the premise of the war they were being drafted to fight in. Still a great many others resisted purely on the grounds that they wanted no part of military life, especially if they might have to make the ultimate sacrifice and die for their country. Nonetheless, the debate over the draft predates the Constitution. Americans have been resisting the federal authority to draft American citizens since before Congress was established.

During the constitutional conventions, the founders debated the conditions and authority that could precipitate a draft. Federalists believed a federal draft violated core American values of liberty and republicanism. They compared the prospects of federal authority to compel military service to the recent memory of tyrannical British occupying forces. On the issue of the federal authority to draft, anti-federalists effectively concurred. Their opposition stemmed from a fear of the consequences of juxtaposing the power of the purse and sword. No member or organ of government ought to have the power to fund and raise an army. This consensus on the draft manifested in the resultant language of the Constitution;there was no explicit mention of the power to draft—it is neither condoned nor forbidden. The founders left the question to future generations of politicians. Given the federalists' concern about inalienable rights and the anti-federalists' concern about aggrandized federal power, the final language of the Constitution only mentions militias: state-based organizations with the understood purpose of national (local) defense.

Despite this understanding of the draft and the seemingly universal opposition thereto, 3 years into the War of 1812 and having just witnessed the burning of the White House, President James Madison called for a draft. However, Congress rejected his request citing the founders' concern that they did not have the right to conscript an army. Representative Daniel Webster led the congressional resistance, arguing a draft would infringe on civil and personal liberties and embrace despotism of the worst form.

Thirty-nine years later, President Abraham Lincoln also faced a war and a manpower deficit;however, his draft request met with greater success. On March 3, 1863, the first federal draft in American history took effect. As with every draft since, some potential inductees resisted service by legal means while others employed illegal tactics. Legally a man could avoid service by providing a substitute or paying a $300 commutation fee. For all the resistance efforts to the Civil War draft, none were more infamous than the July 1863 New York City draft riots.

Many New Yorkers resented “Lincoln's War,”lamenting that the Civil War had become a rich man's war but a poor man's fight. These tensions culminated on July 13, 1863, when the first draft calls commenced. A fire brigade actually started the riots, setting a draft office ablaze when one of their own was denied exemption as a public servant. Five days of mayhem ensued, engulfing lower Manhattan in a rioting flurry of draft resistance. Though some scholars argue that the riots were more a manifestation of race and class tension than draft protest, the catalyst for the riots is indisputable. The riots began as a direct result of the implementation of the Draft Act and the execution of the first draft calls in New York City.

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