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ID107663
Title ProperDifferent and unequal? breadwinning, dependency deferments, and the gendered origins of the U.S. selective service system
LanguageENG
AuthorGeva, Dorit
Publication2011.
Summary / Abstract (Note)With establishment of the U.S. Selective Service System in 1917, selective draft rules placed consideration of registrants' economic obligations to their dependents front and center. By observing the Canadian and British recruitment experiences, American policy makers opted against universal conscription since they believed it would be costly because of the need to offer family allowances and opted against a voluntary system since they believed that too many bachelors would fail to volunteer. Dependency deferments were designed to minimize the social and economic costs of war. Local board members determined whether a man was a genuine breadwinner or not, and individual discretion on this matter contributed to the higher rates of African American draftees during WWI compared to white draftees, since African American men were less likely to be recognized as genuine breadwinners. Selective Service rules thus resulted in reproducing female citizens as economic dependents and yielded durable inequalities among registrants.
`In' analytical NoteArmed Forces and Society Vol. 37, No. 4; Oct 2011: p.598-618
Journal SourceArmed Forces and Society Vol. 37, No. 4; Oct 2011: p.598-618
Key WordsSelective Service System ;  Draft ;  Conscription ;  WWI ;  Dependency Deferments ;  Race ;  Breadwinning ;  Caregiving ;  Families ;  African American ;  Gender


 
 
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