What was the punishment for dodging the Vietnam draft?
Knowing and willful refusal to present oneself for and submit to registration as ordered is punishable by a maximum penalty of up to five years in Federal prison and/or a fine of US$250,000, although there have been no prosecutions of draft registration resisters since January 1986.
Did people go to jail for draft dodging?
These draft resisters hoped that their public civil disobedience would help to bring the war and the draft to an end. Many young men went to federal prison as part of this movement.
What happens if you refuse the draft in Vietnam?
It is also punishable by a $250,000 fine and up to five years imprisonment, among other consequences. So it’s a good idea to register. The US is unlikely to have a war which requires national conscription anytime soon, and there hasn’t been a real draft since the last days of the Vietnam War.
What was the punishment for burning a draft card?
In 1965 Congress passed an amendment to the Selective Service Act criminalizing the destruction or mutilation of draft cards. Penalties included fines up to $10,000 and five years in prison.
What happens if you dodge the draft?
Those men were offered amnesty by President Gerald Ford in 1974 and pardoned by President Jimmy Carter in 1977. Failing to register for the draft or join the military as directed is a felony punishable by a fine of up to $250,000 or a prison term of up to five years, or a combination of both.
Who was exempt from conscription in the Vietnam War?
The only men automatically exempted on occupational grounds were theological students, ministers of religion and members of religious orders. Students at a theological college were exempt from national service as long as their employment on which the exemption was based continued until they reached the age of 26.
How can I legally dodge draft?
Actions by resisters
- Declining to register for the draft, in nations where that is required by law.
- Declining to report for one’s draft-related physical examination, or for military induction or call-up, in nations where these are required by law.
- Participating in draft card burnings or turn-ins.
What happens if you dodged the draft?
What happens if you refuse drafting?
What happens if you don’t accept the draft?
Selective Service will probably assume you’re one of them. If you get a draft notice, show up, and refuse induction, you’ll probably be prosecuted. However, some people will slip through the cracks in the system, and some will win in court. If you show up and take the physical, there’s a good chance that you’ll flunk.
How many draft cards were burned during the Vietnam War?
1,400 draft cards
October 16, 1967, was a day of widespread war protest organized by The Mobe in 30 cities across the US, with some 1,400 draft cards burned.
Is burning of draft cards illegal?
Furthermore, after Congress adopted the Draft Card Mutilation Act of 1965 to promote the efficient operation of the Selective Service System and preempt venues of resistance, it became a criminal offense knowingly to destroy or mutilate one’s draft card.
How did the military draft affect the Vietnam War?
The military draft brought the war to the American home front. During the Vietnam War era, between 1964 and 1973, the U.S. military drafted 2.2 million American men out of an eligible pool of 27 million.
How many people were drafted in Vietnam?
The Draft in Context The military draft brought the war to the American home front. During the Vietnam War era, between 1964 and 1973, the U.S. military drafted 2.2 million American men out of an eligible pool of 27 million.
How did JFK defend the Vietnam War draft?
President John F. Kennedy, who began the escalation of the American military presence in Vietnam, also defended the peacetime draft and the Selective Service in 1962 statement, stating that “I cannot think of any branch of our government in the last two decades where there have been so few complaints about inequity.”
Was the draft a death sentence?
While many soldiers did support the war, at least initially, to others the draft seemed like a death sentence: being sent to a war and fight for a cause that they did not believe in.