DBQ: Pros and Cons of a Military Draft

Directions: Read each paragraph, and answer each question on another sheet of paper.

A. House Resolution 163 and Senate Bill 89: Universal Service Act of 2003
"To provide for the common defense by requiring that all young persons in the United States, including women, perform a period of military service or a period of civil service in furtherance of the national defense and homeland security, and for other purposes.
—Co-Sponsored in the House of Representatives by 14 members and in the
Senate by 1 member

Question: According to HR 163, what would be the purpose of requiring all young men and women to perform military service?

B. "The most important reason to oppose HR 163 is that a draft violates the very principles of individual liberty upon which our nation was founded....Some say the 18-year-old draftee 'owes it' to his [or her, since HR 163 makes women eligible for the draft] country. Hogwash!....All drafts are unfair. All 18- and 19-year-olds are never drafted. By its very nature a draft must be discriminatory. All drafts hit the most vulnerable young people, as the elites learn quickly how to avoid the risks of combat....The draft encourages wars with neither purpose nor moral justification, wars that too often are not even declared by the Congress."
—Representative Ron Paul (Republican of Texas), 10/7/04

Question: What are two reasons for Representative Paul's opposition to HR 163?

C. "Bring back the draft. The Congress that voted overwhelmingly to allow the use of force in Iraq includes only one member who has a child in the enlisted ranks of the military—just a few more have children who are officers....A renewed draft will help bring a great appreciation of the consequences of decisions to go to war. Service in our nation's armed forces is no longer a common experience. A disproportionate number of the poor and members of minority groups make up the enlisted ranks of the military, while the most privileged Americans are underrepresented or absent."
—Representative Charles B. Rangel (Democrat of New York)

Question: Why does Representative Rangel think that a military draft would help Americans to understand better the consequences of the nation's going to war?

D. "There's not an American...that doesn't understand what we are engaged in today and what the prospects are for the future. If that's the case, why shouldn't we ask all of our citizens to bear some responsibility and pay some price?" This would force "our citizens to understand the intensity and depth of challenges we face....Those who are serving today and dying today are the middle class and lower middle class."
—Senator Chuck Hagel (Republican of Nebraska)

Question: What is one reason why Senator Hagel supports a draft?

E. Conscription "rests on the assumption that your kids belong to the state. If we buy that assumption then it is for the state—not for parents, the community, the religious institutions or teachers—to decide who shall have what values and who shall do what work, when, where and how in our society. That assumption isn't a new one. The Nazis thought it was a great idea."
—former president Ronald Reagan

Question: How does Reagan connect conscription with Nazi philosophy?

F. "I can't imagine our country going back to a draft. We don't need it. We're able to attract and retain wonderful people the way we're doing it as long as we provide the appropriate incentives. And certainly this is country that's wealthy enough to do that."
—Donald Rumsfeld, Secretary of Defense in the current Bush administration

Question: What does Secretary Rumsfeld's reference to the wealth of the U.S. have to do with his opposition to a draft?

This lesson was written for TeachableMoment.Org, a project of Educators for Social Responsibility Metropolitan Area. We welcome your comments. Please email author Alan Shapiro at: .