World+War+I+(EW)

Volunteers and Conscripts of WWI
plan to remain neutral. However the US faced many problems in the early stages of war. One problem the US military faced was their number of recruits. Entering the war, the army and the National Guard had slightly more than 30,000. This was a disadvantage especially when numbers were important in this particular war. The demand for troops was high and the US senate needed to come up with a way to encourage recruits. Conscription- forced military service- was out of the question because it contradicted Republican and Democratic policies; soon they found a need for a draft and through that need issued a new conscription called selective service.
 * April 1917, the US enters the first World War with much enthusiasm and vigor despite Wilson's

Through selective service the military simultaneously drafted about 2.8 million Americans. However this was only half of the total recruits in military service during World War I; an estimated 2 million young men volunteered for military service. Many soldiers wanted to fight for the sake of Democracy while others felt it was their obligation as a US citizen. Some of the younger recruits had heard stories of the Civil War and Spanish American War during their childhood and wished to experience the glory for themselves.

Of all the recruits that were drafted, approximately 400,000 were African American. African American soldiers faced much segregation in the war; they were separated into "black divisions" and were commanded by white officers. Despite the discrimination the divisions proved to be quite useful in the Western Front of France.**