Changes

The population of the U.S. exceeded that of Britain and France combined, and by 1917 it had far more available healthy young men than all the powers combined. Wilson (who remembered the invaders who had burned and ravaged his beloved South in 1864-65) distrusted the regular Army, as did most Democrats. Few southerners, Democrats or ethnics were field officers (majors to colonels); very few were flag officers (generals and admirals). (The low-prestige enlisted ranks did include many ethnics and few Blacks and white southerners.) Secretary of State [[William Jennings Bryan]] in 1913 had humiliated career soldiers by telling them they ought instead to be in respectable civilian occupations.<ref>By 1940 many Southerners, and a few ethnics, had achieved senior rank, and Democratic party leaders rarely showed any animus against the military.</ref>

The population of the U.S. exceeded that of Britain and France combined, and by 1917 it had far more available healthy young men than all the powers combined. Wilson (who remembered the invaders who had burned and ravaged his beloved South in 1864-65) distrusted the regular Army, as did most Democrats. Few southerners, Democrats or ethnics were field officers (majors to colonels); very few were flag officers (generals and admirals). (The low-prestige enlisted ranks did include many ethnics and few Blacks and white southerners.) Secretary of State [[William Jennings Bryan]] in 1913 had humiliated career soldiers by telling them they ought instead to be in respectable civilian occupations.<ref>By 1940 many Southerners, and a few ethnics, had achieved senior rank, and Democratic party leaders rarely showed any animus against the military.</ref>

   

   

The Democrats who controlled the government placed their hopes on the American volunteer tradition, expecting that millions of patriots would spring to arms in the emergency. They ignored General Staff warnings (in 1916) that the volunteer system was "undemocratic, unreliable, inefficient and Extravagant." (In the Progressive Era, "inefficiency" and "waste" were always considered evil.)<ref> By contrast In World War II, the Navy, Marines and Air Force relied largely on volunteers, while the Army depended chiefly on draftees.</ref>  

The Democrats who controlled the government placed their hopes on the American volunteer tradition, expecting that millions of patriots would spring to arms in the emergency. They ignored General Staff warnings (in 1916) that the volunteer system was "undemocratic, unreliable, inefficient and Extravagant." (In the Progressive Era, "inefficiency" and "waste" were always considered evil.)<ref>By contrast In World War II, the Navy, Marines and Air Force relied largely on volunteers, while the Army depended chiefly on draftees.</ref>  

   

   

In 1916 Congress had expanded the Army to 175,000 men—about what Greece had. A fighting Army had to be 25 times larger: by war's end, 4.3 million soldiers were in uniform, plus a half-million in the Navy and Marines. Reliance on volunteers would indeed have been inefficient because it would have drawn essential managers, talented engineers and skilled machinists away from critical jobs—a formula for shutting down industrial production just when it was most urgently needed. Wilson finally reversed positions in March 1917 when ex-President Roosevelt (his great political enemy) publicly demanded to raise two elite divisions and lead them into battle, much like the Rough Riders regiment of 1898. Wilson vetoed Roosevelt's proposal and accepted the General Staff plan for conscription, with the option of volunteering left open. The first national draft was begun, shaped by Washington but administered by 119,000 local officials in 4,600 draft boards. It was the model of Progressive expertise. "The business now in hand is undramatic, practical, and of scientific definiteness and precision," said Wilson. Some 2.8 million doughboys were drafted, 400,000 entered as National Guardsmen, and 1.6 million (including nearly all sailors and Marines) were direct volunteers. The draft was compulsory in a sense, but it was so well organized that the vast majority voluntarily stepped forward. Apart from the far left, there was little overt resistance.  

In 1916 Congress had expanded the Army to 175,000 men—about what Greece had. A fighting Army had to be 25 times larger: by war's end, 4.3 million soldiers were in uniform, plus a half-million in the Navy and Marines. Reliance on volunteers would indeed have been inefficient because it would have drawn essential managers, talented engineers and skilled machinists away from critical jobs—a formula for shutting down industrial production just when it was most urgently needed. Wilson finally reversed positions in March 1917 when ex-President Roosevelt (his great political enemy) publicly demanded to raise two elite divisions and lead them into battle, much like the Rough Riders regiment of 1898. Wilson vetoed Roosevelt's proposal and accepted the General Staff plan for conscription, with the option of volunteering left open. The first national draft was begun, shaped by Washington but administered by 119,000 local officials in 4,600 draft boards. It was the model of Progressive expertise. "The business now in hand is undramatic, practical, and of scientific definiteness and precision," said Wilson. Some 2.8 million doughboys were drafted, 400,000 entered as National Guardsmen, and 1.6 million (including nearly all sailors and Marines) were direct volunteers. The draft was compulsory in a sense, but it was so well organized that the vast majority voluntarily stepped forward. Apart from the far left, there was little overt resistance.