Ask the Chatbot Games & Quizzes History & Society Science & Tech Biographies Animals & Nature Geography & Travel Arts & Culture ProCon Money Videos
conscription
Table of Contents
Introduction References & Edit History Quick Facts & Related Topics
Images
Franklin D. Roosevelt and the military draft Russian men drawing lots World War II; draft Draft protest
For Students
conscription summary
Related Questions
Read Next
Sailors attending information warfare courses at Information Warfare Training Command (IWTC) Corry Station march to class at Naval Air Station Pensacola Corry Station, Pensacola, Florida. These Sailors are just some of the many thousands training and preparing to defend America around the world as information warfare warfighters. September 30, 2019
Pro and Con: Mandatory National Service
Berlin, 1936 - Jesse Owens of the USA in action in the mens 200m at the Summer Olympic Games. Owens won a total of four gold medals.
Was Jesse Owens Snubbed by Adolf Hitler at the Berlin Olympics?
Portrait of Salvador Dali in front of painting "The Madonna of Port Lligat."
Famous Mustaches in History
Commemorative medal of Nobel Prize winner, Johannes Diderik Van Der Waals
7 Nobel Prize Scandals
American soldiers in the Ardennes during the Battle of the Bulge.
9 Questions About World War II Answered
Discover
Remarkable new details of Pluto's largest moon Charon are revealed in this image from New Horizons' Long Range Reconnaissance Imager (LORRI), taken late on July 13, 2015 from a distance of 289,000 miles
Why Is Pluto No Longer a Planet?
Demystified - Do Lemmings Really Commit Mass Suicide? illustration
Do Lemmings Really Commit Mass Suicide?
Mona Lisa, oil on wood panel by Leonardo da Vinci, c. 1503-06; in the Louvre, Paris, France. 77 x 53 cm.
Why Is the Mona Lisa So Famous?
Aphrodite. Greek mythology. Sculpture. Aphrodite is the Greek goddess of love and beauty.
12 Greek Gods and Goddesses
A Factory Interior, watercolor, pen and gray ink, graphite, and white goache on wove paper by unknown artist, c. 1871-91; in the Yale Center for British Art. Industrial Revolution England
Inventors and Inventions of the Industrial Revolution
Panoramic view at sunrise of moai, Ahu Tongariki, Easter Island (Rapa Nui), Chile
6 Lost Civilizations
World Data Locator Map: Australia
Is Australia an Island?

conscription: Facts & Related Content

verifiedCite
While every effort has been made to follow citation style rules, there may be some discrepancies. Please refer to the appropriate style manual or other sources if you have any questions.
Select Citation Style
Share
Share to social media
URL
https://www.britannica.com/facts/conscription
Written and fact-checked by
The Information Architects of Encyclopaedia Britannica

The Information Architects maintain a master list of the topics included in the corpus of  Encyclopædia Britannica, and create and manage the relationships between them.
The Information Architects of Encyclopaedia Britannica

Facts

Also Known As draft • compulsory military service

Photos

Franklin D. Roosevelt and the military draft
Russian men drawing lots
World War II; draft
Draft protest
See All Images and Audio →

Related Topics and References

Topics
Dig Deeper: More Articles That Discuss This Topic

Key People

Adolf Hitler
Adolf Hitler
dictator of Germany
Alexander II
Alexander II
emperor of Russia
August, Graf Neidhardt von Gneisenau
August, Count Neidhardt von Gneisenau
Prussian field marshal
Roon, engraving by K. Tetzel, 1861
Albrecht Theodor Emil, count von Roon
Prussian minister of war
Edward Douglass White
Edward Douglass White
chief justice of United States
Jourdan, detail of an engraving after a portrait by Hilaire Le Dru
Jean-Baptiste, Count Jourdan
French military commander
Melvin Laird
American public official