Building the Military - Isaac

                At the beginning of the war, America only had a total of 300,000 soldiers, so they had to find new ways to recruit more people.  The selective service was created to draft men into the Army since most people wouldn’t volunteer.  Progressives weren’t very fond of this idea, but they didn’t have a choice.  There were around 2.8 million people drafted, and they were chosen by a random lottery.

Approximately 2 million citizens were brave enough to volunteer, mainly because they thought it was their duty to stand up for their country and protect their democracy.  As you can see though, many more people were drafted instead.  It was understandable because so many people were afrais of the war; afterwards, 50,000 had died and 200,000 were wounded from their efforts.  African Americans and women also took part in the war.  The African Americans still were discriminated against and were sent to aid the French, and they eventually proved themselves as worthy soldiers.  Women were often recruited to be nurses, and about 20,000 nurses were a part of the Army Nursing Corps.