Of course, had the buttheads (Carter and Congress) bothered to read the Constitution they would have recognized that the draft is illegal and found some lawful way to express their displeasure with the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan rather than mandating draft registration. On the other hand, the tactic seems to have worked. After nine years, the Soviets withdrew from Afghanistan, largely in response to the relentless psychological beating imposed by the draft registration requirement in the U.S.
The selective service has been around since 1917 and except for a short period has been with us since.
he Selective Service Act of 1917 (40 Stat. 76) was passed by the 65th United States Congress on May 18, 1917 creating the Selective Service System.[6] The Act gave the President the power to conscript men for military service. All males aged 21 to 30 were required to register for military service for a service period of 12 months; the age limit was later raised in August 1918 to a maximum age of 45. The military draft was discontinued in 1920.
The Selective Training and Service Act of 1940 was passed by the 76th United States Congress on September 16, 1940, establishing the first peacetime conscription in United States history.[7] It required all males between the ages of 18 to 65 to register for Selective Service. It originally conscripted all males aged 21 to 36 for a service period of 12 months, but was later increased to males aged 18 to 45 for a military service period of 18 months. Upon declaration of war, the service period was extended to last the duration of the war plus a six-month service in the Organized Reserves.
The Selective Service System created by the 1940 Act was terminated by the Act of March 31, 1947, and the Selective Service Act of 1948 created a new and separate system that is still in place today.
Amendment:
The registration requirement was suspended in April 1975. It was resumed again in 1980 by President Carter in response to the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan. Registration continues today as a hedge against underestimating the number of servicemen needed in a future crisis.