The Provost Marshal General was relieved from duty on July 15, 1919, thereby finally terminating the activities of the Selective Service System of World War I.
On March 31, 1919, all local, district, and medical advisory boards were closed, and on May 21, 1919, the last state headquarters closed operations. They contain no information about an individual's military service.Īfter the signing of the armistice of November 11, 1918, the activities of the Selective Service System were rapidly curtailed. They end when an individual reports to the army training camp.
Moreover these are not military service records. It is important to note that not all of the men who registered for the draft actually served in the military and not all men who served in the military registered for the draft.
The registration cards consist of approximately 24,000,000 cards of men who registered for the draft, (about 23% of the population in 1918).
The information included on each registration differs somewhat but the general information shown includes order and serial numbers (assigned by the Selective Service System), full name, date and place of birth, race, citizenship, occupation, personal description, and signature. This was included in the second registration.) The third registration was held on September 12, 1918, for men age 18 through 45. (A supplemental registration was held on August 24, 1918, for those becoming 21 years old after June 5, 1918. The second, on June 5, 1918, registered those who attained age 21 after June 5, 1917. The first, on June 5, 1917, was for all men between the ages of 21 and 31. The local boards were charged with the registration, determination of order and serial numbers, classification, call and entrainment of draftees.ĭuring World War I there were three registrations. Local boards were established for each county or similar subdivision in each state, and for each 30,000 persons (approximately) in each city or county with a population over 30,000. The district boards had appellate jurisdiction over the decision of local boards in some claims and original jurisdiction in others. The average district board had jurisdiction over approximately 30 local boards, each with an average registration of 5,000 men. These organizations were responsible for registering men, classifying them, taking into consideration needs for manpower in certain industries and in agriculture, as well as certain special family situations of the registrants handling any appeals of these classifications determining the medical fitness of individual registrants determining the order in which registrants would be called calling registrants and placing them on trains to training centers.ĭistrict boards were established by the President (one or more for each Federal Judical District). Under the office of the Provost Marshal General the Selective Service System was made up of 52 states (or territories) and 4,648 local boards. Under the administration of the PMGO it was the states, territories and the District of Columbia which managed the operation of drafting men for military service in World War I. The Selective Service System was one of "supervised decentralization." The office of the Provost Marshal General in Washington was responsible for formulating policy and transmitting it to the governors of the 48 states, the District of Columbia and the territories of Alaska, Hawaii, and Puerto Rico. The Selective Service System, under the office of the Provost Marshal General, was responsible for the process of selecting men for induction into the military service, from the initial registration to the actual delivery of men to military training camps. On May 18, 1917, the Selective Service Act was passed authorizing the President to increase temporarily the military establishment of the United States.
Part 2: Microfilm Roll Lists Part 1: Introduction Historical Background