The concept of compulsory military service is far from alien to the American political culture. The concept of the muster dated to colonial times, and was based on the Anglo-Saxon fyrd. Several states used conscription in the American Revolution to fulfill the quotas requested of them, including Pennsylvania, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Connecticut and Virginia. On February 6, 1778, the Continental Congress recommended that all states adopt draft laws, but the arrival of French reinforcements forestalled the need for more general conscription.
During the War of 1812, a conscription act was passed, but the war ended before any drafts were undertaken.
Far from being a shift away from basic American ideals toward a centralized government, the Federal Militia Act of 1862 and the Enrollment Act of 1863 (and the Confederate Conscription Act of 1862 for that matter) were seen as a return to the principles of the founding, as set forth in the Uniform Militia Act of 1792.
Under the Uniform Militia Act, Congress mandated "that
each and every free able-bodied white male citizen of the respective states, resident therein, who is or shall be of the age of eighteen years, and under the age of forty-five years (except as is herein after excepted) shall severally and respectively be enrolled in the militia by the captain or commanding officer of the company, within whose bounds such citizens shall reside...".
Unless specifically excepted, everyone that language covered was automatically in the militia. It was not a question of volunteering. And under the Militia Clauses of the Constitution, Congress has the power "...to provide for calling forth the Militia to execute the Laws of the Union, suppress Insurrections and repel Invasions;" When called forth, "The President shall be Commander in Chief of the Army and Navy of the United States, and of the Militia of the several States, when called into the actual Service of the United States..."
The 1836-37 Revised Statutes of North Carolina provide an example of how one was to be enrolled:
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"That all free white men and white apprentices, citizens of this state, or of the United States, residing in the State, who are or shall be of the age of eighteen, and under the age of forty-five years, shall, as soon as is practicable, be severally and respectively enrolled in the militia of this State, by the captain or commanding officer of the infantry company within the bounds of whose district...such citizen shall reside; and it shall, at all times, be the duty of every captain or commanding officer of any community, to enrol every such citizen, except as hereinafter excepted; and also those between the ages aforesaid, and not exempt by law, who may from time to time, come to reside within the bounds of his district, and remain therein thirty days; and he shall without delay, notify such citizen of his enrolment, by a proper non-commissioned officer of the company, by whom the notice may be given."
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The main limitations on Federal power were time - the Uniform Militia Act limited call-ups to 3 months - and state regulation of the militia in peacetime. Regarding the latter, the main reason why the army ran into manpower problems in 1861-1863 was what the states had done to the militias after 1792. The Uniform Militia Act (and the Calling Forth Act also passed that year), while making everyone a member of the militia, ceded almost all authority for organizing the militia to the states. And under Section 2 of the Uniform Militia Act, states found they could exempt almost anyone they wanted from serving: "...all persons who now are or may hereafter be exempted by the laws of the respective states, shall be, and are hereby exempted from militia duty, notwithstanding that their being above the the age of 18 and under the age of 45 years." Further, no penalties were placed on states that failed or refused to create and maintain militias.
States soon began unburdening themselves of the responsibility of maintaining their militias. Taking advantage of Section 2, Massachusetts exempted everyone aged 41-45. Then everyone aged 35-45. Then everyone under 21 and over 30. Other classes of exemptions, such as serving in volunteer fire companies, were added. "Clergymen, schoolmasters, professors and students in colleges, Quakers, engine men, and other large classes of persons" were exempted [quoting the Mass. Supreme Court]. There were other exemptions: in 1855, the state disbanded all militia companies composed primarily of Irishmen.
Most states shifted from a compulsory militia system to a volunteer militia system. According to John K. Mahon (
The History of the Militia and the National Guard):
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In 1831 Delaware abolished its [militia] system altogether. Massachusetts eliminated compulsory service in 1840, followed by Maine, Ohio, Vermont in 1844, Connecticut and New York in 1846, Missouri in 1847, and New Hampshire in 1851. Indiana classified its militia according to age in 1840, and exempted all but the young men from service. New Jersey withdrew the right to imprison a man for failure to pay a militia fine in 1844; Iowa did the same in 1846, Michigan in 1850, and California in 1856.
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The Army did not generally oppose the shift to volunteer militias. The disorganized, ignored in peacetime, militias called up in the War of 1812 were a disaster. By contrast, the volunteer militias generally fought well in the Mexican War (except for the 3,700 one-year men - one third of his force - who abandoned Gen. Scott between Vera Cruz and Mexico City when their enlistment ended).