USA HISTORY

AMERICAN IMPERIALISM(1890 1919)

THE UNITED STATES IN WORLD WAR I

[SOURCES]
How did the US government build such a large army in such a short amount of time?

(A) By asking for volunteers

(B) By appealing to the patriotism of Americans

(C) ** By establishing the draft

(D) By offering large signing bonuses

EXPLANATIONS BELOW

Concept note-1: -America’s armed forces consisted largely of “citizen soldiers", men and women drawn from civilian life. They came from every state in the nation and all economic and social strata. Many were volunteers, but the majority, roughly 10 million, entered the military through the draft.

Concept note-2: -In order to build an adequate fighting force, Congress passed the Selective Service Act on May 18, 1917. This law required all men between the ages of 21 and 30 to register for military duty. By the end of the war, 2.8 million men had been drafted for service.

Concept note-3: -To that end, Congress passed the Selective Service Act, which Wilson signed into law on May 18, 1917. The act required all men in the U.S. between the ages of 21 and 30 to register for military service. Within a few months, some 10 million men across the country had registered in response to the military draft.

Concept note-4: -On April 6, 1917, when the United States declared war against Germany, the nation had a standing army of 127, 500 officers and soldiers. By the end of the war, four million men had served in the United States Army, with an additional 800, 000 in other military service branches.