REC/GOV/093. Selective Service System.

President Franklin Roosevelt signed the Selective Training and Service Act of 1940, which created the country’s first peacetime draft and formally established the Selective Service System as an independent Federal agency. That same year, the first local Selective Service boards were appointed in Connecticut. From 1948 until 1973, during both peacetime and periods of conflict, men were drafted to fill vacancies in the armed forces that could not be filled through voluntary means. In 1973, the draft ended and the United States converted to an all-volunteer military. The registration requirement was suspended in April 1975. It was resumed again in 1980 by President Carter and continues today. The records of Connecticut’s Headquarters of the Selective Service System documents the various activities of the local boards and such committees as the Youth Advisory Committee, State Medical Advisory Committee, Advisory Committee on Scientific, Engineering, and Specialized Personnel, and the Industry Advisory Committee. Records include manuals, procedural directives, statistical reports, requests for draft deferments, newspaper clippings, publications, meeting minutes, and correspondence.