Reawakening resistance to draft registration : some implications for the 1980's.

Abstract

On July 21, 1980, after a five year suspension, draft registration returned to the United States amid scattered protests. Men born in 1960 were to register the first of a two week registration period, filling out cards with their names, addresses, Social Security numbers and other information at local post offices. Those men born in 1961 were required to register the following week. Men born in 1962 will be required to register the week beginning January 5, 1981. After that, men will register as they turn 18 years old. During the initial two week draft registration period, individuals and organizations opposed to registration held rallies, leafletted and picketted the nation's post offices, conducted counseling sessions for registration-age males, and sponsored meetings to discuss and answer questions about registration and alternatives to registration. The focus of this thesis is the reawakening resistance to President Carter's registration plans as demonstrated by meetings on registration and alternatives to registration sponsored by anti-registration groups, as well as by antidraft literature oublished by national anti-draft organizations The objectives of this research are (1) To determine who the leaders of local draft registration meetings are; (2) To determine the extent of their support at these meetings ; (3) To gather data on the alternatives to draft registration offered at these meetings as well as in current anti-draft literature; (4) To gather data on the effectiveness of such meetings in convincing draft-age youth not to register or to register under protest; (5) To offer predictions, based on the history of draft resistance in America and on the observations made above, on the impact of such groups on future attempts to bring back the draft.