Enoch Crowder - Selective Service Act

Selective Service Act

On April 2, 1917, the United States officially entered World War I. As Provost Marshal of the Army, Crowder led the drafting of the Selective Service Act which was passed by the U.S. Congress in May 1917. General Crowder, as he became known, was also responsible for directing of the Selective Service and supervised the draft – the registration, classification, and induction – of all American men who were 18–30 years of age into the armed services – over 2,800,000 men during the war.

The officers who served under General Crowder during this period are legion. Among these are the following: Major Hugh S. Johnson, Major Cassius Dowell, Lieutenant Colonel Allen W. Gullion, Major John H. Wigmore, Major Charles B. Warren, Captain M. C. Cramer, and Lieutenant Colonel E. A. Kreger. Although offered a promotion to the rank of Lieutenant General in 1918, General Crowder, mindful of public and Congressional opposition to “swivel chair” generals, refused the promotion, seeking instead a field command.

In October 1917, Crowder was promoted to Major General. As Judge Advocate General, he supervised the administration of military justice in the Army during the period when the number of general courts-martial rose from 6,200 in 1917 to over 20,000 in 1918. In 1918, the offices of Secretary of War Newton Baker issued the "work or fight" order, and Crowder became in charge of executing the order which mandated that virtually every activity in the country support the war effort.

On September 26, 1918, in response to newspaper reports of military camps being overcome by the Great Influenza Pandemic, Crowder cancelled the military draft calls for October.