Lesson Plan: The Selective Service System

11th Grade United States History

Lesson Objective

Students will describe the Selective Service lottery system for drafting soldiers into the military and
be able to give their opinion about fairness of the system, arguing either for or against the draft.

State Standard addressed

CSS 11.9.4: List the effects of foreign policy on domestic policies and vice versa (e.g., protests
during the war in Vietnam, the “nuclear freeze” movement).
CSS 12.2.2: ​Students evaluate and take and defend positions on the scope and limits of rights and
obligations as democratic citizens, the relationships among them, and how they are secured.
D2.Civ.2.9-12. Analyze the role of citizens in the U.S. political system, with attention to various
theories of democracy, changes in Americans’ participation over time, and alternative models from
other countries, past and present.

Instructional procedures

Anticipatory set
Instructor will start by setting the scene as a simulation of a present day war draft. Instructor should
explain that intelligence information just came in that North Korea has threatened a nuclear war
against South Korea and we are going overseas to give aid to South Korea. There are currently not
high enough rates of Americans joining the military so the government has chosen to issue a draft.

Perceived objective and purpose

“Today you will learn how the Selective Service System was used to draft soldiers into the Vietnam
War and determine the fairness of the system.”

Input
Instructor must create slides for the beginning of lesson to teach the background of the war draft
system, along with slides for explaining the processes of the independent practice. Slides at the
beginning should answer the three essential questions:
“What was the Selective Service System?”
“Why did the United States need a military draft?”
“How did the lottery system of drafting work?”

The slides for the independent practice portion of the lesson should list the following steps for the
student writing assignment:
 1. On your own, read ‘Overview of the Selective Service Lottery.’
2. Pick a side. Do you think it is a fair or unfair system?
3. Write a letter to Congress defending your position.
a. Be sure to include supporting evidence and a way to change the system if it is unfair.
4. Share your letter with a neighbor.

Instructor must prepare and print primary sources from 1960s media, a handout for how the lottery
system works, and a handout on the ​United States vs. O’Brien​ court case. Instructor should also
predetermine groups for who will be debating each side of the draft.

Modeling
Instructor will begin by having each student give their stance on the draft system by answering a
few simple questions about their own beliefs:
“The government is saying that we are in a time of dire need for a draft. Do you support the
government’s decision to implement a draft?”
“Would you ever voluntarily enlist if you believed we were in a wartime crisis?”
“Do you consider yourself a patriot?”
“How would you feel if all your friends got drafted into a war, but not you?”

While students are answering these questions individually, Instructor will place a randomly
numbered post it note on each student’s desk. Half of the numbers will be odd and half will be even.
Instructor will explain that if the students received an odd number, they will be leaving for war
today. Those students need to stand up and all move to one side of the room, while the even
numbered students go to move to the other side of the room. Instructor will set the scene and
explain that those leaving for war (with the odd numbers) are all friends with the even numbered
students who are staying here. Of the students leaving for war, some of them are patriots and happy
to go and some are hippies and do not want to go. They were not given time to say goodbye to
friends or family and instead must head straight to bootcamp.

Guided practice
Instructor will start a discussion about the varying emotions surrounding the draft by asking the
drafted students questions about going to war:
“How do you feel about going to war? Are you upset because you are against the war or just
because you do not want to fight? What are your options?”
“Do you consider yourself a patriot? Has your opinion on the draft changed? Statistically speaking,
one out of every ten of you that go overseas will be a casualty.”
“How is your life being interrupted by having to go to war? Does this bother or excite you?”

To the students that were not drafted, the instructor should pose different questions:
“So these are your friends. Are you sad to see them go, or just happy it was not you?”
“Did you support the draft before? Do you support the draft now?
“They are busy packing their bags, finding the correct-sized duffle bags, saying goodbye to
grandma/grandpa, boyfriend, girlfriend, so they have no time to think. You are their friends. What
are their options?”

Independent practice
Once the discussion has concluded students will return back to their original seats. They will be
given a copy of the “Overview of the Selective Service Lottery” handout from PBS Learning (see
attached). They will read over the handout, determine whether or not they believe the lottery draft to
be fair, and write a letter to Congress either supporting or arguing against the Selective Service
System. If they support it, students must explain why they believe it is far. If they do not support it,
they must explain why it is not fair and offer a solution.

Check for understanding

Instructor will walk around during independent practice to make sure students are on
task and understanding the assignment. The directions to the writing assignment will stay on the
board during the entire duration of the independent practice. After students are given time to read
and write their stance on the lottery system, they will share their thoughts with a neighbor and
compare arguments.

Closing
To conclude, the class will come back together for one final review of the lesson. Instructor should
ask the students to raise their hand to show if they supported the lottery system or wrote to Congress
to change it. This allows students to see how many people were on each side of the debate.
Instructor should ask the class for a few examples of each side of the Vietnam War argument
regarding the draft as one last repetition of review. Students should turn in their letter for the
instructor to give credit and check for completion and comprehension of the lesson.

Differentiation:
For students who may have trouble physically moving during the mock draft part of the lesson,
instructor should send the draftees or non-draftees to the section of the classroom where that student
is sitting. For students who may have social anxiety and do not feel comfortable sharing during the
class discussion, they may have the option to write what they were thinking during the class
discussion.
 Overview of the Selective Service Lottery

HERE IS HOW THE LOTTERY WOULD WORK:

The lottery process begins with two large air mix drums. First, the air mix balls having date and month on them are
loaded in one of the large drums. Using this same method, number from 1 to 365 (366 for men born in a leap year) on
the air mix balls are loaded in the second drum. Official observers certify that all air mix balls were loaded in the Titan
drawing machines.

One air mix ball is drawn from the drum containing birth dates January 1 through December 31. One air mix ball is
then drawn from the drum containing the sequence numbers from 1 through 365 (366 if the draft will call men born
during a leap year) and the date and number are paired to establish the sequence number for each birth date. This is
done in full view of all observers, officials, and the media.

For example, if the date of August 4 is drawn first from the “date” drum, and the sequence number of 32 is drawn
from the “number’s” drum at the same time, then those men turning 20 on August 4 would be ordered for induction
processing only after men whose birthdays drew sequence numbers 1 through 31. The drawings continue until all 365
(or 366) birthdays of the year are paired with a sequence number.

After the lottery is completed and results certified, the sequence of call is transmitted to the Selective Service
System’s Data Management Center. Almost immediately the first induction notices are prepared and sent via the U.S.
Postal Service to men whose birth dates drew the lowest lottery numbers.

This system, based on random selection of birth dates, with the order of priority for reporting assigned in a random
manner, is a fair and equitable method of calling men to serve.

THE VIETNAM LOTTERIES:

A lottery drawing - the first since 1942 - was held on December 1, 1969, at Selective Service National Headquarters in
Washington, D.C. This event determined the order of call for induction during calendar year 1970; that is, for
registrants born between January 1, 1944, and December 31, 1950. Reinstitution of the lottery was a change from the
"draft the oldest man first" method, which had been the determining method for deciding order of call.

There were 366 blue plastic capsules containing birth dates placed in a large glass container and drawn by hand to
assign order-of-call numbers to all men within the 18-26 age range specified in Selective Service law. With radio, film,
and TV coverage, the capsules were drawn from the container, opened, and the dates inside posted in order. The first
capsule - drawn by Congressman Alexander Pirnie (R-NY) of the House Armed Services Committee - contained the date
September 14, so all men born on September 14 in any year between 1944 and 1950 were assigned lottery number 1.
The drawing continued until all days of the year had been paired with sequence numbers.

The last draft call was on December 7, 1972, and the authority to induct expired on June 30, 1973. The date of the last
drawing for the lottery was on March 12, 1975. Registration with the Selective Service System was suspended on April
1, 1975, and registrant processing was suspended on January 27, 1976.

Registration was resumed in July 1980 for men born in 1960 and later, and is in effect to this present time. Men are
required to register within 30 days of their 18th birthday.
CLASSIFICATIONS:

Men are not classified now. Classification is the process of determining who is available for military service and who is
deferred or exempted. Classifications are based on each individual registrant's circumstances and beliefs. A
classification program would go into effect when Congress and the President decide to resume a draft. Then, men who
are qualified for induction would have the opportunity to file a claim for exemptions, deferments, and postponements
from military service. Here is a list of some, though not all, classifications and what they mean:
● ​1-A ​- Available immediately for military service.
● ​1-O Conscientious Objector ​- Conscientiously opposed to both types (combatant and noncombatant) of
military training and service - fulfills his service obligation as a civilian alternative service worker.
● ​1-A-O Conscientious Objector ​- Conscientiously opposed to training and military service requiring the use
of arms - fulfills his service obligation in a noncombatant position within the military.
● ​2-D Ministerial Students ​- Deferred from military service.
● ​3-A Hardship Deferment ​- Deferred from military service because service would cause hardship upon his
family.
● ​4-C Alien or Dual National ​- Sometimes exempt from military service.
● ​4-D Ministers of Religion ​- Exempted from military service.
● ​Student Postponements ​– A college student may have his induction postponed until he finishes the
current semester or, if a senior, the end of the academic year. A high school student may have his induction
postponed until he graduates or until he reaches age 20.
● ​Appealing a Classification ​– A man may appeal his classification to a Selective Service Appeal Board.

Source: www.sss.gov