Communist Confederacy: Instituting Conscription in the USA

My Communist Confederacy stuff treads along well (a couple of short stories done/near done and about to be sent to a few friends here on site to see what they think) but there is a kink in the world I want your help making more plausible. Specifically, I want the USA to have a mantatory conscription program ala Israel or Prussia, where people serve 2-3 years, upon which you can volunteer to serve as a soldier or be honorably released from conscription, albiet remain on draft lists until you turn 40, regardless of race, status or class.

My questions are:

1) Is such a system plausible in the USA? Even in OTL, mandatory military service has never come to fruition, despite it being adopted by most of the western world. I imagine it would be much more viable with the CSA and British Canada on the borders, but still, want to be sure.

2) How might such a system opperate? What needs or concerns woulod need to be addressed in the post-war USA?

3) What might the effects be, socially, politically, ecnomically? One of the reasons I wanted to push it in the story is that it might hurther bridge the gap between the races or classes in the USA - even a Rockefeller or a Roosevelt has to serve.

4) Could such a system be tied to citizenship or voter's rights? Nothing Starship troopers-like, but if you serve your 2-3 years from age 18-21, you'd be voting age upon your release - maybe tie successful completion of service to the right to vote, or is that too much?
 
It would depend on how draconian you want it to be. The existence of a plausible threat on both borders would necessitate the existence of such a force, but how large do you want the conscription classes to be?

1-3 years would be best.

Upon completion, the soldiers would become part of the reserves. I don't think you should tie it to citizenship, the USA has a large enough population and is rich enough to be able to exempt a lot of key personnel. Specialised craftsmen, proffessionals etc... would not be called up in the event of a war.
 
A couple other questions that come up.

1) What happened to the US faith in the militia/common man springing to arms?

2) What caused the US to fund such an extensive program? And exactly how is it doing so (since this is a much greater expense than the OTL budget of the day)?

By OTL US standards in the 19th century, this would be extreme - even if conditions existed to make people propose it, What has made the situation one where this would be found acceptable?

I don't want to say it can't possibly happen without more thought, but it would be quite a big deal.
 
Perhaps it could be tied into public education.

Have a system where at age 16 high school (rigorous and difficult) is over and each male individual is asked to serve for a minimum of 2 years. Conscientious Objectors do 4 years in a peace-corps like organization or the Army Corps of Engineers. Firearms training, physical conditioning, further education, and some vocational training are mandatory. An ASVAB-like test develops early and candidates list a job they like and have one they test into. They can pursue both for a limited time then must decide which to do. Thus *everyone* has some sort of useful skillset upon graduating, and maybe someone from the motor pool or kitchen staff rises to high office. At the end of the two-year cycle, full voting rights are granted along with permission to consume alcohol. For new citizens under 40, 2 years of military duty are required for citizenship, no questions asked. Pay is granted to sustain families who live on-site with bare necessities and very little else. Volunteers may stay in the military and officers can be selected based on service and recommendations. All men serve, no exceptions.
 
Perhaps it could be tied into public education.

Why?

Why would this be tied to public education? Why would the US want to adopt such a measure?

This isn't trying to develop a new society from the ground up, this is trying to divert the course of an existing one.

We can come up with ways such a program could be done until we're bored to death, but something has to make the US see this as worth adopting - despite the expense (and Congress's traditional tight fistedness about the military), and despite the US faith in the citizen-in-arms.
 
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Because there is already money for public education, this might just be seen as supplementing that and doing more than just military service. If vocational training is also involved it might be easier for tight...fisted...Congressvolk to stomach
 
Because there is already money for public education, this might just be seen as supplementing that and doing more than just military service. If vocational training is also involved it might be easier for tight...fisted...Congressvolk to stomach

I'm not convinced.

Money for public education at a national level isn't a big thing in this period, if done to any great extent at all.
 

Cook

Banned
1) Is such a system plausible in the USA? Even in OTL, mandatory military service has never come to fruition, despite it being adopted by most of the western world.
Can you clarify what you mean here? Because historically the United States and Confederacy both introduced conscription during the Civil War, and the US had conscription during both World Wars, Korea and Vietnam. Universal conscription was introduced by Roosevelt in 1940, despite the US being at peace. The draft during Korea and Vietnam was by no means universal, but registration for it was, the army simply could not afford to take more men in. It seems clear that faced with an existential threat, the United States will institute conscription even when nominally at peace.
 
Can you clarify what you mean here? Because historically the United States and Confederacy both introduced conscription during the Civil War, and the US had conscription during both World Wars, Korea and Vietnam. Universal conscription was introduced by Roosevelt in 1940, despite the US being at peace. The draft during Korea and Vietnam was by no means universal, but registration for it was, the army simply could not afford to take more men in. It seems clear that faced with an existential threat, the United States will institute conscription even when nominally at peace.

Think Prussia or Israel style conscription, where every citizen/prospective citizen serves two-three years in the military, and the following twenty on draft listings if they don't choose to volunteer for full service.
 
The USA shifting from the ideal of the citizen-soldier militia springing to the nation's defense to a system of universal conscription shouldn't be that big of a plausibility problem, provided the USA has suffered a defeat severe enough to discredit the citizen-soldier militia ideal; and the very fact that a CSA exists at all ITTL is a sign that the USA has suffered such a catastrophic defeat, and possibly more than one. After such defeat(s), it would be easy enough for Congress to decide that, "well, that old idea didn't work out so great, we'd better try something else."

I'm not sure the new system of conscription would need to be as extreme as Prussia or Israel. Then again, I don't know thekingsguard's source material. How aggressive are the USA's enemies in the stories? Is there a real chance that they might launch a pre-emptive war or an offensive invasion to conquer (or "liberate") US territory? How existential is the existential threat?
 
The USA shifting from the ideal of the citizen-soldier militia springing to the nation's defense to a system of universal conscription shouldn't be that big of a plausibility problem, provided the USA has suffered a defeat severe enough to discredit the citizen-soldier militia ideal; and the very fact that a CSA exists at all ITTL is a sign that the USA has suffered such a catastrophic defeat, and possibly more than one. After such defeat(s), it would be easy enough for Congress to decide that, "well, that old idea didn't work out so great, we'd better try something else."

I'm not sure the new system of conscription would need to be as extreme as Prussia or Israel. Then again, I don't know thekingsguard's source material. How aggressive are the USA's enemies in the stories? Is there a real chance that they might launch a pre-emptive war or an offensive invasion to conquer (or "liberate") US territory? How existential is the existential threat?

Search the forum for Communist Confederacy to find some of the other material.

As for your questions, there is some chance, but for the most part, I would think it would be a reaction to both having peace with the CSA forced on them and being surrounded by hostile powers (CSA, Britian, France), mixed with a large desire for payback.
 
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