Draft evasion facts for kids

Draft evasion is any attempt to escape a government-forced legal requirement to serve in the military forces of one's nation. Sometimes draft evasion involves refusing to work with the military draft laws (formally known as conscription laws) of one's nation.

Illegal draft evasion is said to have characterized every military conflict of the 20th and 21st centuries. Such evasion is generally considered to be a criminal offense.

Images for kids

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  U.S. anti-Vietnam War protesters at the University of Wisconsin–Madison. A placard to the right reads "Use your head – not your draft card".

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  Anti-draft meeting held by women in New York City, 1917.

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  U.S. Secretary of War drawing the first number in the U.S. World War I draft lottery, 1917.

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  Tribunal for conscientious objectors in Britain during World War II.

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  In 1863, people rioted against the draft in New York City.

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  Anti-conscription march in Montreal, Quebec, Canada, May 1917

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  During World War II, Finnish draft evaders took refuge in the nation's forests

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  Rock star Aviv Geffen is one of several Israeli entertainers who have encouraged draft evasion.

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  Draft registration office near Moscow. In the mid-2010s, half the Russians called up were said to be evading the draft.

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  Aleppo during the Syrian Civil War. By 2016, 70,000 draft evaders had fled Syria, and others remained undetected inside it.

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  Eugene V. Debs spoke out against the draft during World War I.

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  A Vietnam War-era draft card. Retention of the card was legally required.

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  Draft card burning in New York City, 1967.

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  Phil Ochs (1940–1976) was one of several countercultural figures to encourage draft evasion.

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  David Harris and "The Resistance" helped organize Stop the Draft Week in Oakland, California, October 1967.

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  Mark Satin (left), director of the Toronto Anti-Draft Programme, counseling American draft evaders, 1967

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  Tattered copy of the Manual for Draft-Age Immigrants to Canada (1968) atop Anti-Draft Programme stationery.

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  Vancouver city councillor Jim Green was one of several draft evaders who became prominent in Canada.

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  Gay rights advocate Michael Hendricks (right) is another draft evader who affected Canadian life.

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  Ted Nugent, shown here addressing a Republican function in a military-style shirt, reportedly took extreme measures to avoid the draft. (Photo by Gage Skidmore.)

See also

In Spanish: Insumisión para niños