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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Muhammad Ali refused induction in 1966.
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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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Phil Ochs (1940–1976) was one of several countercultural figures to encourage draft evasion.
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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.)
