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When did the US end student deferments for the Vietnam draft?
Executive summary
Student deferments for the Vietnam-era draft were effectively limited by Congress in 1971, when President Nixon signed draft-reform legislation that ended the automatic II‑S undergraduate deferment for incoming freshmen and changed how long students could avoid induction; Nixon also halted draft calls in 1972 and the draft ended in favor of an all‑volunteer force in 1973 [1] [2] [3]. Sources agree the decisive policy changes came in 1971, with related administrative changes and the later cessation of draft calls through 1972–1973 [1] [2].
1. The turning point: Congress and Nixon, 1971
The clearest policy shift described in contemporary coverage came when Congress passed and President Nixon signed a new draft bill in September 1971 that removed the automatic undergraduate (II‑S) deferment for the freshman class of 1975 and succeeding classes, reclassifying those students as eligible for induction rather than indefinitely deferred [1]. The Harvard Crimson reported the law made the then‑current freshman class I‑A rather than II‑S and allowed only short postponements tied to academic terms, marking the formal end of the old open‑ended student deferment system [1].
2. How the 1971 changes actually worked in practice
Government and historical summaries explain the reform narrowed eligibility and shortened postponements: under the pre‑1971 system a student could be deferred essentially until age limits were reached; after reform, a college student’s induction could be postponed only until the end of the current semester or academic term, and the law placed tighter caps [3] [4]. The Selective Service System frames the 1971 changes as part of a suite of reforms intended to make the system “more fair,” replacing long student deferments with semester‑level postponements [3].
3. The end of draft calls vs. the end of deferments — related but distinct
Several sources emphasize two distinct milestones: ending student deferments [5] and ending draft calls (1972–1973). Encyclopaedia Britannica and other summaries note that while student deferments were limited in 1971, Nixon ended all draft calls in 1972 and the draft was formally abolished in favor of an all‑volunteer force in 1973 [2]. In short: deferment reform came first [5]; draft calls wound down in 1972; conscription was replaced by an all‑volunteer military in 1973 [1] [2].
4. Why reform happened: fairness, protests, and political pressure
Reporting and institutional histories link the 1971 policy change to widespread criticism that the draft system disproportionately spared college students and hit working‑class young men hardest, plus political pressure to make the draft more equitable. The Selective Service frames the 1970s reforms as intended to correct those inequities and to modernize the system [3]. Opposition to deferments and the draft itself—both grassroots protest and academic criticism—was a persistent factor leading up to legislative reforms [6] [3].
5. Continuity with earlier reforms and limits on the narrative
Reforms in the mid‑ to late‑1960s had already narrowed some deferments—e.g., the Military Selective Service Act amendments in 1967 reduced some postgraduate deferments—so the 1971 law was part of an ongoing process rather than an isolated event [7] [8]. Available sources do not provide a full, day‑by‑day legislative timeline in this packet, so exact statutory language, amendments, and the interplay with administrative practice beyond the cited summaries are not detailed here [1] [3].
6. Different ways people remember the end: lived experience vs. legal milestones
First‑hand recollections and institutional memory sometimes blur the dates: students recall lottery numbers, sudden reclassification, and classmates dropping out in late 1971 and the early 1970s when draft pressure peaked [9]. Historians and encyclopedias treat 1971 as the policy pivot on deferments and 1972–1973 as the operational end of draft calls and the formal end of conscription [9] [2].
7. How historians and the government summarize the outcome
Authoritative summaries (Britannica, Selective Service) concur that 1971 marked the end of the broad student‑deferment era, with the draft apparatus itself being phased out by 1972–1973 as Nixon halted calls and the U.S. moved to an all‑volunteer force [2] [3]. Those sources present a consistent sequence: deferment reform [5] → end of draft calls [10] → abolition of the draft in favor of volunteers [11] [1] [2].
Limitations: This briefing relies solely on the provided documents; it does not quote the full 1971 statute text or later administrative regulations, which would clarify precise legal wording and transitional rules not fully captured in these summaries [1] [3].