What were the major policy changes to Selective Service during Nixon's presidency?
Executive summary
President Nixon pushed several major changes to Selective Service: he moved the U.S. draft from an “oldest‑first” system to a youngest‑first order with a randomized lottery (law signed Nov. 26, 1969), launched and used the Gates Commission to pursue an all‑volunteer force, and enacted legislation in 1971 that reformed deferments, board composition, and put conscription on “standby” prior to the end of inductions in 1973 [1] [2] [3]. Available sources do not mention other specific Nixon‑era administrative tweaks beyond these reforms and the classification/regulatory changes reported in 1971 (not found in current reporting).
1. Nixon’s stated goal: end the draft and make the system “fair”
Nixon campaigned promising to abolish the draft and repeatedly framed reform as a way to remove inequities in who served, telling the public he favored an all‑volunteer force while also saying Selective Service must be made “as fair and equitable as possible” until that goal could be reached [4] [5]. This political objective shaped the major policy moves he pursued once in office [4].
2. From oldest‑first to youngest‑first plus a lottery — law and practice
In his May 1969 message to Congress Nixon asked for several precise reforms, including changing induction from oldest‑first to youngest‑first and implementing a random selection process; Congress and the administration then enacted an amendment (H.R. 14001) and Nixon signed legislation on November 26, 1969 that authorized the draft lottery and related changes [1] [4] [6]. The first post‑war lottery drawing took place December 1, 1969 for men born 1944–1950 and replaced the prior oldest‑first local‑board callup practice [6].
3. The Gates Commission and the shift toward an All‑Volunteer Force
Two months into Nixon’s presidency he created the President’s Commission on an All‑Volunteer Force (the Gates Commission). The commission’s unanimous 1970 report concluded the nation’s needs could be met without conscription and recommended an AVF supported by a standby Selective Service; Nixon used these findings to pursue legislative change and recruitment/compensation policies needed to transition away from conscription [7] [3].
4. 1971 legislation: reforming deferments, board composition and “standby” status
Nixon pressed Congress for a two‑year extension of the draft while seeking statutory reforms; the legislation signed in 1971 tightened and changed student deferments (ending blanket freshman deferments and making undergraduates more subject to induction timing), required local board membership to be more representative of the registrant population, and put the reformed Selective Service on “standby” pending the shift to volunteers [3] [8] [9]. The new law also prompted administrative rule changes — new classifications, appeals procedures and the end of certain old classifications — announced by Selective Service in late 1971 [8] [10] [9].
5. Ending draft calls and the timing of termination
Although Nixon set the path, the formal end to active inductions was announced later: Nixon’s 1971 law enabled ending conscription and putting Selective Service in standby, and Secretary of Defense Melvin Laird announced that use of the draft had ended on January 27, 1973; the authority to induct expired June 30, 1973 [3] [11]. Selective Service continued to run lotteries and assign priority numbers into the mid‑1970s in case reactivation became necessary [12] [6].
6. Administrative and classification changes in 1971 — more procedural than substantive
The post‑1971 administrative rules liberalized appeals and created/abolished classifications (e.g., new categories like 1‑H, 2‑D for divinity students, and 4‑G for sole surviving sons), clarified procedures for registrants, and directed destruction of files for certain older men — changes that altered how the system operated even if they did not by themselves expand or reduce liability to immediate call [10] [8].
7. Competing viewpoints and the political payoff
Supporters of Nixon’s reforms argued the lottery and youngest‑first order reduced inequities and that the Gates Commission’s market‑based recommendation made an AVF feasible [7] [3]. Critics and some contemporaries viewed the 1969–71 steps as politically calibrated: the lottery reduced obvious biases but did not immediately end conscription, while the 1971 tightening of student deferments exposed younger undergraduates to earlier liability — a change whose timing and effects drew controversy on campuses [6] [9].
8. Limitations and what the supplied sources don’t cover
Available sources describe the major statutory and administrative reforms (lottery, youngest‑first, Gates Commission, 1971 law, classification changes) but do not detail every internal White House deliberation, the full legislative bargaining record, or precise operational transition plans for recruiting and pay increases that accompanied the AVF shift beyond high‑level descriptions (not found in current reporting) [4] [3].
If you want, I can produce a timeline of the key dates and statutes cited above or extract the specific classification changes named in the Selective Service’s 1971 rulemaking [10].