President Wilson's Selective Service Act of 1917 differed from the Civil War's conscription act of 1863 in that those who were drafted could neither purchase an exemption nor hire a substitute to take their places. It didn't, and Baker's implementation of the process may help explain why. Baker was in charge of administering this new conscription act, which could have resulted in a riotous backlash as it had in the New York Draft Riots during the Civil War. By July 20, Wilson would enact a military draft lottery. Expecting around a million enlistees but receiving only 73,000 volunteers for military service, Congress and President Woodrow Wilson realized other methods were required to call up a large military force. After maintaining neutrality for three years, the United States entered World War I on April 6, 1917.
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