Letters between J. L. Burgess in Huntsville, Alabama, and John H. Bankhead in Washington, D.C.
In the first letter, written April 9, 1917, Burgess discusses a proposed bill promoting "compulsory or universal military training" for men ages eighteen to twenty-five. He asks Bankhead to have the bill amended to lower the age of eligibility: "To drag a man 25 years of age away from...
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Alabama Department of Archives and History
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| Online Access: | http://cdm17217.contentdm.oclc.org/cdm/ref/collection/voices/id/3834 |
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Electronic |
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Alabama Textual Materials Collection |
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Alabama Department of Archives and History |
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Alabama Department of Archives and History |
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Alabama documents |
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Alabama documents Letters between J. L. Burgess in Huntsville, Alabama, and John H. Bankhead in Washington, D.C. |
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Alabama documents Bankhead, John Hollis, 1842-1920; Burgess J. L.; Legislation--United States; World War, 1914-1918--Military personnel; United States--Politics and government--1865-1933 |
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In the first letter, written April 9, 1917, Burgess discusses a proposed bill promoting "compulsory or universal military training" for men ages eighteen to twenty-five. He asks Bankhead to have the bill amended to lower the age of eligibility: "To drag a man 25 years of age away from his business and drill him a year or so, then keep him in the service say a year or so is appropriating quite a portion of his active years - after being discharged it would take him some while to seek out other business. I think it decidely [sic] the best plan is to take the young man from 18 to 20 or 21 years, before he forms marriage or business alliances." In the second letter, written April 11, Burgess explains that he had misunderstood the proposed selective service legislation, which "provides for conscription independent of volunteers." He states that he and "an overwhelming number of our people" are opposed to conscription, believing that enough volunteers will enlist without forcing others into service. In the third letter, written April 14, Bankhead informs Burgess that Congress has not made a decision about the selective service, but he gives his disapproval of the plan: "I have not yet brought myself around to the belief that we should send an army to the trenches in Continental Europe, nor am I convinced that any form of conscription is the proper method to secure an army at this time." Instead of the military training bill, Congress passed the Selective Service Act in May 1917; the act required men from ages twenty-one to thirty to register for military service. At the time these letters were written, Bankhead was representing Alabama in the United States Senate. Transcript to the first two letters are included. |
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Q0000032453 - Q0000032458Q32453 - Q32458Letters between J. L. Burgess in Huntsville, Alabama, and John H. Bankhead in Washington, D.C.In the first letter, written April 9, 1917, Burgess discusses a proposed bill promoting "compulsory or universal military training" for men ages eighteen to twenty-five. He asks Bankhead to have the bill amended to lower the age of eligibility: "To drag a man 25 years of age away from his business and drill him a year or so, then keep him in the service say a year or so is appropriating quite a portion of his active years - after being discharged it would take him some while to seek out other business. I think it decidely [sic] the best plan is to take the young man from 18 to 20 or 21 years, before he forms marriage or business alliances." In the second letter, written April 11, Burgess explains that he had misunderstood the proposed selective service legislation, which "provides for conscription independent of volunteers." He states that he and "an overwhelming number of our people" are opposed to conscription, believing that enough volunteers will enlist without forcing others into service. In the third letter, written April 14, Bankhead informs Burgess that Congress has not made a decision about the selective service, but he gives his disapproval of the plan: "I have not yet brought myself around to the belief that we should send an army to the trenches in Continental Europe, nor am I convinced that any form of conscription is the proper method to secure an army at this time." Instead of the military training bill, Congress passed the Selective Service Act in May 1917; the act required men from ages twenty-one to thirty to register for military service. At the time these letters were written, Bankhead was representing Alabama in the United States Senate. Transcript to the first two letters are included.1917 April1917-041910-1919Bankhead, John Hollis, 1842-1920; Burgess J. L.; Legislation--United States; World War, 1914-1918--Military personnel; United States--Politics and government--1865-1933TextCorrespondence; TelegramsBankhead, John Hollis, 1842-1920John Hollis Bankhead Sr. papersLPR49, Box 31v3944Alabama Department of Archives and History, 624 Washington Avenue, Montgomery, Alabama 36130EnglishThis material may be protected under U. S. Copyright Law (Title 17, U.S. Code) which governs the making of photocopies or reproductions of copyrighted materials. You may use the digitized material for private study, scholarship, or research. Though ADAH has physical ownership of the material in its collections, in some cases we may not own the copyright to the material. It is the patron's obligation to determine and satisfy copyright restrictions when publishing or otherwise distributing materials found in our collections.600 PPI TIFFhttp://cdm17217.contentdm.oclc.org/cdm/ref/collection/voices/id/3834 |
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Letters between J. L. Burgess in Huntsville, Alabama, and John H. Bankhead in Washington, D.C. |
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Letters between J. L. Burgess in Huntsville, Alabama, and John H. Bankhead in Washington, D.C. |
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http://cdm17217.contentdm.oclc.org/cdm/ref/collection/voices/id/3834 |
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ADAHvoices3834 |
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http://cdm17217.contentdm.oclc.org/utils/getthumbnail/collection/voices/id/3834 |
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1816185818713161728 |