<P> On December 5, 1942, presidential Executive Order 9279 made it so that all men from the ages of 18 to 37 could not voluntarily enlist for the duration of the war, providing protection for the nation's home front manpower pool . The Navy and Marine Corps began procuring their personnel through the Selective Service System in early 1943 . The Navy and Marine Corps enlisted inductees and volunteers under the same service agreements, but with different service obligations, while the Army placed wartime inductees and volunteers into a special service component known as the Army of the United States, commonly known as the "AUS;" service commitments were set at the length of the war plus six months . </P> <P> Paul V. McNutt, head of the War Manpower Commission, estimated that the changes would increase the ratio of men drafted from one out of nine to one out of five . The commission's goal was to have nine million men in the armed forces by the end of 1943 . This facilitated the massive requirement of up to 200,000 men per month and would remain the standard for the length of the war . </P> <P> The World War II draft operated from 1940 until 1946 when further inductions were suspended, and its legislative authorization expired without further extension by Congress in 1947 . During this time, more than 10 million men had been inducted into military service . However, the Selective Service System remained intact . </P> <P> Scattered opposition was encountered especially in the northern cities where African - Americans protested the system . The young Nation of Islam was at the forefront, with many Black Muslims jailed for refusing the draft, and their leader Elijah Muhammed was sentenced to federal prison for 5 years for inciting draft resistance . Organized draft resistance also developed in the Japanese American internment camps, where groups like the Heart Mountain Fair Play Committee refused to serve unless they and their families were released . 300 Nisei men from eight of the ten War Relocation Authority camps were arrested and stood trial for felony draft evasion; most were sentenced to federal prison . American Communists also opposed the war until Germany attacked the Soviet Union in June 1941, whereupon they became supporters . </P>

When did the world war 2 draft start