<P> The draft ended in 1918 but the Army designed the modern draft mechanism in 1926 and built it based on military needs despite an era of pacifism . Working where Congress would not, it gathered a cadre of officers for its nascent Joint Army - Navy Selective Service Committee, most of whom were commissioned based on social standing rather than military experience . This effort did not receive congressionally approved funding until 1934 when Major General Lewis B. Hershey was assigned to the organization . The passage of a conscription act was opposed by some, including Dorothy Day and George Barry O'Toole, who were concerned that such conscription would not provide adequate protection for the rights of conscientious objectors . However, much of Hershey's work was codified into law with the Selective Training and Service Act of 1940 (STSA). </P> <P> By the summer of 1940, as Germany conquered France, Americans supported the return of conscription . One national survey found that 67% of respondents believed that a German - Italian victory would endanger the United States, and that 71% supported "the immediate adoption of compulsory military training for all young men". Similarly, a November 1942 survey of American high - school students found that 69% favored compulsory postwar military training . </P> <P> The World War I system served as a model for that of World War II . The 1940 law instituted conscription in peacetime, requiring the registration of all men between 21 and 35, with selection for one year's service by a national lottery . President Roosevelt's signing of the Selective Training and Service Act on September 16, 1940, began the first peacetime draft in the United States . It also reestablished the Selective Service System as an independent agency responsible for identifying young men and facilitating their military service . Roosevelt named Lewis B. Hershey to head the System on July 31, 1941, where he remained until 1969 . This act came when other preparations, such as increased training and equipment production, had not yet been approved . Nevertheless, it served as the basis for the conscription programs that would continue to the present . </P> <P> The act set a cap of 900,000 men to be in training at any given time, and limited military service to 12 months unless Congress deemed it necessary to extend such service in the interest of national defense . An amendment added 18 more months to this service period on August 18, 1941 . After Pearl Harbor the STSA was further amended (December 19, 1941), extending the term of service to the duration of the war plus six months and requiring the registration of all men 18 to 64 years of age . During World War II, 49 million men were registered, 36 million classified, and 10 million inducted. 18 and 19 year olds were made liable for induction on November 13, 1942 . By late 1942, the Selective Service System moved away from a national lottery to administrative selection by its more than 6,000 local boards . </P>

What was the age for the draft in ww2