Military Service and American Democracy

Who serves, who doesn’t—and why it matters to every American. In Military Service and American Democracy, William A. Taylor traces the long and contentious evolution of how the United States has built and maintained its armed forces—from the first peacetime draft on the eve of World War II to beyond the conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan. Spanning the selective service era (1940–1973) and the All-Volunteer Force (1973–present), he shows how varying societal debates and changing policies about who serves in the military and how have shaped both the armed forces and the nation for more than eighty-five years. In this new edition, Taylor addresses both enduring military traditions and major changes driven by contemporary social and geopolitical forces, including recruitment and retention challenges, shifting public trust, the integration of women into combat roles, and expansion into cyber and space domains.