Theodore Roosevelt Calls for Universal Service in Peacetime and War, Women and Men
On this day, in the midst of World War I, former President Theodore Roosevelt called for universal government service for men and women in both peacetime and war.
The proposal, particularly the peacetime element, embodied the principle that the government had a claim on the service of each and every person.
During World War II, his cousin, President Franklin D. Roosevelt, also floated a proposal for universal service for men and women in his State of the Union Address in 1944. That proposal immediately ran into a storm of opposition, however, and was quickly dropped.
The idea of universal service for all people has surfaced a number of times since the early twentieth century but has never gained any significant support.
Read the argument in support of universal national service here
And read the argument against universal national service here