Massachusetts House of Representatives Quotes
If your sons must be torn from you by conscription, consign them to the care of God; but let there be no volunteers except for defensive war.
Massachusetts House of Representatives, Address to the People of the State, June 26, 1812
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Monroe was then Secretary of State and the U. S. was at war.
The founder was Charles E. Coughlin, 1891-1979, a demagogic Catholic Priest who drafted the principles and invited others to join him. Hundreds of thousands did in this organization which began in idealism, and ended in scandal and hate mongering, so much so that Father Coughlin was ordered off the radio and out of politics by the Catholic Church. The National Union in 1936 had morphed into the Union Party which ran Presidential candidates in the 1936 election. In this principle there were two purposes: First to have the wealthy sacrifice something in time of war. Historically wealth could keep a man from the draft if he so wanted. Second, when the company went to war the argument went it was the rich who could profit who had more political influence and could make the war. This way, they would pay a high price and might oppose war. Many of Coughlin’s followers were pro-German and wanted to keep the country out of the European war.
This principle became the Civil War Draft. Ironically, when the draft was legislated by Congress, there were relatively few men drafted as enlistments increased. See {621897} .
During the Iraq war the enlistments of servicemen were unilaterally extended causing great controversy. However the concept of extension of a term of service in an emergency existed more than 60 years earlier.
Debs was jailed for sedition for this speech.
The Shakers were an American religion and pacifists Lincoln learned. He was so impressed with their sincerity and way of life that he exempted Shaker men from the draft—the first conscientious objectors formally recognized in America. However, Lincoln made the statement to the Shakers which greatly impressed them and caused much reflection. Quakers had been pacifists also, but until the Civil War Draft there was no mechanism to test.
