Title: United States. Selective Service System. Wisconsin Headquarters: Records of the Wisconsin Selective Service Commission
Inclusive Dates: 1917-1973

Creator:

• United States. Selective Service System. Wisconsin Headquarters

Call Number: Series 1961

Quantity: 10.8 c.f. (27 archives boxes) and 2 reels of microfilm (35mm)

Repository:

Wisconsin Historical Society, Division of Library, Archives, and Museum Collections

Archival Locations:

COLLECTION MAY BE STORED OFF-SITE: see catalog entry to request materials and for additional information.

Wisconsin Historical Society (Map)

Abstract:

History files, memoranda, bulletins, personnel files, and microfilmed newspaper clippings from the State Headquarters (Madison office) of the Commission.

Language: English

URL to cite for this finding aid: http://digital.library.wisc.edu/1711.dl/wiarchives.uw-whs-ser01961

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The first national Selective Service was created by an Act of Congress on May 18, 1917 following the United States intervention into World War I. At the end of the war, the system was dismantled and all the records from the states were sent to the National Headquarters in Washington, D.C. In 1940, Public Law 783, 76th Congress, reactivated the system to provide for the common defense by increasing the personnel of the armed forces and providing for their training. The system continued in operation until March 31, 1947, when the Selective Service Record Law, Public Law 26, 80th Congress, repealed the Selective Service System and the Office of Selective Service Records was created in its place. This federal organization was charged with preserving and servicing all the Selective Service records for the country. In Wisconsin, all state employees of the Selective Service offices were relieved of their duties on March 31, 1947, except for the clerks at the State Headquarters (Madison office) who organized records shipments to federal depots until the end of May 1947. By the end of August 1947, all records had been transferred to the depots and activity ceased. In 1948, the Selective Service Act, Public Law 759, 80th Congress, repealed the Office of Selective Service Records and transferred its functions to the Selective Service System which the act re-established. Its functions were to register, induct, classify, and help keep track of men who were within established age limits to provide a constant man-power pool so that the United States would not be totally unprepared in the event of a war.

In the Madison office, there were four administrative positions: the State Director, who represented the governor in all Selective Service matters and was responsible for administering the Selective Service System throughout the state; the Deputy Director, who acted for the State Director in his absence; the Assistant State Director, who oversaw the staffs of all boards under the State Headquarters; and the Procurement Officer, who was in charge of all financial and government procurement matters. The state was divided into districts, with one State Appeal Board allotted per district. The purpose of the appeal boards was to handle appeals made by a registrant on a classification assigned by a local board. Each appeal board was composed of five members: one physician, one attorney, and one member each representing labor, industry, and agriculture. Beneath the appeal board level, every county within a district was required to have a minimum of one local board and one local board office; additional boards were authorized if the area's population warranted it. These local boards were responsible to the State Headquarters for the registration, classification, selection, and delivery of registrants within their area. Members of the local boards were appointed by the president upon recommendation of the governor. Wisconsin's local boards consisted of five members who were residents of the county where the board was situated and who had no affiliation with the armed forces. Auditors reported to the local boards and were charged with fulfilling quotas of registrants within their territories of operation.

On January 1, 1973, the Selective Service System's authorization to induct men expired, although men were still required to register on their eighteenth birthdays. On January 23, 1976, Byron V. Pepitone, then the National Selective Service Director, announced that registration for the Selective Service was ended for an indefinite period of time or until a major emergency occurred. In place of registration, people could enter the service either by enlisting in the new volunteer service or by joining Reserve Officers Training Corps (ROTC) units on college campuses. After this announcement, all state-based service organizations closed down. All current records were sent to the federal depots since the National Headquarters was still functioning. Should the Selective Service be established once again or an emergency arise, then all state-based offices would reopen and their records would be returned.

The records, which are the office files remaining after current records had been transferred to the National Headquarters in 1976, span the period from 1917 to 1973. The series, arranged by subject and chronologically thereunder, consists of history files, reports, memoranda, bulletins, personnel files, and microfilmed scrapbooks of newspaper clippings. The bulk of the series consists of the memoranda and bulletins. The history files, 1940-1973, give a history of the Selective Service System in Wisconsin with samples of the System's memoranda, bulletins, personnel files, correspondence and newspaper clippings. The reports, 1943-1970, include the Director's five-year reports to the governor, and relate to such topics as deferments, classifications, and efficiency plans. Memoranda, 1917-1970, from the national office to the state office and from the state director to all local boards, concern policies on finance, draft administration, classification, personnel, medical examinations, and regulations. Bulletins, 1943-1970, relate to modified regulations, forms and form numbering, war reports, and bulletins that are rescinded, unconverted, or obsolete. Personnel files, 1940-1971, contain correspondence, proclamations, and information about local board members, auditors' territories, and appointments of new state directors. The microfilmed scrapbooks, 1949-1967, consist of news clippings relating to peacetime conscription and the wars in Korea and Vietnam. The bulk of the clippings deals with anti-war protests on the University of Wisconsin-Madison campus in the late 1960's.

	Series: History
Box   1 Folder   1	Selective Service in Wisconsin, 1940-1947
Box   1 Folder   2	Selective Service in Wisconsin, March 31, 1947-January 31, 1949
Box   1 Folder   3	Wisconsin Appeal Boards, 1948-1956
Box   1 Folder   4	Compensated Personnel of Local Boards, 1948-1973
Box   1 Folder   5	Wisconsin State Headquarters Delinquency History, 1954-1955
Box   1 Folder   6	First District Appeal Board, 1943-1950
	Historical Data
	Local Board Comments
Box   2 Folder   1-4	Vol. 1-4
Box   3 Folder   1-4	Vol. 5-8
Box   3 Folder   5	Plans, Reports, Proclamations, Vol. 9
Box   4 Folder   1	Recognitions, Joint Resolutions, Vol. 10
Box   4 Folder   2-3	Agricultural Reports and Related Material, Vols. 11-12
Box   4 Folder   4	Special Reports, Vol. 13
Box   4 Folder   5	Conscientious Objectors, Vol. 14
Box   4 Folder   5	Reemployment, Vol. 15
Box   5 Folder   1-4	Manning Tables and Replacement Schedules, Vols. 16-19
Box   5 Folder   5	News clippings, 1941-1967
	Series: Reports	⇧
Box   6 Folder   1	Agricultural Deferments in Wisconsin, 1943-1945
Box   6 Folder   2	Wisconsin Plans for Selective Service, May 1, 1948
Box   6 Folder   3	Availability and Summary of Classification, 1951-1964
Box   6 Folder   4-5	Director's Five Year Report to the Governor, 1954 and 1955
Box   6 Folder   6	Monthly State Report of Deliveries, Inductions, and Examinations, 1970
Box   6 Folder   7	Recap of Survey of Selective Service Local Board Member's Experiences and Recommendations, undated
Box   6 Folder   8	The Handling of Conscientious Objectors, undated
	Series: Memoranda	⇧
	Wisconsin Draft Administration
Box   6 Folder   9	Nos. 1-125, Vol. 1, July 30-Nov. 1917
Box   6 Folder   10	Nos. 1000-1200, Vol. 2, Nov. 19, 1917-March 15, 1918
Box   7 Folder   1	Nos. 1201-1400, Vol. 3, March 19-July 1, 1918
Box   7 Folder   2	Nos. 1401-1600, Vol. 4, July 1-Sept. 7, 1918
Box   7 Folder   3	Nos. 1601-1800, Vol. 5, Sept. 9-Nov. 12, 1918
	State H.Q. Memoranda
	Administration
Box   7 Folder   4	Nos. 1-5, Vol. R83, 1940-1941
Box   8 Folder   1-4	Nos. 51-337, Vols. R84-R87, 1941-1947
	Classification
Box   8 Folder   5	Nos. 1-40, Vol. R88, 1940-1941
Box   9 Folder   1	Nos. 47-76, Vol. R89, 1942-1944
	Finance and Supply
Box   9 Folder   2-3	Nos. 1-95, Vols. R90-R91, Oct. 1940-July 1946
	General
Box   9 Folder   4	Nos. 1-71, Vol. R92, Oct. 1940-Oct. 1944
	Manpower
Box   9 Folder   5	Nos. 1-61, Vol. R93, Nov. 194O-Dec. 1943
	Medical
Box   10 Folder   1-2	Nos. 1-137, Vols. R94-R95, Oct. 1940-May 1945
	Occupational
Box   10 Folder   3-4	Nos. 1-90, Vols. R96-R97, Nov. 1940-Oct. 1945
	Personnel
Box   11 Folder   1	Nos. 1-60, Vol. R98, Jan. 1941-Sept. 1946
	Chronological
Box   11 Folder   2-4	Vols. R99-R101, Jan. 1941-June 1941
Box   12 Folder   1-4	Vols. R102-R1O5, July 1941-June 1942
Box   13 Folder   1-4	Vols. R106-R1O9, July 1942-Dec. 1943
Box   14 Folder   1-4	Vols. R110-R113, Jan. 1944-Sept. 1945
Box   15 Folder   1-2	Vols. R114-R115, Oct. 1945-ApriL-1947
	Miscellaneous
Box   15 Folder   3-5	Vols. R116-RI18, 1940-1942
Box   16 Folder   1	Vol. R119, 1943-1947
Box   16 Folder   2-3	Selective Service Regulations, 1933
Box   16 Folder   4	Selective Service Training Program, July 1949
Box   16 Folder   5	Call; Pre-induction and Induction, 1944-1946
Box   16 Folder   6	Wisconsin Selective Service Field Conference, May 13, 1953
	Series: Bulletins	⇧
	Wisconsin State H.Q. Issuances
	Operative
Box   16 Folder   7	WSS Series, Part 1 0-190, May 10, 1956-May 15, 1958
Box   17 Folder   1	WSS Series, Part 2 200-1310, May 10, 1956-May 15, 1958
Box   17 Folder   2-3	000.0-150.1, 1948-1968
Box   18 Folder   1-3	170.1-350.4, 1948-1972
Box   19 Folder   1-3	400.1-1310.4, 1949-1972
	Rescinded
Box   20 Folder   1-2	As of Oct. 26, 1956 and May 15, 1058
	Chronological
Box   20 Folder   3-4	Parts 1-2, Aug. 14, 1948-June 30, 1951
Box   21 Folder   1-4	Parts 3-6, July 1, 1951-June 30, 1955
Box   22 Folder   1-2	Parts 7-8, July 1, 1955-May 15, 1958
	Administration
Box   22 Folder   3	Nos. 1-99, 1950-1954
	Rescinded Administration
Box   22 Folder   4	1948-1953
	Miscellaneous
Box   23 Folder   1-3	Parts 1-3, Sept. 1948-April 1956
	Unconverted and Obsolete
Box   24 Folder   1-2	Parts 1-2, Effective as of April 20, 1956
Box   24 Folder   3	Obsolete Numbering Book, 1949-1968
Box   24 Folder   4	“An Adventure in Training,” Jan.-June, 1955
Box   25 Folder   1	Administration to Local Boards, 1944-1947
Box   25 Folder   2	State Director's Advice, 1943-1946
Box   25 Folder   3	Analysis of Reports of Physical Examinations, Nov. 10, 1941
Box   25 Folder   4	Manual of Law used by Advisory Boards for Registrants, Sept. 1942
Box   25 Folder   5	Causes for Rejection and Incidence of Defects, Aug. 1, 1943
Box   25 Folder   6	Physical Examinations of Selective Service registrants during Wartime
Box   25 Folder   7	State Summary of War Casualties in the Navy, 1946
Box   25 Folder   8	World War II Honor List of Dead and Missing, June 1946
Box   25 Folder   9	General, 1948
	Series: Personnel	⇧
	Miscellaneous Correspondence
Box   25 Folder   10-11	1940-1947
Box   26 Folder   1	1940-1947
Box   26 Folder   2	President and Governor Proclamations on Registration, 1940-1942
Box   26 Folder   3	Office of the Adjutant General, 1940
Box   26 Folder   4	Medical Specialists and General Practitioners subject to draft
Box   26 Folder   5	Examining Physicians and Dental Examiners, 1946-1947
Box   26 Folder   6	Miscellaneous Materials: Charts, Speeches, Presentations, 1940-1948
Box   26 Folder   7	Examinations, Inductions, and Operating Costs of Local Boards, 1940-1952
Box   26 Folder   8	Local Board Personnel, August 1941
Box   26 Folder   9	Selective Service Personnel (uncompensated), Nov. 1942
Box   26 Folder   10	Local Board Personnel, Oct. 1, 1943
Box   27 Folder   1	Employee Replacement Lists of Leathen D. Smith Shipbuilding Co., March, 1944
Box   27 Folder   2	Medical and Registrant Advisory Boards, and District Appeal Boards, Aug., 1944
Box   27 Folder   3	Statistics on Veterans Assistance, 1946
Box   27 Folder   4	Roster of Local Personnel
Box   27 Folder   5	Wisconsin State H.Q. Officer Personnel, 1948-1970
Box   27 Folder   6	Auditors' territories, 1955-1969
Box   27 Folder   7	Farm lists, bank rolls, insurance men, and other occupations, undated
Box   27 Folder   8	Form manual for state forms, April 1, 1955-May 27, 1971
Box   27 Folder   9	Changes in State Directors (News clippings), 1969-1971
Reel   1-2	Series: Microfilmed Scrapbooks of News Clippings, 1949-1967	⇧