The draft was in effect in the United States from 1948 to 1973. Further draft calls were stopped on January 27, 1973, but men of age are still required to register today. The declaration of a lottery in 1969 was significant because it marked a major departure from the previous method of selection, and was marred by accusations of being unfair among a growing public distrust for the Vietnam War.

The Selective Training and Service Act of 1940, passed on September 16, 1940, was originally scheduled to expire on May 15, 1945, but was extended to May 15, 1946, July 1, 1946, and March 31, 1947, after which it expired.

The Selective Service Act of 1948 was passed on June 24, 1948. All males aged 18 1/2 to 26 were required to register to potentially be selected for 21 months of service in the armed forces of the United States. The law, due to expire on June 24, 1950, was amended on June 23, 1950 to be in effect for fifteen more days, and then amended (and retitled the "Selective Service Act of 1950") again on June 30, 1950 to extend it until July 9, 1951. On June 19, 1951, it was amended and retitled the "Universal Military Training and Service Act." The act made the Selective Service a permanent government agency, lowered the age for liability to 18, and extended the period of military service to 24 months.

The process of induction was basically identical to that used during the latter part of World War II. The Selective Service received a manpower requirement from the armed forces, and passed it on to local boards, to be filled as follows;

(1) Volunteers in the sequence in which they have volunteered for induction

(2) Nonvolunteers in the order of their dates of birth with the oldest being selected first except that a delinquent shall, regardless of his age, be selected and ordered to report for induction before any other nonvolunteer. When two or more such registrants have the same date of birth, they shall, as among themselves, be selected in alphabetical order.

On August 26, 1965, President Lyndon B. Johnson eliminated the marriage deferment for draftees with Executive Order 11241. The name of the act was changed to the "Military Selective Service Act of 1967" on June 30, 1967, along with other amendments. The act contained an important provision which prevented the president from personally interfering with the operation of the system;

"(2) Notwithstanding the provisions of paragraph (1) of this subsection, the President in establishing the order of induction for registrants within the various age groups found qualified for induction shall not effect any change in the method of determining the relative order of induction for such registrants within such age groups as has been heretofore established and in effect on the date of enactment of this paragraph, unless authorized by law enacted after the date of enactment of the Military Selective Service Act of 1967."

On November 26, 1969, the Military Selective Service Act of 1967 was amended to remove this section, and President Richard Nixon issued an executive order (Executive Order 11947) the same day establishing a lottery system of selection for men born between January 1, 1944, and December 31, 1950;

"(1) Delinquents who have attained the age of 19 years in the order of their dates of birth with the oldest being selected first.

"(2) Volunteers who have not attained the age of 26 years in the sequence in which they have volunteered for induction.

"(3) (i) 1970. In the calendar year 1970, nonvolunteers born on or after January 1, 1944, and on or before December 31, 1950, who have not attained the 26th anniversary of the dates of their birth, in the order of their random sequence numbers established by random selection procedures prescribed in accordance with paragraph (d) of section 1631.5. The nonvolunteers thus subject to selection are designated the 1970 Selection Group and constitute category (3) for 1970. Members of the 1970 Selection Group on December 31, 1970, whose random sequence numbers have not been reached by that date, shall be assigned to the priority group which is immediately below the First Priority Selection Group for 1971.

"(ii) 1971 and Later Years. For calendar year 1971, and for each subsequent year, a new First Priority Selection Group and lower priority groups shall be established which together will constitute category (3) for that year. The First Priority Selection Group shall consist (A) of nonvolunteers in Class I-A and Class I-A-O who prior to January 1 of each such calendar year have attained the age of 19 years but not of 20 years, and (B) of non-volunteers who prior to January 1 of each such calendar year have attained the age of 19 but not of 26 years and who during that year are classified into Class I-A or Class I-A-O following expiration of their deferments or exemptions or otherwise. Members of each such First Priority Selection Group, who have not attained the 26th anniversary of the dates of their birth, shall be selected in the order of their random sequence numbers. Members of each such First Priority Selection Group on December 31 of the respective calendar year whose random sequence numbers are not reached by that date shall be assigned to successively lower priority groups, so that those who were in the 1970 Selection Group and who move into a lower priority group at the end of 1970 as herein provided will be in the lowest such group, those who were in the 1971 First Priority Selection Group will be in the next to the lowest such group, and so forth. Any registrant who was subject to selection in the 1970 Selection Group or in the First Priority Selection Group for any subsequent year, who thereafter is assigned to a lower priority group in category (3), who while in such a lower priority group receives a deferment or exemption, and who subsequently is reclassified into Class I-A or Class I-A-O, shall be reassigned to the priority group in which he would have been if he had not received such deferment or exemption.

"(iii) Certain Registrants Married Before August 27, 1965. Within each group in category (3) there shall be a subgroup consisting of registrants who have a wife whom they married on or before August 26, 1965, and with whom they maintain a bona fide family relationship in their homes. Registrants in any such subgroup shall be in all respects subject to this paragraph, except that they shall be selected after other registrants in the group of which that subgroup is a part.

"(4) Nonvolunteers who attain the age of 19 years during the calendar year but who have not attained the age of 20 years, in the order of their dates of birth with the oldest being selected first.

"(5) Nonvolunteers who have attained the age of 26 years in the order of their dates of birth with the youngest being selected first.

"(6) Nonvolunteers who have attained the age of 18 years and 6 months and who have not attained the age of 19 years in the order of their dates of birth with the oldest being selected first."

Year	Date of Drawing	Applied to Year of Birth
1970	December 1, 1969	1944-1950
1971	July 1, 1970	1951
1972	August 5, 1971	1952
1973	February 2, 1972	1953
1974	March 8, 1973	1954
1975	March 20, 1974	1955
1976	March 12, 1975	1956

The lottery system was used until the last draft call was issued on December 7, 1972; the director of Selective Service announced an end to further calls on January 27, 1973, and the authority to induct expired on June 30, 1973. Additional lotteries were held as a contingency plan in case of re-establishment, however.

The registration requirement was also temporarily suspended; as a result, men born between March 29, 1957 through December 31, 1959 were not required to register.