Considering a Cadre Augmented Army - RAND Corporation

-315- A Historical Analysis of Cadre
government relied on conscription to create a wartime army. 151 The move towards
conscription began in 1916 when increasing the size of the army with volunteers proved
difficult. In 1916, the Regular Army had 107,000 officers and men and the National Guard
had 133,000 officers and men. 152 The National Defense Act (NDA) of 1916 called for
significantly increasing the size of both components. The impetus for this change was the
problems the U.S. Army encountered in mobilizing for war with Mexico in early 1916. 153
The NDA of 1916 called for a Regular Army of 175,000 officers and men (a 63 percent
increase) and a National Guard of 475,000 officers and men (a 250 percent increase). 154 Both
the Regular Army and the National Guard had trouble recruiting this larger force. Chief of
Staff Hugh Scott expressed this in his annual report released in late 1916:
“The difficulty that is now being experienced in obtaining recruits for the Regular
Army and for the National Guard raises sharply the question of whether we will be
able to recruit the troops authorized by Congress in the National Defense Act… The
failure should make the whole people realize that the volunteer system does not and
probably will not give us either the men we need for training in peace or for service in
war.”
- Hugh Scott, 1916 155
President Wilson and Secretary of War Newton Baker, who asked Scott to prepare a plan for
universal military training, shared Scott’s concerns. As part of this plan, President Wilson
instructed Secretary of War Baker to include a conscription bill. This bill became the
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151 The first time was the Civil War.
152 U.S. Census Bureau (1975), p. 1140-1143 and Doubler (2000), p.139. In relative terms the size of the
Regular Army was 106 troops per 100,000 residents and the size of the National Guard was 133 troops per
100,000 residents. [U.S. Census Bureau (1975), p. 1140-1143 and U.S. Census Bureau (2002), p. A-1]
153 Weigley writes: “preparation for a possible small war in Mexico imposed a sufficient strain upon the
American military system to assure that many traditional American habits would have to be sacrificed if now
the nation entered the great European war.” [Weigley (1984), p. 351]. The main “habit” Weigley refers to is
volunteerism; he implies that conscription would be needed if the U.S. entered the war in Europe. For more
detail on the Mexican mobilization of 1916 see: Millis (1956), p. 228-231 and Weigley (1984), p. 247-352.
154 In relative terms the proposed size of the Regular Army was 175 troops per 100,000 residents and the
proposed side of the National Guard was 474 troops per 100,000 residents. [U.S. Census Bureau (1975), p.
1140-1143 and U.S. Census Bureau (2002), p. A-1]
155 Millis (1956), p. 232