Thoughts on the enrollment act and the draft

During the Civil War, Congress passed the Enrollment Act, which was the forerunner of the military draft.

The purpose was to provide new enlistees to the federal army. It was so unpopular that there were riots in the streets. As a result, Secretary of War Edward Stanton decided that a police force was necessary to oversee the draft law and to arrest deserters. So the Military Police force was then established.

Another interesting fact was that men who could afford it could hire a substitute or pay the government $300 to avoid enlistment. I wonder how that would go over in today’s world?

And Blacks, who were not officially citizens, were exempt from the draft. The riots continued until President Abraham Lincoln on the fourth day, sent in 4,000 combat troops to squelch the riots. In other words, the government stopped the riots.

The riots compare to the riots of BLM movement of which our government did nothing and allowed the destruction of private property. Maybe we need President Lincoln back??

Roger Gregory is a Vietnam veteran and business owner in Priest River.