Rough Draft

More about the book

The book explores the impact of race and class on the Selective Service during the Vietnam War, highlighting how policymakers' views of middle-class masculinity influenced conscription and deferment practices. It reveals that college-educated men were deemed more valuable as civilians, leading to an increase in deferments for them, while poorer and racialized men were disproportionately targeted for military service under the guise of the War on Poverty. This analysis uncovers the systemic inequities that shaped who served in the Cold War army.