Types of Draft Resistance
Conscientious Objection
The third way, conscientious objection, was the path of choice for
those young men who objected to killing, but were willing to work within
the government bureaucracy. To be a conscientious objector, a young man
must: (1) be "religious," (2) object to all wars; and (3) be sincere in
his or her application. Some men, such as Seventh Day Adventists, were
willing to work for the military in noncombatant roles. They got
classified as I-A-O. But most didn't want to be in the army at all, and
so got classified as I-O, and went to work in hospitals and poverty
programs or for the AFSC.
It is no secret that draft boards, for the most part, asked a
number of trick questions designed to show that the registrant has no
objection to killing but is mainly concerned with avoiding military
service. For example, the draft board examiner might ask "What would you
do if you saw your mother threatened with a knife by an intruder?" The
registrant could answer that he would defend her with any means he had, to
any extent necessary, including killing the adversary. In requesting
conscientious objector status, it was not required that a person be an
absolute pacifist.
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go back to the Types page, or skip ahead to the
Conculsion.