The Vietnam War was a long, costly and divisive conflict that pitted the communist government of North Vietnam against South Vietnam and its principal ally, the United States. The war officially lasted from 1955 to 1975, with U.S. involvement ending in 1973 following the Paris Peace Accords. At the height of U.S. involvement in 1968, over 500,000 American troops were fighting in Vietnam.
As U.S. involvement escalated, more troops were needed to sustain the war effort. With not enough volunteers coming forward, a draft was instituted to meet the growing need for manpower. The draft became incredibly controversial during the Vietnam era, sparking widespread protests and becoming a major factor in turning public opinion against the war.
Given how impactful and polarizing the Vietnam draft was, a common question that arises is whether or not the draft Selection process was televised. Selective Service drawings were held periodically during the Vietnam era to determine the order in which men born between 1944 and 1950 were called to report for possible induction. The drawings garnered huge media interest and coverage at the time. This article will examine the question of whether or not these lotteries were actually televised.
The Beginnings of the Draft for Vietnam
To understand the Vietnam draft, we must go back to 1940, when the first peacetime draft in U.S. history was instituted in anticipation of World War II. The Selective Training and Service Act of 1940 authorized the federal government to conscript able-bodied men between the ages of 21 and 35 for up to 12 months of military service. Draftees were selected through a random lottery system based on birthdates drawn from a fishbowl.
When WWII ended in 1945, the draft did as well. But conscription was quickly reinstituted when the Cold War began, leading to the 1948 Selective Service Act, which required all men between 18 and 26 to register with local draft boards. During peacetime, men were drafted for only 21 months of service.
As communist North Vietnam sought to unify all of Vietnam under its rule, conflict escalated between the North and South beginning in the late 1950s. In response to North Vietnam’s aggression, President Kennedy sent military advisors and special forces to Vietnam starting in the early 1960s. However, more manpower was soon needed, leading Kennedy to order a dramatic expansion of draft calls in 1962.
Monthy draft calls doubled from around 10,000 per month to over 20,000. Still, most men called up for duty were volunteers rather than draftees during the Kennedy administration. It wasn’t until after Kennedy’s assassination in late 1963 that America’s direct involvement in Vietnam began to rapidly accelerate under President Lyndon Johnson. And with it, reliance on the draft greatly intensified.
Ramping Up U.S. Involvement and Draft Calls Under President Johnson
In August 1964, President Johnson secured Congressional authorization for military action in Vietnam after reporting of an alleged attack on a U.S. Navy ship in the Gulf of Tonkin. Johnson ordered massive bombing campaigns against North Vietnam, officially bringing war to Vietnam.
To feed the growing war effort, draft calls increased 400% from 1963 to 1966. Of the nearly three million men who served in the Vietnam era armed forces between 1964 and 1973, two-thirds were drafted into service.
And in 1966, a momentus Executive Order signed by President Johnson removed previous deferments for married men without children, vastly increasing the draft pool. Graduate school deferments were also ended.
By the late 1960s, as many as 40,000 men per month were being inducted via Selective Service System drawings, compared to just over 10,000 per month in the early 60s. The monthly draft totals would fluctuate throughout the remainder of U.S. involvement as troop levels changed, but the draft provided the bulk of servicemen during Vietnam.
Controversy Over Perceived Inequities and Unfairness
While the draft had always been a source of contention when instituted, criticism and backlash reached new heights during Vietnam. There was a growing public perception that the draft unfairly targeted low-income and minority men.
College students received draft deferments, as did men with professional jobs or politically connected families. And some had enough money to avoid the draft altogether, either by hiring an expert to secure deferments or disguising disqualifying medical conditions.
Muhammad Ali’s Rejection of the Draft
No case better symbolized criticism of the draft system than heavyweight boxing legend Muhammad Ali. In 1966, Ali filed for conscientious objector status on religious grounds, refusing his induction notice. He stated “I ain’t got no quarrel with them Vietcong – no Vietcong ever called me ******.”
Ali was stripped of his boxing titles and sentenced to 5 years in prison for draft evasion. His refusal polarized the nation and gave voice to those who saw the draft as unjust. Ali took his case all the way to the Supreme Court and did not go to prison, but was prohibited from boxing professionally for over 3 years during his prime.
Other Prominent Draft Opponents
Ali was far from alone in opposing the Vietnam draft. Many other prominent figures expressed similar criticisms:
- In 1965, American economist and activist Thomas Sowell stated “Not only were Blacks disproportionately drafted, but they were more likely to be assigned to combat units than whites.”
- A 1966 report from the NAACP argued the draft operated in a racially discriminatory manner, with African-Americans more likely to be sent to Vietnam.
- In 1967, renowned pediatrician Dr. Benjamin Spock was convicted of conspiracy to violate the draft laws by counseling young Americans to resist induction. His conviction was later overturned.
- High profile protestors like Abbie Hoffman and Jerry Rubin turned in their draft cards in 1967 to protest the war and draft.
Criticism over perceived inequities and unfairness in the draft system mounted as the highly unpopular war dragged on, sparking widespread anti-war activism and protest.
The Draft Lottery
In response to public pressure for a fairer draft, President Johnson announced plans in 1966 for a draft lottery to call men for induction. Previously, local draft boards across the country determined who would be drafted based on an inconsistent array of criteria.
A lottery drawing held each year would establish a random order based on birthdates to be called up by local boards. This aimed to reduce some of the inequities and complaints about the old system.
The new draft lottery procedure was not actually implemented until 1969 under President Nixon, when the first drawing was held on December 1, 1969. This inaugural lottery determined the order of call for men born between 1944 and 1950 (ages 19 to 25) during calendar year 1970. Subsequent lotteries were conducted each year through 1972 to cover later birth years.
Here is how the new lottery system worked:
- 366 blue plastic capsules, each containing one date of the year, were placed in a large glass container.
- Capsules were drawn individually at random during the televised event.
- The first date drawn received the lowest lottery number, #1, with subsequent dates drawn receiving higher numbers in order.
- Men between 19-25 shared the lottery number of their birthdate.
- Draft eligibility was still determined by local boards based on this new lottery ranking.
So those unfortunate to have lower lottery numbers would be called first when monthly draft quotas needed to be met. The highest number drawn was #366, so all dates had a randomly assigned priority each year.
Were the Lottery Drawings Televised Nationally?
With the entire futures of hundreds of thousands of American men at stake, the Selective Service lottery drawings generated huge media interest. The lotteries were conducted in full view of the media and captured on both TV and newspaper cameras. But were they actually broadcast live on national television for audiences to tune into at home as they took place?
The first two lotteries, held in 1969 and 1970, were not carried live on national TV. Only radio and some local broadcasters and print media directly covered the 1969 event. Footage was aired on national news programs after the fact.
However, starting with the 1971 lottery held on July 1, 1970, the lottery ceremonies were broadcast live on both radio and national TV by all three major networks – ABC, NBC, and CBS. An estimated 65 million viewers tuned in to see the order in which birthdates would be called. Some have dubbed it the “lottery of death” for the huge impact it had on so many households.
The live national broadcasts continued for the final lottery drawing held on February 2, 1972 to cover the cohort born in 1953. After this, draft calls were reduced significantly as U.S. involvement in the war began winding down.
So in summary, the definitive answer is only the final 3 Vietnam draft lotteries were actually televised live as they took place. The initial lottery in 1969 was filmed but not broadcast live nationally, only covered by radio and some local stations.
Starting in 1971 with the third lottery, ABC, NBC and CBS all carried the events so Americans could learn the lottery results as they unfolded. Given the life-changing ramifications for those involved, the organizers wanted maximum transparency for the random selection procedures. Televised coverage helped achieve that goal.
Famous Televised Draft Lottery Moments
The live draft lotteries provided riveting television for American audiences and some memorable moments:
1969 Lottery – Lowest Number Drawn First
A notable occurrence happened right off the bat during the inaugural 1969 lottery. The very first capsule drawn contained the September 14 date, meaning all men born on September 14 immediately received the lowest and most unfortunate #1 draft priority for 1970 call-ups. The bad luck of the date being chosen first cemented September 14 as “Black Monday.”
1971 Lottery – A Live Birthday
In an extraordinary coincidence, one participant in the 1971 draft lottery saw his birthdate drawn on the very day he turned 19. The date pulled from the jar was April 24, and one of the Selective Service officials announced that it was also the 19th birthday of Alexander Stickney of Quincy, Illinois. Stickney immediately became eligible for the draft and received a lottery number of 152.
Prominent Americans in Lotteries
The lotteries directly impacted many prominent figures who happened to have birthdates that received low priority numbers:
- Future U.S. President Bill Clinton received a very high #311 in the 1969 lottery conducted while he was studying at Oxford.
- Future Vice President Dick Cheney drew #347 in the 1969 lottery.
- Legendary rock star Jimi Hendrix received #359, narrowly avoiding Vietnam just before his death in 1970.
- Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld was born on July 9 and drew a low #6 in the 1953 lottery.
For those interested in looking up the odds for various celebrities, the full results of all draft lotteries are available online.
Immediate and Long-Term Effects
The lottery drawings had immediate ramifications for those men across the country unlucky enough to draw a low number. Within days, local draft boards would begin calling up 21-year-olds based on the order assigned by their birthdays.
Some young men found alternative paths to service such as the National Guard to avoid being drafted. Others fled to Canada or went underground to dodge induction. Protests erupted in some cities from those outraged by the arbitrariness of the lottery results.
But the broader impact was a widely-shared feeling of resentment toward the war that could force young men off randomly to possible death in Southeast Asia. Televised scenes of anguished mothers and tense families awaiting the fates pronounced by the visible lottery drawings helped turn American public opinion further against the war.
The visible unfairness drove additional resistance to serving. And policies were eventually changed to mitigate some of the most blatantly unequal aspects of conscription.
Deferments were reinstated for many college students after 1971. Post-lottery calls increasingly focused solely on 19-year-olds rather than students up to age 24. Marital status was removed entirely as a consideration in 1970. Steps were taken to address some objections, though the broader inequity of who served remained.
When U.S. involvement concluded in 1973, the shortly lived draft lotteries were permanently retired along with conscription. But the televised spectacle of the lottery ceremonies left a lasting impression of chance and arbitrariness that disillusioned many Americans toward the war.
Conclusion
The Vietnam War draft lotteries marked one of the most dramatic moments of the tumultuous Vietnam era. Televised live via all three major broadcast networks, the lottery drawings epitomized the sense of fate and randomness forced upon millions of American families by the war.
While only the final three lotteries held between 1971 and 1972 were actually broadcast live as they unfolded, the print and camera media presence ensured total transparency around the proceedings. No longer shrouded in opaque bureaucracy, the arbitrariness of birthdates determining life-altering fates was clearly on display for all to see.
This visibility fueled resentment and a feeling of unfairness that hastened the collapse of support for the ongoing war. The short-lived Vietnam draft lotteries left an outsized cultural legacy and remain an unforgettable product of their divisive times.
