The Day U.S. Declared War on Germany and Entered WWI

Today, April 6, is the 103rd anniversary of the United States declaring war on Germany and the beginning of our involvement in the “War to end all wars” (i.e. World War I). In the beginning, President Woodrow Wilson hoped that there would be enough volunteers to support the U.S. army, but by six weeks later, only 73,000 men had volunteered.[1]

Congress enacted the Selective Service Act of 1917. The first of four registrations was conducted on June 5, 1917 and all males between the ages of 21 and 30 were to register.[2]

My great-uncle, John Cyril “Jack” Sullivan, is not listed in this draft.[3] There may be two reasons. First, he enlisted in the army on 4 June 1917.[4]  Second, he had already turned 30.[5] It wasn’t until the third registration on 12 Sep 1918 that men 18 to 45 had to register.[6]

It is important to understand why someone is not in a record when one expects them to be there. One way is to understand why the record was created. Usually there is a law stipulating the creation of the record. The law will guide what info is collected and how. It may also state how the record is saved which is why we can see the record now. I had assumed that Jack had enlisted before the draft and that was why he wasn’t on it. But it could really be that he was too old to register.

So I read the Anaconda Standard newspaper a couple of days before the registration to see what I could learn about how registration would work. The paper reminded men of the registration and listed the precincts where they would register.[7] I also learned that men who had turned 30 would be registering.[8] The articles even gave exact instructions on who must register, when to register, where to register, and how to register.[9]

There were no listings of men who registered in the newspaper, but eleven days later, an article was in the paper saying that Mrs. H.H. Goe had received a letter from her brother, Jack Cyril Sullivan, saying he enlisted in the engineering corps in Vancouver, Washington.[10] He likely enlisted before the draft, so did not need to register.

Sometimes, the newspaper gives information that helps us understand records and the process.

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[1] “Selective Service Act of 1917,” Wikipedia (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Selective_Service_Act_of_1917).

[2] Ibid.

[3] I searched the “U.S., World War I Draft Registration Cards, 1917-1918,” database on Ancestry, searching for “Sullivan” born “Feb 1887.”

[4] World War I Enlisted Men Final Military Pay Vouchers, 1917 - 1921, Multi-name final pay voucher, no. 202, 6 Aug 1919, Fort D.A. Russell, Wyoming, Capt P.O. Kowalski, quartermaster, p. 4, line 1, Jack C. Sullivan, Sergeant, 4th Engineers; citing World War I Enlisted Men Final Military Pay Vouchers, 1917 – 1921, NARA Record Group 64.

[5] South Dakota Department of Health, Division of Vital Statistics, Delayed Certificate of Birth, Davison County, no. 604626, John Cyril Sullivan, 1887, filed 9 Jul 1942.

[6] “Selective Service Act of 1917,” Wikipedia.

[7] “Men to Register at Nineteen Precincts,’ Anaconda Standard, 4 June 1917, p. 3.

[8] “Questions and Answers,” Anaconda Standard, 4 June 1917, p. 4.

[9] “Registration Primer: Read it this Morning,” Anaconda Standard, 5 June 1917, p. 1.

[10] “Anaconda Well Represented,” Anaconda Standard, 16 June 1917, p. 4.

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