National Service
National Servicein the United States conventionally refers to the performance of full‐time civilian service on the part of youth. The concept is usually traced back to William James's essay, “The Moral Equivalent of War” (1910). James coined the concept to contrast the noble human qualities evoked by war with the destructive purposes they served. Ever since James there has been a marked tendency to think of military and civilian service as alternate, if not opposing, ideals.
The Great Depression of the 1930s placed national service on center stage. Two of the most successful initiatives of the New Deal were national programs for youth: the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) and the National Youth Administration (NYA). President Franklin D. Roosevelt gave some thought to putting national service on a more permanent footing after World War II, but his death intervened.
The 1950s were the doldrums for the...
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