Word: draft
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Dates: during 1970-1979
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This general approach also seems to contradict Carter's frequently expressed concern for the underprivileged in society. As he has noted, the draft evaders are overwhelmingly white and middleclass. A report prepared for President Ford in 1975 placed 87% of them in this category. The deserters are largely poor and disproportionately black-more than 50% low-income and 20% black. In general, the more affluent, better-educated war resisters found the means to avoid service by evading the draft; the underprivileged submitted, turning against the war later, if at all, by deserting...
...DRAFT EVADERS. About 10,000 individuals were under indictment for draft evasion when the Ford program began. The Justice Department reviewed the cases and dismissed slightly more than half of them (5,500) for legal or other reasons. Of the remaining 4,500 only some 700 were granted clemency after applying for it. About 1,300 cases were prosecuted, resulting mainly in short sentences or probation (which is why many of those required to work for months in menial jobs consider the Ford clemency program unfair). That leaves about 2,500 civilians still under indictment. Most of them...
...presented them in writing to Carter last week. Kirbo says he does not know what the final shape of the Carter program will be, but he doubted that a blanket pardon would be extended to deserters. The probability seemed to be that Carter would pardon all the civilian draft evaders, including those already convicted of the crime, but find some means of dealing with the military cases-both deserters and holders of punitive discharges-on an individual review basis...
Among the roughly 4,500 draft evaders and deserters living in exile, mostly in Canada or Sweden, such a program would be received with mixed reactions...
...from 800 at the peak in 1970-71-many of the holdouts are in or approaching their 30s and deeply involved in new occupations and growing families. For them, no pardon program has much practical consequence. Few desire to return. "I consider Sweden home," says David Hoyt, 31, a draft evader from Boston now teaching English in public schools and working as an interpreter...