Selective Training and Service Act of 1940

In 1940 World War II raged across Europe, Asia, and the Pacific, but the United States remained neutral. Imperial Japan had already overrun a large portion of China as well as islands and European colonies in Southeast Asia, while Nazi Germany had invaded and conquered Poland, Norway, The Netherlands, Luxembourg, Denmark, Belgium, and France. In Europe, Great Britain stood alone against the Germans, and while the United States had yet to declare their intentions, there was a debate within the country. Many Americans were isolationists, wanting to remain out of the war at all costs. They felt American involvement in World War I had been foolhardy and costly, both financially and in the loss of manpower. President Franklin D. Roosevelt, who was in the middle of a campaign for an unprecedented third term as president, felt the United States would eventually enter the conflict, and thus he wanted the military, which was small, to be prepared, unlike they were in 1917 when the United States entered World War I. The Selective Training and Service Act of 1940 was the first step in not only growing the size of the military but also beginning the preparation for war.Roosevelt signed the Selective Training and Service Act. A person in formal attire sits for a portrait with the face obscured, referencing leadership during the 1940 U S military expansion.(Getty Center)