TLS as president, one page, 7 x 8.75, White House letterhead, April 7, 1917. Letter to Walter Lippmann of The New Republic, in full: "Thank you warmly for your generous letter of April third. The interesting and important suggestion it embodies about registering all men of military age will necessarily, I take it, be part of the plan, or, rather, necessarily accompany the plan in practice which has been proposed by the General Staff of the Army to the Congress for the raising of the additional forces that will be needed. It is certainly a very wise and necessary thing to do." In fine condition.
On February 3, 1917, before a joint session of Congress, President Wilson had announced that the United States had broken off diplomatic relations with Germany, after that nation had announced a policy of unrestricted submarine warfare. On March 18th, three unarmed US merchant ships were sunk. President Wilson then delivered a war message to Congress on April 2nd, in which he asked for immediate action on a declaration of war, famously proclaiming that 'the world must be made safe for democracy.' At noon on April 6th, the day before writing this letter, he signed the formal proclamation that brought the United States into World War I. Later that day, he issued a public statement approving the selective draft legislation which the War Department had put forth. He would sign the Selective Service Act of 1917 into law in May, inaugurating compulsory service in the United States. The first draft registration, on June 5th, enrolled more than 9.5 million men, of whom 4 million would be drafted.
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