Citizenship Status and Military Service: The Quest For Inclusion by Minorities and Conscientious Objectors

This article examines the relations between citizenship status and military service asthey have affected the social standing of African Americans, women, and conscientiousobjectors in the United States. One purpose is to review evidence for the claim that there isa close connection between one's willingness to perform military service and one's accep-tance as a citizen. Ironically, while the military has become a more inclusive institution forminorities since the end of World War II, the political community has become less insistentin its demand that citizens ought to perform military service. A second purpose is to correct(somewhat) the frequent preoccupation with economic and political inequality in the studyof citizenship. I show that apart from and before the question of one's place in a hierarchyof possession, there is the question of whether one is recognized and respected as a memberin good standing of the political community. Despite obvious differences, minority groupsand conscientious objectors are alike in their desire to protect their social standing ascitizens. In their different responses to military service, both seek to avoid becoming exilesin their own land. Studying this matter historically allows us to see why the relationshipbetween citizenship status and military service has relaxed since the end of World War 11.Unexpectedly perhaps, with an all-volunteer force, this relaxation enhances the prospectsfor the political and social inclusion of minorities more than it does for conscientious objectors.