Carter Pardons Draft Dodgers


On this day in 1977, President Jimmy Carter pardons all Vietnam War draft dodgers.

During his presidential campaign, Carter had announced his intention to pardon those who had failed to register for the draft or left the country to avoid service. In a televised debate with incumbent President Gerald Ford, Carter proposed to implement a blanket pardon, in contrast to Ford’s more selective clemency plan. Carter interpreted pardon as meaning that what you did, whether it’s right or wrong, you’re forgiven for it. And I do advocate a pardon for draft evaders.to bring about an end to the divisiveness that has occurred in our country as a result of the Vietnam War. On his second day in office, January 21, 1977, he followed through on his promise.

A graduate of the U.S. Naval Academy at Annapolis, Carter served on battleships and submarines for eight years, although he did not see combat. His pardon of draft dodgers enraged veterans and was cheered by amnesty groups. Critics argued that not only would the pardon encourage future draftees to defy the law, it was an affront to the men who served and died during the war.

Carter’s pardon stated that only civilians who were convicted of [violating] the Military Selective Service Act by draft-evasion acts or omissions committed between August 4, 1964 and March 28, 1973 were eligible. The pardon was unconditional and wiped criminal records clean, but it only applied to civilians, not the estimated 500,000 to 1 million active-duty personnel who went AWOL (absent without leave) or deserted during the war. Many supporters of Carter’s decision thought they too should be forgiven by the government in an effort to heal national wounds.



Did you know that if you subscribe to our website, you will receive email notifications whenever content changes or new content is added.
1. Enter your e-mail address below and click the Sign Me Up button.
2. You will receive an email asking you to confirm your intention of subscribing to our site.
3. Click the link in the email to confirm. That’s all there is to it!

Enter your email address below to subscribe to Prison Break Freak.

Note: if you wish to unsubscribe from our site, click the unsubscribe link at the bottom of the email you received.
Then indicate you no longer wish to receive our emails.

Thank You
Prisonbreakfreak.com Team


Posted in Presidential.

Leave a Reply