During the Vietnam War, hundreds of thousands of American men evaded the draft by fleeing the country or failing to register with their local draft board.[3] President Gerald Ford signed a proclamation in 1974 that granted conditional amnesty to draft evaders, provided they work in a public service job for up to two years. Those who had evaded the draft by leaving the country were not eligible for a conditional pardon. Up to 90% of evaders had fled to Canada, with up to 50,000 settling there permanently.[4]
Jimmy Carter promised during his presidential campaign that he would pardon draft evaders of the Vietnam War,[3] calling it the "single hardest decision" of his campaign.[5] He signed the proclamation on January 21, 1977, his first full day in office.[3] The proclamation did not offer amnesty to deserters, however.[4]
Barry Goldwater, a supporter of the Vietnam War, referred to the proclamation as "the most disgraceful thing that a president has ever done". Carter was accused of showing favoritism towards middle-class evaders who were able to successfully stay out of the war.[2] Some Vietnam veterans were opposed to amnesty for evaders, while anti-war activists said it fell short by not pardoning deserters.[6]
^Dorris, Jonathan Truman. Pardon and Amnesty under Lincoln and Johnson, The Restoration of the Confederates to Their Rights and Privileges, 1861-1898. University of North Carolina Press (Chapel Hill, North Carolina). 1953. p. 313–315
