1939 Dbq

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The National Service Armed Forces Act of 1939 went into effect on September 3, 1939 by decree of Parliament, the day that the United Kingdom declared war on Germany. The act made signing up and joining the military compulsory on males between eighteen and forty-one who were residents in the United Kingdom. As before, Parliament included exemptions that met individual needs. One could be declared exempt for the following reasons: medically unfit for reasons-including being blind, disabled or having mental disorders, British subjects from outside Britain and the Isle of Man who had lived in the country for less than two years, students, persons employed by the government of any country of the British Empire except for the United Kingdom, clergy …show more content…

Passed just prior to the outbreak of war, the act authorized the British government to take up emergency powers to make the war efforts run more efficiently. This particular act contained the clauses giving government-wide powers to create legislation such as defense regulations to oversee each aspect of everyday life in the country. This also happened to be one of the more momentous acts passed at this time as it included stipulations that said specific acts of treason were punishable by death. The act, passed in reaction to the August, 1939 Nazi-Soviet Pact, came into full force of government power starting August 24, 1939. Originally intended to be in place for only one year, the usefulness of the act resulted in it being followed by the Emergency Powers of Defence Act 1940, which then extended the 1939 act for another year and provided annual extensions by Parliament vote. It also significantly extended the government's powers in relation to defense regulations and involved civilian responsibilities including that a person was required to “ place themselves, their services and their property at the disposal of his majesty” This was then quickly followed by the second emergency powers of Defense Act of 1940 which enabled the creation of special courts which were in charge of administering criminal justice in war zones and authorize them to punish offenders for violating the defense regulations of the country. This particular act was especially useful to Great Britain's Parliament because it gave them more power in running the country expeditiously especially dealing with the war and the country's defense. Having the power to pass emergency wartime acts allowed the Parliament to pass other wartime legislation quickly, thus helping the war

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