During this period there were those among the Negroes themselves who thought that at last the time had come to demand once for all the full rights of American citizens. A larger group, however, maintained that when the country was in danger the first duty of every citizen was to remove the danger and then to settle domestic problems. A program was adopted which resulted in the holding of great mass meetings throughout the country. The young men of the race were urged to enlist in the army or navy, and this they did with enthusiasm. The rush to the colors was unprecedented. The American Negro Loyal Legion proposed to raise 10,000 men in answer to the President’s call for 75,000 men. In sections where national guard units existed for colored men, these were the first to raise their units to war strength, as was demonstrated by the old 15th New York. Often in the registration booths new records of enlistments were made, so much so that at one time the War Department issued orders to “take no more colored men.” Boys in their teens and men beyond the draft age answered the call. Students left school or college to take up the knapsack and the gun. In the Southern states there was special eagerness to enlist, and in Florida there were petitions to the Governor for the privilege of raising “regiments of colored militia officered by men of the race.” In some quarters it was said that Negroes would not register and that arrests would have to be made. Especially in country districts not reached by publicity campaigns there was not a thorough understanding of the requirements. This fact resulted in the arrest of a few men as slackers, but investigation showed that what seemed to be negligence was due to ignorance rather than to any definite intention to dodge the draft. Some who were beyond the age limits registered because they did not know their exact age, and some other older men believed that they would be sent to jail if they failed to appear. When soon after registration day reports were sent out from Washington that Negroes would be sent to the various camps, a vigorous protest was made in some Southern states against placing them in the local camps, the strongest objection coming from South Carolina. Elsewhere, however, the opposition did not appear so violent; thus the _Atlanta Constitution_ took the position that Negro soldiers should be trained in Camp Gordon along with other soldiers and felt that this could be done without friction. In Alabama there was an expressed feeling against “strange Negroes in large numbers,” and throughout the South it was believed that separate camps would be preferable. Objections grew less and less, however, as reports of the Negro’s enthusiasm for the draft came from all parts of the country.