Geoagorist Territory wrote:First off, it's historically inaccurate to say conscription was universal by any means.
Well, to go back to your quote, it did mention modern conscription in the sense that men were required to serve regardless of whether or not a country was at war. Previous acts of conscription were only during war time periods. For example, the Athenians had no peace time army but all citizens were required to serve with the advent of war. As citizenship was restricted to men only, therefore it was only men that fought. The Romans often drew young men and boys from their imperial provinces as auxiliaries to fight. They also required serving in the army to be a prerequisite for citizenship.
So whilst modern conscription is probably around 300-ish years old, the idea that men were obligated to fight to protect the state and their families is nothing new in the history of warfare.