Vatic Note: This is up just to give us a feeling of what Martial law really is, rather than the romantic version of protecting the citizens of a nation. This below shows that it will depend on those controlling the military that will determine the manner is which such martial law is conducted. Or at least those "giving the orders to the soldiers in the field". Martial Law is a complete and total lose of all rights, and freedoms, so listen, read carefully what happened in Hawaii, and keep it all in mind when they decide to bring the hammer down on us.
This surprised me so much, since I don't ever remember being taught about this is history classes and yet, it was such a major big part of the conditions the civilians had to live under for most of WW II. Granted, something had to be done since the attacks on Pearl Harbor cost the US Military so many lives, but then we find out that Franklin D Roosevelt
(ROSENFELD) knew all about the attack before it ever occurred and could have stopped it before it happened.... but chose not to, since the objective was to get the US into WW II on the side of Britain who actually started the war. We did blogs on both facts stated above.
Hawaii was not a state at the time, so loyalty, with so many Japanese living there was probably an issue, so to some degree, its understandable that Martial Law was declared. But its not understandable, the conditions the military set, while the citizens were under martial law. It was conducted more like a military dictatorship, then as a protection for the population at large. Was that the reason for it being used? To establish such a dictatorship? You read and decide. Could this happen today now that Hawaii is offically a state of our Union???
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Hawaii under martial law was like ‘military dictatorship’ (1941-1944)
https://alethonews.wordpress.com/2014/12/10/hawaii-under-martial-law-was-like-military-dictatorship-1941-1944/
By Admin, Aletho News, December 10, 2014
For three years Hawaiians lived under repressive Army rule and without any constitutional protections
HAWAII — Islanders suffered under nearly three years of martial law
from 1941-1944; so oppressive that it was later described by a federal
judge as a
“military dictatorship.” All manner of civilian liberties
were replaced by oppressive military orders enforced by American
soldiers.
The dark period of Hawaiian history began on December 7, 1941, with
the massive surprise attack of Japanese bombers on the U.S. Naval Base
Pearl Harbor. The air raid successfully sunk or grounded 18 ships and
killed 2,403 Americans.
As the smoke billowed from the harbor, Lieutenant General Walter
Short met with Territorial Governor Joseph Poindexter to convince him to
declare martial law. Being coerced through tactics discussed below,
Gov. Poindexter reluctantly ceded power to the military — temporarily,
or so he thought.
In declaring martial law, all forms of civilian law were suspended.
An entire new system of justice and order was instituted and controlled
at the absolute discretion of Lt. Gen. Short — the newly declared
“Military Governor” of the islands.
The transfer of power meant that all civilian courts would be closed,
and all government functions — federal, territorial, and municipal —
would be placed under military control. The U.S. Constitution was
suspended and civilians no longer guaranteed any individual rights or
protections from the government. Civilians had no freedom of speech,
self-defense, assembly, or protections from from unreasonable search and
seizures, inter alia.
Lt. General Short, in his first proclamation as Military Governor on December 7th, 1941, stated that [7]:
I shall therefore shortly publish ordinances governing
the conduct of the people of the Territory with respect to the showing
of lights, circulation, meetings, censorship, possession of arms,
ammunition, and explosives, the sale of intoxicating liquors and other
subjects.
In order to assist in repelling the threatened invasion of our island
home, good citizens will cheerfully obey this proclamation and the
ordinances to be published; others will be required to do so. Offenders
will be severely punished by military tribunals or will be held in
custody until such time that the civil courts are able to function.
Poindexter relayed his decision to the mainland, which was affirmed with approval from the President of the United States [7]:
The Military Governor’s subsequent orders were designed to
“discourage concerted action of any kind.” Saloons were ordered to be
closed, as well as schools, theaters — anywhere there might be a
“concentration of people.” [6]
Civilians were given strict curfews. The streets were ordered to be
cleared between the hours of 9:00 p.m. and 6:00 a.m. under penalty of
arrest. All persons of Japanese descent had to be in their homes by 8:00
p.m. [6]
Everyone
over the age of six years was fingerprinted, registered, and
ordered to carry around military-issued ID cards. [11] Using the
extensive registration program, the military drew up intelligence
reports on 450,000 Hawaiians. [8]
Stringent censorship of the media went into immediate effect. The
Military Governor required that newspapers be made illegal unless they
were granted a license to operate. All newspapers and radio stations
were shut down for a time. Any publication not printed exclusively in
English was denied a license and considered illegal. [6]
The local telephone company was taken over by the military. [6] All
outgoing mail was read and censored by the military. All long-distance
telephone calls to the mainland were required to be spoken in English
and censored. The military government monitored the content and morale
of the population this way. [11]
Travel between the islands was restricted. Use of civilian short-wave
radio was restricted. Photo materials were restricted to limit
photography. [6]
The newspapers that were allowed to reopen with licenses were forced to print military orders and military-controlled news. The
Honolulu Advertiser and the
Honolulu Star-Bulletin both published an order directed at every inhabitant of the island:
The Army demands the aid and assistance of every person
in the Territory… If you are ordered by military personnel to obey a
certain command, that order must be obeyed instantly and without
question. [9]
Days after martial law had gone into effect, the United Press
reported that
“cases of non-cooperation” were
“severely dealt with”
according to military authorities [1].
Civilian ownership of firearms was prohibited except to those
specially authorized [6]. Every male islander was ordered to construct a
bomb shelter [9]. Approximately 300,000 acres of private land was
confiscated by the military — land, farms, buildings [8]
Civilians were not permitted to switch jobs, and had their wages
frozen. U.S. Dollars were confiscated and new money was issued — only
valid in Hawaii. Citizens were not allowed to carry more than $200 on
them for any reason. [11]
The wages of Japanese nationals were capped at
$200 per month, with the rest being forced into bank accounts, with
weekly withdrawal limits of $50. [9]
Businesses were tightly controlled; they were ordered to shut down
daily by 4:30 p.m. Goods on the shelves were inventoried by the
military. [9] Liquor sales were banned. Gasoline was rationed. [6]
One of the more onerous measures was the nightly
“blackout” of all
civilian lights, ostensibly to mitigate the effectiveness of a potential
enemy air raid. Every light bulb and every flame was ordered to be
extinguished after dark. Even a lit cigarette, a kitchen stove burner,
or an illuminated radio dial was grounds for an arrest. It was ordered
that all residential doors and windows be covered. Car headlights were
to be painted blue to dim the beams. [11]
“We couldn’t see each other nor anything on the table so we literally
had to feel our way through the meal,” wrote Honolulu resident Richard
Wrenshall wrote in a 1942 letter. “If you reached out for something
you’d be liable to stick your finger in the butter or in somebody’s
eye.” [11]
Military Governor Green reported that the Army Corps of Engineers had
a roving band of armed individuals calling themselves the “vigilance
committee” which frequently shot at lights wherever they could be seen
and “terrorized” the public. [6]
Of great controversy and consequence was the suspension of the writ
of habeas corpus — the common-law court doctrine requiring a party
holding a prisoner to demonstrate the legal and jurisdictional basis for
continuing to hold the prisoner. With all civilian due process
suspended, arrestees could be held without charges or trial; without
legal representation, witnesses, a defense, or a jury. [2]
Breaking the blackout order brought about stiff fines or jail time.
Numerous violators were thrown before a military judge, Lt. Col. Neal D.
Franklin, who swiftly sentenced them to 100 days in jail or minimum
fines of $100. A Japanese person might be given as much as 1,000 days
imprisonment or up to $1,000 fines. It was reported that a Shinto priest
was fined $500 for not extinguishing the “eternal flame” on his temple
altar. [9]
The military courts were eager to impose fines for those who broke
the military governor’s general orders. However, some individuals who
couldn’t pay fines were instead given a “credit” following a forced
donation of their blood. The practice was jokingly referred to as being
“fined a bucket of blood.” [6]
People of Japanese descent — even American citizens — were looked at
with suspicion and scorn by their government and their neighbors alike.
Aside from the repressive military orders used to control their lives,
thousands of Hawaiian Issei were arrested and shipped off to internment
camps for the duration of the war. [13]
The oppression of civil rights was so thorough that it became a main
theme in the 1942 platform of one of the major political parties on the
islands [7]. The platform stated:
We deplore a system of government whereby the citizens of
the Territory of Hawaii can be arrested and held for investigation,
without bail, for offenses that have nothing to do with the operations
of the military establishment.
We deplore the exercise of public authorities who are making unlawful
searches and seizures in the homes of the people of the Territory of
Hawaii without a search warrant…
We deplore the continued existence of the suspension of the writ of habeas corpus…
It was evident that the continued suspension of civilian law was
disconcerting to some on the mainland, including Secretary of the
Interior Harold L. Ickes, who wrote on January 9th, 1943:
“Civilian
government has been successfully maintained and its responsibilities
carried out by civilian authorities in other parts of the
English-speaking world under conditions of much more severe strain than
exist in Hawaii,” he wrote. “The idea that restoring the responsibility
of civil government and the jurisdiction of the courts would hamper the
defense of the territory by the Army and Navy is repugnant of every
concept of American democracy and reflects upon the capacity of the
people of Hawaii for self-government and self-discipline.” [7]
“The Army went beyond the governor and
set up that which was lawful only in conquered enemy territory… they
threw the Constitution into the discard and set up a military
dictatorship.”
Finally, in April 1944, Federal Judge Delbert E. Metzger overturned
the suspension of the writ of habeas corpus, citing that martial law
“ceases and becomes unlawful as soon as the civilian government is
capable and willing to resume its normal functions.” [3]
Despite the ruling, martial law was enforced for six more months.
General Richardson defiantly stated after the ruling that regular
blackouts would continue to be enforced as of 10 p.m. that same evening.
“Violations of general orders will continue to be tried in provost
courts,” he pronounced. [3]
Richardson knew he would be free of consequence, since he had already
been granted an executive pardon by President Roosevelt after Judge
Metzger had held him in contempt of court on a previous case involving
violations of the writ of habeas corpus. [3]
Judge Metzger argued that civilian law should be restored and was
sufficient to protect the population. He said:
“If present laws do not
give the nation the fullest desirable protection against subversive or
suspicious Japanese aliens, clearly it is the duty of the army and navy
to ask a legislative curb and procedure instead of holding by force of
arms an entire population under a form of helpless and unappealable
subjugation called martial law.” [4]
Technically, martial law was terminated in Hawaii on October 24,
1944, in Roosevelt’s Presidential Proclamation 2627. While Roosevelt
granted that “
the privilege of the writ of habeas corpus” was restored,
his declaration maintained that civilians were still thoroughly under
the control of military commanders, and civilian freedoms were still
heavily restricted. It was declared:
The military commander will have authority to establish
blackouts and curfew periods, organize air raid precautions, regulate
the conduct of enemy aliens, take anti-espionage precautions in the
military area, control the possession and use of weapons, set up ports
and harbors protections, regulate travel and regulate the publication of
newspapers “published in a foreign language or in duel languages.”
In
addition he will have authority to regulate or prohibit the possession
or use of radio transmission sets between the military area and points
away from it. The authority conferred in the executive order will expire
30 days after the end of war with Japan. [5]
After the war, federal district court magistrate Judge J. Frank
McLaughlin condemned the conduct of martial law, saying,
“Gov.
Poindexter declared lawfully martial law but the Army went beyond the
governor and set up that which was lawful only in conquered enemy
territory namely, military government which is not bound by the
Constitution. And they… threw the Constitution into the discard and set
up a military dictatorship.” [12]
Judge McLaughlin, said in a speech that “[Maj. Gen. Short] set up an
unconstitutional provost court system to try, without constitutional
safeguards, anybody for anything — and they did it, too.”
Evidence explained by Judge McLaughlin revealed that there were some
dubious efforts on the part of the military to influence the “civilian”
decision to declare martial law. The military’s treachery was described
in
Hawaii Under Army Rule [7]:
Judge McLaughlin outlined how it was done, pointing out
that the proclamation of martial law was prepared by the Army months in
advance of December 7, 1941, and noted that the proclamation “was in the
hands of the publishers for printing that afternoon some substantial
period of time before the governor’s proclamation was signed and
received for publication.”
Commenting on Secretary Patterson’s letter to
Representative Andrews and a public statement by General Richardson on
the same subject, Judge McLaughlin said:
“…They did not, of course, mention that the Army went back on its
word to the Hawaiian legislature. They did not tell you that it had said
one thing while preparing to do another thing. They did not tell you
that they prepared Governor Poindexter’s proclamation for him and
induced him to sign it, reluctantly. They did not tell you either that
he finally agreed to do as they asked with the understanding that the
effect of the proclamation would be for maybe 30 days…”
Judge McLaughlin concluded:
“Yes ‘they did it.’ They did it intentionally. They did it with
design aforethought. They did it knowing disregard of the Constitution.
They did it because Hawaii is not a State. They did it because they did
not have faith that Americanism transcends race, class, and creed.”
This period of events marked the longest period that Americans had
ever been subjected to military rule, and as many commentators have
pointed out, the conditions were more repressive than many actual combat
zones.
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SOURCES
1. Tremaine, Frank. “Martial Law Proclaimed For Hawaii.” The
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette [Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania] 11 Dec. 1941: 2. Web. [
http://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=1129&dat=19411211&id=l5RRAAAAIBAJ&sjid=LWoDAAAAIBAJ&pg=2442,5301386]
2. Anthony, Joseph Garner. “Martial Law in Hawaii.” California Law Review, Vol. 30. May 1942. Web. [
http://scholarship.law.berkeley.edu/californialawreview/vol30/iss4/1]
3. Associated Press. “Judge Invalidates Martial Law in Hawaiian Islands.” The
Evening Independent [St. Petersburg, Florida] 14 April 1944: 9. Web. [
http://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=950&dat=19440414&id=GmpIAAAAIBAJ&sjid=CVUDAAAAIBAJ&pg=4284,6259680]
4. Johnston, Richard W. “Army Defies Ban On Hawaii Martial Law.”
San Jose Evening News [San Jose, California] 14 April 1944: 7. Web. [
http://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=1977&dat=19440413&id=JygiAAAAIBAJ&sjid=FKQFAAAAIBAJ&pg=986,1109323]
5.
Associated Press. “Martial Law Ends in Hawaii. The
Deseret News [Salt Lake City, Utah] 24 Oct. 1944: 1. Web. [
http://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=336&dat=19441024&id=tU5SAAAAIBAJ&sjid=xnwDAAAAIBAJ&pg=3153,5465917]
6. Green, Major General Thomas H. “Martial Law in Hawaii, December 7,
1941–April 4, 1943.” Unpublished manuscript. Library of Congress
[Washington, D.C.]. Web. [
http://www.loc.gov/rr/frd/Military_Law/pdf/Martial-Law_Green.pdf]
7. Anthony, Joseph Garner.
Hawaii Under Army Rule. Stanford University Press [Stanford, California] 1947. [
books.google.com/books?id=V66lAAAAIAAJ&pg=PA109&lpg=PA109]
8. Polmar, Norman. “World War II: The Enclyclopedia of the War Years, 1941-1945.” Random House [New York] 1996. [
books.google.com/books?id=30gRAGjXrIIC&pg=PA372&lpg=PA372]
9. Dunford, Bruce. “Blackout, Martial Law After Japanese Attack.” The
Observer-Reporter [Greene County, Pennsylvania] 9 Dec. 1996: A6. Web. [
http://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=2519&dat=19961209&id=Al5eAAAAIBAJ&sjid=2GENAAAAIBAJ&pg=2763,1190314]
10. Commission on Wartime Relocation and Internment of Civilians. “Personal Justice Denied.” 1997. Web. [
http://www.archives.gov/research/japanese-americans/justice-denied/]
11. Borreca, Richard. “Martial Law Held Sway in Isles for Three Years.” The
Star Bulletin [Honolulu, Hawaii] 13 Sept. 1999. Web. [
http://archives.starbulletin.com/1999/09/13/special/story5.html]
12. Borreca, Richard. “Christmas 1941 in Hawaii Was Not a Time to Rejoice.” The
Star Bulletin [Honolulu, Hawaii] 13 Sept. 1999. Web. [
http://archives.starbulletin.com/1999/09/13/special/]
13. Soga, Keiho. “The Untold Story: Internment of Japanese Americans
in Hawaii.” University of Hawaii Press {Honolulu, Hawaii] 31 Oct. 2007. [
Amazon.com]
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