Under the martial law regime, there was no room for legislation, other than decrees by the military. The two houses of the Hawaiʻi legislature, as well as judges of all courts, Territorial and federal, were not on the organizational chart as part of the martial law government.
Under martial law, military officers assumed all legislative, executive and judicial powers. Violations were punished summarily by provost courts or military tribunals there was no right of appeal. Except for taxes, General Orders, issued by the Military Governor, regulated every facet of civilian life, from traffic control to garbage collection. Martial law suspended constitutional rights, turned the civilian courts over to the military, imposed blackout and curfew, rationing of food and gasoline, censorship of mail and news media, temporary prohibition, realigned business hours, froze wages, and regulated currency.Īll civilians over six years of age were required to be fingerprinted. 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.” “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. In his first proclamation as Military Governor on December 7, 1941, Lt General Short stated that: “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.” At 6:04 pm, the police radio broadcast: “From now on nobody allowed out of their homes.”Īll saloons were closed, and a Provost Court and Military Commission were appointed for the enforcement of the orders of the Military Governor. On the first day, December 7th, an advisory board was appointed consisting of informed local citizens. Never before or after in American history were US citizens kept under martial law in such numbers or for so long a time. The martial law regime affected every resident of the Territory of Hawaiʻi, citizen and foreign alike. The Army’s Commanding General of the Hawaiian Department (Lt General Short) became the Military Governor of Hawai’i, assuming comprehensive executive, legislative and judicial powers. The President responded, “Your telegram of December 7th received and your action in suspending the writ of Habeas Corpus and placing the Territory of Hawaii under martial law in accordance with USC Title 48, Section 532 has my approval.” (President Roosevelt to Governor Poindexter, December 9, 1941) Usually, writs of habeas corpus are used to review the legality of the party’s arrest, imprisonment or detention.) (Cornell Law School)
(Writ of habeas corpus (‘that you have the body’) is a process in the US system used to bring a party who has been criminally convicted in state court into federal court. Your attention is called to section 67 of the Hawaiian Organic Act for your decision of my action.” (Governor Poindexter to President Roosevelt, December 7, 1941) “I have today declared martial law throughout the Territory of Hawaii and have suspended the privilege of the writ of habeas corpus. He followed-up with a telegram to the President of the US. However, at 3:30 pm of the same day, Poindexter issued a second proclamation where he placed the Territory of Hawaiʻi under martial law and authorized the “Commanding General, Hawaiian Department, during the present emergency and until the danger of invasion is removed, to exercise all the powers normally exercised by me as Governor”. (Green)Īt 11:30 am, December 7, 1941, Governor Poindexter exercised his powers and “declare(d) and proclaim(ed) a defense period to exist throughout the Territory of Hawaiʻi.” It contemplated that in a maximum emergency, the Governor was authorized to declare a state of emergency in attempt to avoid the necessity of martial law. Titled ‘Hawaiian Defense Act 1941,’ the M-Day Act (M standing for mobilization) was first introduced in the legislature in April, 1941. Shortly after, Joseph Boyd Poindexter, Governor of the Territory of Hawaiʻi, by proclamation, invoked the powers granted him under the M-Day Act. By 10:30 am, in co-operation with the Navy, the Army began to apply a tight censorship to prevent the transmission from Hawaiʻi of any unauthorized information about the attack or about the condition of Oʻahu’s defense forces after it was over. The Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor on Decemlasted 110-minutes, from 7:55 am until 9:45 am.
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