Over the past decade or so there have been growing fears of the U.S. government declaring martial law and suddenly placing the populace under a mid 20th century Soviet style, oppressive regime.  One where people are sent to concentration camps (or worse) for speaking against the government.  Where there is no longer an abundance of good food to eat.  No one works except for government assigned jobs which earn $10 a week.  Healthcare is a thing of the past.  And the sun never shines.  Well maybe not that last effect but that’s the picture that’s being painted.  Is this realistic?

A quick search online returns countless links to articles and reports related to eminent martial law in the United States.  I assumed this would be a quick read up and write as I have read many things over the last few years and have already formed my own opinion on the matter.  However the more I delve into it, the more I find there is nothing simple or quick about the required research.  Often there are many rabbit holes to plunge down requiring a considerable amount of reading and vetting.  And as discussed in a previous article here on CoS, question everything and go to the source when ever possible.

In spite of, or perhaps because of, the prevalent fear mongering surrounding martial law, we must strive to remain as objective as possible.  Let’s start by examining that phrase which conjures so many fears.

Martial Law

According to Merriam-Webster, martial law is defined as

1: the law applied in occupied territory by the military authority of the occupying power, 2: the law administered by military forces that is invoked by a government in an emergency when the civilian law enforcement agencies are unable to maintain public order and safety.

Over at usconstitution.net we find

Martial law is not explicitly mentioned in the Constitution, but the suspension of habeas corpus is mentioned in Article 1, Section 9, and the activation of the militia in time of rebellion or invasion is mentioned in Article 1, Section 8…martial law is the suspension of civil authority and the imposition of military authority…the military is in control of the area, that it acts as the police, as the courts, as the legislature.

This I think is a clearer description.

So what constitutes a “time of rebellion or invasion”?  There have been a few instances of martial law in recent years.  In May 2014 Thailand’s army has declared martial law following six months of political protests in the capital^[1].  In Dec. 2012 Egypt was placed under martial law after President Hosni Mubarak was removed from power^[2].  While the situations were different, in both cases there were mass protests and violence that local authorities could not contain.  In Feb. 2013 the Greek government imposed martial law on striking ferry workers^[3].  In this instance it would seem to be a gross overreach of the Greek government since the ‘protest’ was limited to a small segment of the population.  This reminds me of the air traffic controller strike in the U.S. in the 1980s.  Rather than take this extreme approach then President Reagan simply told the controllers to go back to work or lose their jobs.  No military needed.  This would suggest invoking martial law is at the discretion of those in control.

There is a history of martial law in the U.S.  Not the only instance but perhaps the most well known was during the U.S. civil war.  President Lincoln utilized the Constitutional option to suspend habeas corpus not once, but on 3 separate occasions.  The first was on Sept. 24, 1862 when he suspended habeas corpus for all persons acting in rebellion (the Confederacy) for the duration of the insurrection (the Civil War).  The second was on Sept. 15, 1863 which expanded the scope of the suspension.  And then once more on July 5, 1864 when he not only expanded the suspension, but also declared a state of martial law in his birth state of Kentucky.  Kentucky was a border state with loyalties split between the Union and the Confederacy, which grieved Lincoln greatly.  In a letter to Orville Browning he wrote

I think to lose Kentucky is nearly the same as to lose the whole game. Kentucky gone, we can not hold Missouri, nor, as I think, Maryland.

This clearly illustrates his reasons for martial law in Kentucky.

These actions by Lincoln were approved by Congress.  His intent in suspending habeas corpus was to hold prisoners of war indefinitely rather than turn them lose to return and fight for the rebels.  History supports his actions were without malice or attempted coup but rather intended to save the Union from collapse.  These acts were gradually reversed by President Andrew Johnson as the country began to mend after the war (Proclamation 146 (10/12/1865), Proclamation 148 (12/1/1865), Proclamation 153 (4/2/1866), and finally Proclamation 157 – (8/20/1866)).

Martial Law Today?

There is undoubtedly a tyrannical administration at the helm of the Executive branch of the U.S. government today with what is clearly a heavy-handed socialist agenda.  They have been caught using various government agencies to target dissenting political views.  They are illegally assuming control over and eliminating American freedoms almost daily.  As a result rumors and fears of martial law and concentration camps are multiplying online faster than rabbits.  Simply perform a search on “martial law in the united states” and countless results are returned.

One article in particular immediately caught my eye, “Martial Law by Executive Order” by Jim Garrison on Mar. 21, 2012.  The article’s title alone speaks to it’s content which focuses on Executive Order 13603 – National Defense Resources Preparedness from March 16, 2012 by President Barack Obama.  While the term ‘Martial Law’ does not appear anywhere in the document, a careful reading makes it perfectly clear Obama is stealing liberty from the American people.  I disagree however with Mr. Garrison who asserts that with this Executive Order (EO)

The United States is essentially now under martial law without the exigencies of a national emergency”

Garrison also states that with this EO

…the president and his secretaries have the authority to commandeer all U.S. domestic resources, including food and water…”

Unfortunately, this much is true, but I believe it’s important to know that it’s not new with Obama, and it doesn’t take much research to discover this.

It’s difficult to throw Obama alone under the bus when a little digging through EOs of the past reveal a long succession of similar documents coming from the desk of the President.  Simply paging back to Harry Truman reveals dozens of EOs similar in nature.  Certain passages are often similar if not exactly the same among the various EOs.  Many of their differences specify a change in authority over various national resources from an old agency to a newly created one.  Likewise Obama’s EO follows suit with a few notable exceptions that reveal a more nefarious objective.  First, a look at a few of the similarities as they pertain to some of Mr. Garrison’s points.

Food and Water

Rather than the hands-off government our forefathers intended, today we have one that insists on controlling everything.  This becomes quite evident in the national resources these EOs assign governmental control over, during a declared time of national emergency or war.  Among those resources are minerals, production facilities, technology, energy and food.

Yes that’s right, food.

Truman

Going back to Jan. 3, 1951, President Harry S. Truman issued EO 10200 to modify some of the provisions within The Defense Production Act of 1950.  Truman created a new agency known as the Defense Production Administration, to be headed by an agency administrator.  In section 303 subsection 3 he wrote

Whenever the available supply of any food is insufficient to meet all needs therefore the Administrator (of the Defense Production Administration) and the Secretary of Agriculture shall jointly determine the division to be made of the available supply of such food as between food for industrial needs and food for human and animal consumption.

This seems harmless enough, yet gives control of food to the Executive branch of government.

‘food’ is not defined in this EO as is customary in most EOs, but it was previously defined in Truman’s EO 10161 from Sep. 9, 1950.  In that document ‘food’ is defined as

all commodities and products, simple, mixed, or compound, or complements to such commodities or products, that are capable of being eaten or drunk by either human beings or animals, irrespective of other uses to which such commodities or products may be put, at all stages of processing from the raw commodity to the products thereof in vendible form for immediate human or animal consumption. For the purposes of this Executive order the term “food” shall also include all starches, sugars, vegetable and animal fats and oils, cotton, tobacco, wool, mohair, hemp, flax fiber, and naval stores, but shall not include any such material after it loses its identity as an agricultural commodity or agricultural product.

What is not stated is what sources of food are to be controlled under this EO?  Farms over a certain acreage?  Only food which is sent to production facilities?  Or does it also include every private garden in the country?  In fact subsequent EOs also fail to clarify this leaving interpretation to those in command.  The phrase ‘eaten or drunk’ clearly refers to solids or liquids, which includes water.

Nixon

Water was generally overlooked by presidential EOs (except within the definition of food) until Richard Nixon addressed it in EO 11490. 

The Secretary of the Interior shall prepare national emergency plans and develop preparedness programs covering … water, as defined in Section 702 of this part.
SEC. 702 Definitions – “Water” means water from all sources except water after its withdrawal into a community system, or an emergency system for treatment, storage, and distribution for public use.
SEC. 703 Resource functions.
With respect to the resources defined in Section 702, the Secretary of the Interior shall: … Develop plans with respect to water, including plans for the treatment and disposal, after use, of water after its withdrawal into a community system or an emergency system for treatment, storage, and distribution for public use. In developing any plans relating to water for use on farms and in food facilities, assure that those plans are in consonance with plans and programs of the Department of Agriculture.
SEC. 1103 Health Functions
Secretary of Health, Education, and Welfare shall: … Prepare plans to assure the provision of usable water supplies for human consumption and other essential community uses in an emergency. This shall include inventorying existing community water supplies, planning for other alternative sources of water for emergency uses, setting standards relating to human consumption, and planning community distribution.

There can be NO mistaking what’s being said here.  This gives authority to the government, as they deem necessary, to assume control and perhaps ownership of the creek or pond or private well on your property.  In spite of Nixon’s attention to detail in this EO, he still fails to clarify what is to be considered a food source.  One can only assume the consistent language in all EO definitions of food as being “all commodities” may well include the family garden in the hands of a tyrannical president.

Reagan

History generally characterizes the nature and intent of Ronald Reagan as perhaps somewhat more altruistic than many of his peers.  But he did issue EO 12656.

Under the guise of “national security” and “national preparedness planning” for “natural disaster, military attack, technological emergency, or other emergency, that seriously degrades or seriously threatens the national security of the United States” there is the following:

The head of each agency will…

Prepare plans and procedures to share between and among the responsible agencies resources such as energy, equipment, food, land, materials, minerals, services, supplies, transportation, water, and workforce needed to carry out assigned responsibilities and other essential functions, and cooperate with other agencies in developing programs to ensure availability of such resources in a national security emergency”.

The Secretary of Defense…

Acting through the Secretary of the Army, develop, with the concurrence of the heads of all affected departments and agencies, overall plans for the management, control, and allocation of all usable waters from all sources within the jurisdiction of the United States. This includes … Coordination of national security emergency water resource planning at the national, regional, State, and local levels … Development of plans to assure emergency provision of water from public works projects under the jurisdiction of the Secretary of the Army to public water supply utilities and critical defense production facilities during national security emergencies … Development of plans to assure the provision of potable water.”

The EPA shall…

Develop, in coordination with the Secretary of Defense, plans to assure the provision of potable water supplies to meet community needs under national security emergency conditions, including claimancy for materials and equipment for public water systems”.

The Army and the EPA controls all sources of drinking water?!  Come on Mr. Reagan.  This was a very disappointing find coming from a man that is today the standard for conservative principles.  Yes, I do understand there is a ‘need’ to protect our precious resources from rogue elements, yet dictates that are all encompassing as this allows any tyrant to legally take everything we need and own.

Other presidents issuing similar EOs were Dwight Eisenhower (EO 10480), John F. Kennedy (EO 11001), Gerald Ford (EO 11921), and Bill Clinton (EO 12919).

During Peacetime

Mr. Garrison states with the advent of Obama’s EO 13603 “this can all be done in peacetime without any national emergency to justify it.”.  He’s referring to the twice appearing phrase in this EO which states

…in peacetime and times of national emergency…

Yes it’s true and on this point I agree.  However Obama is not the first president to place this in an EO.  The credit for that falls to Bill Clinton and (EO 12919) where we find the exact same wording.  Exactly the same.

We can’t deny or ignore that in the wrong hands language like this allows for most of our liberties to vanish.  Yet if language like this places the U.S. under martial law, martial law would be 20 year old news by now.  Not to mention Obama’s EO is now 3 years old and we’ve yet to see the physical evidence of martial law.  Yet.

This is not to say Obama isn’t shredding the Constitution more than his predecessors because he is.  As much as I dislike the man and his socialist, elitist agenda, I have to admit he is not the first to have severely damaged our republic.  Let’s not forget George W. Bush created the U.S. version of the Nazi SS in the Office of Homeland Security (EO 13228)

Reading this succession of EO’s makes one wonder if the intended purpose is a slow and methodical dismantling of civil liberty and the United States.  True to this end Obama has stepped up the game and exacted more damage than any of the others with EO 13603.

Voiding The Bill of Rights

Where Clinton handed off authority to ‘Federal departments and agencies’ Obama has changed it to ‘Executive departments and agencies’.  ‘Federal’ can imply an Executive agency but can also include Congressional and Judicial control as well.  A seemingly minor change yet he alone is assuming all authority over the management of resources as a dictator would.

Where Clinton had the Secretary of Commerce administering regulations from the Defense Priorities and Allocations System, Obama has all Secretaries of each agency directly issuing regulations to control resources.  There are several other instances in this EO where Obama has changed the oversight and authority from various agencies and heads to either the president or his cabinet exclusively.  Do not take this lightly.

Sec. 201 e was drastically rewritten to add a new dictatorial twist.  Here, upon the President’s approval of a ‘finding’ from one of the Secretaries, said Secretary has the authority “to control the general distribution of any material (including applicable services) in the civilian market.”.  In essence, all private enterprise in the U.S. is now nationalized.  Yet Sec. 308 maintains the differentiation between “privately owned facilities” and “Government-owned equipment” where defense material production is concerned.

In Sec. 202 a Obama added provisions for “military use of civil transportation”.

Sec. 502 allows the National Defense Executive Reserve agency (established in this EO) “to employ persons of outstanding experience and ability without compensation and to employ experts, consultants, or organizations”.  Sounds like slavery for a select group of people.

In Sec. 803 a he makes sure any of Clinton’s lightweight controls can’t be used against his by revoking EO 12919, and sections 401(3)-(4) of Reagan’s EO 12656 which deal with defense production capacity.

Last but not least, the very end of this EO contains a clause that states no one has any right to challenge the U.S. in a court of law due to any action related to this EO.  This however is also not new and is also the final clause in Clinton’s EO 12919.

Next Time: Police State

This is a good place to stop and reflect on these matters.  Please check back later for part 2 where we look at what a police state is.  For now inform yourself.  Read the EOs.  The tell someone else.

Sources for "Martial Law -or- Police State Pt. 1"

1. “Thailand under martial law and what it means” at CNSNews.com/AP
2. “Egypt’s generals impose martial law” at Washington Post
3. “Greek government imposes martial law on ferry strikers” at World Socialist Web Site
4. “Martial Law by Executive Order” by Jim Garrison at The Huffington Post
5. “The Constitution of the United States” at archives.gov
6. “Presidential Executive Orders” at The American Presidency Project
7. “Merriam-Webster Dictionary“
8. “Constitutional Topic: Martial Law” at usconstitution.net
9. “Selected Quotations by Abraham Lincoln” at abrahamlincolnonline.org