Their sentences were later commuted, and all of them were freed by the following year. A military court tried 191 rebels and sentenced five, including Robert Wilcox, to death. In 1895, martial law was declared when the supporters of Queen Liliuokalani attempted to overthrow the Republic of Hawaii. A sailors’ riot in Honolulu forced the Kingdom’s marshal to declare martial law in 1852. The islands were seized and temporarily ruled by the French and British military forces during the nineteenth century. Civil courts were closed, and the writ of habeas corpus was suspended. Within hours of the attack, the territorial governor declared martial law, relying on the Hawaiian Organic Act of 1900, which authorized him to do so “in case of rebellion or invasion, or imminent danger thereof, when the public safety requires it.” All authority was turned over to the military, which proceeded to remove persons from militarily sensitive areas, set curfews, regulate night driving, censor newspapers and radio broadcasts, and control prices on everything from groceries to prostitutes. The threat to the nation quickly shifted from economic to the military with Japan’s attack on Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941.

“That the governor shall be responsible for the faithful execution of the laws of the United States and of the Territory of Hawaii within the said Territory, and whenever it becomes necessary he may call upon the commanders of the military and naval forces of the United States in the Territory of Hawaii, or summon the posse comitatus, or call out the militia of the Territory to prevent or suppress lawless violence, invasion, insurrection, or rebellion in said Territory, and he may, in case of rebellion or invasion, or imminent danger thereof, when the public safety requires it, suspend the privilege of the writ of habeas corpus, or place the Territory, or any part thereof, under martial law until communication can be had with the President and his decision thereon made known.” Hawaiian Organic Act, 1900

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