Once welcomed as a source of inexpensive labor for the sugar regarded martial law as the solution to what was called, in the political and military discussions of the day, the "Japanese problem" in Hawai'i-the presence of a large ethnic Japanese population that might side with the enemy if an invasion became imminent. In the decades leading up to World War II, as tensions grew between the United States and Japan, military planners in , 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." Provided that the territorial governor "may, in case of rebellion or invasion, or imminent danger thereof, when the public safety requires it, suspend the privilege of the writ of When Congress established Hawai'i as a territory of the United States in 1900, the In marked contrast, therefore, to the drastic policy of forcibly evacuating and then incarcerating the 110,000 Japanese American residents of California, Washington, Oregon, and Arizona, the army instituted a policy of "selective internment" in Hawai'i, leaving most Japanese Americans free to continue their lives in their own homes (and in most cases, their prewar employment) as best they could-but, like the rest of Hawai'i's civilian population, under army rule. Those same large numbers, however, made wholesale mass removal from Hawai'i impractical Japanese labor was essential to the Hawaiian economy and defense industries, and shipping was unavailable. Both their large numbers and doubts about their loyalty in the event of a war with Japan became the primary justification, in the eyes of the military and of President Together, the ethnic Japanese comprised 37 percent of the population of Hawai'i. ) who were ineligible for citizenship, and the 121,000 Japanese-American citizens (the The actual administration of military government had some uniquely harsh consequences for Hawai'i's residents of Japanese ancestry-both the 37,000 alien residents (the citizens kept under martial law in such numbers or for so long a time. Never before or after in American history were U.S. The martial law regime affected every resident of the Territory of Hawaii, citizen and alien alike. The army's commanding general of the Hawaiian Department became the military governor of Hawai'i, assuming comprehensive executive, legislative, and judicial powers. , and it lasted, with some modifications, for nearly three years, until October 24, 1944. In Hawai'i, martial law was declared within hours of the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor on On only a few occasions in the history of the United States have American citizens been placed for a substantial period of time under a rule of martial law-the imposition of military rule by military authorities-with the suspension of constitutional rights that military control of civilian life entails.
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