The Brennan Center for Justice recently catalogued each time martial law — the temporary military takeover of civil functions like law enforcement and courts — has been invoked in U.S. history. Interestingly, the only two presidents to ever declare martial law are the two for which Trump has most often expressed admiration: Andrew Jackson and Abraham Lincoln. As British troops approached Louisiana in December 1814, Jackson declared martial law in New Orleans to compel all available men — militias, frontiersmen, pirates and the enslaved — to repel the British. About 40 percent of the time — 29 of the 68 instances covered by the report — martial law has been invoked to combat labor disputes. James Peabody declared martial law in several counties throughout 1903 and 1904 during the so-called Colorado labors wars.

Source: Washington Post December 22, 2020 12:05 UTC