ABSTRACT
Martial law has been used to describe the military government of another nation's territories occupied by a victorious invader as the result of military conflict. US history provides examples of both types of martial law and the conflicts that arise between the imposition of martial law and the preservation of civil liberties. The sense of martial law describes a government responding to a threatening situation perceived as beyond the capacity of the regular civilian government to address. In the United States, both national and state governments have imposed martial law. State governors have declared martial law in response to both natural disasters and incidents of civil unrest. Declarations of martial law in response to labor unrest have been controversial. Lambdin Milligan, a civilian in Indiana, had been tried and sentenced by a military court under the president's declaration of martial law.
