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Bayonets in Paradise

Bayonets in Paradise

Martial Law in Hawai'i During World War II

by Harry N. Scheiber and Jane L. Scheiber

Published by: University of Hawai'i Press

Imprint: University of Hawai'i Press

512 Pages, 178.00 × 254.00 mm, 34 b&w illustrations

Paperback
9798880702411
Published: August 2025

£31.00

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Selected as a 2017 CHOICE Outstanding Academic Title

Bayonets in Paradise recounts the extraordinary story of how the army imposed rigid and absolute control on the total population of Hawaii during World War II. Declared immediately after the Pearl Harbor attack, martial law was all-inclusive, bringing under army rule every aspect of the Territory of Hawaii's laws and governmental institutions. Even the judiciary was placed under direct subservience to the military authorities. The result was a protracted crisis in civil liberties, as the army subjected more than 400,000 civilians—citizens and alien residents alike—to sweeping, intrusive social and economic regulations and to enforcement of army orders in provost courts with no semblance of due process. In addition, the army enforced special regulations against Hawaii's large population of Japanese ancestry; thousands of Japanese Americans were investigated, hundreds were arrested, and some 2,000 were incarcerated. In marked contrast to the well-known policy of the mass removals on the West Coast, however, Hawaii's policy was one of "selective," albeit preventive, detention.

Army rule in Hawaii lasted until late 1944—making it the longest period in which an American civilian population has ever been governed under martial law. The army brass invoked the imperatives of security and "military necessity" to perpetuate its regime of censorship, curfews, forced work assignments, and arbitrary "justice" in the military courts. Broadly accepted at first, these policies led in time to dramatic clashes over the wisdom and constitutionality of martial law, involving the president, his top Cabinet officials, and the military. The authors also provide a rich analysis of the legal challenges to martial law that culminated in Duncan v. Kahanamoku, a remarkable case in which the U.S. Supreme Court finally heard argument on the martial law regime—and ruled in 1946 that provost court justice and the military's usurpation of the civilian government had been illegal.

Based largely on archival sources, this comprehensive, authoritative study places the long-neglected and largely unknown history of martial law in Hawaii in the larger context of America's ongoing struggle between the defense of constitutional liberties and the exercise of emergency powers.

"The Scheibers have produced a truly extraordinary book, as monumental in substance and importance as it is massive in length. Clearly a labor of love decades in the making, this massively researched volume is a towering example of outstanding scholarship, yet it is clearly written and organized and easily accessible to all. . . . A truly amazing and outstanding work of scholarship. Essential." - CHOICE, February 2017

"This copiously researched book, which reveals how Hawaii came to fall under martial law after Pearl Harbor and what it did to the lives of residents, is a must-read, not only for Hawaii history buffs, but for anyone who cares about civil liberties and constitutional rights." - Honolulu Star-Advertiser

"In Bayonets in Paradise: Martial Law in Hawaiʻi during World War II, an extremely compelling and important book, Harry N. Scheiber and Jane L. Scheiber illustrate how fragile that relationship [between the security of the American people and their constitutional protections] can be. . . . Scheiber and Scheiber demonstrate a keen grasp of the evidence and offer a methodical and compelling analysis. More importantly, they also provide a clear understanding of how complicated the history is. . . . In the end the Constitution won. But the fact that military necessity subordinated it in the first place is a troubling issue that makes Bayonets in Paradise an important scholarly contribution." - The American Historical Review, 122:3

"The Scheibers’ exhaustive research of government documents and manuscript collections allowed them to trace an intriguing and ongoing tug-of-war between military and civilian officials in Washington DC and Hawaiʻi. Key players included military personnel, officials in the US Departments of War, Justice and Interior, the territory’s governor, attorney general, and delegate to Congress, and President Roosevelt. . . . The Scheibers expertly examine the legal challenges to martial law, which began in 1943 and demonstrated that judges upheld the supremacy of civilian authority and became increasingly sceptical of the military’s claim of the potential emergency. . . . This insightful study is a valuable contribution to Hawaiʻi’s history and America’s constitutional history." - Dawn E. Duensing The Journal of Pacific History, Volume 52 (2017)

"As a reference for a long while to come, Bayonets in Paradise will give readers an understanding of the seriousness of the event [martial law], and the extent to which the people of Hawai‘i were abused. It could also give pause to those who think of the military as a bulwark of democracy in a time of chaos. If the generals get power, they will not be inclined to quickly give it back. Bayonets is, you can see, a big book about a big and otherwise underdeveloped vein of American history. The authors cast about for material far and wide, much to their credit. They strike an open-minded tone; their only apparent prejudice is for democratic constitutional government." - Law and History Review, 36:3 (August 2018)