Martial law is an authoritarian form of government rule based on English law that has been used sparingly in the United States, but it is always a threat to contemporary Americans. This is a unique, valuable handbook for readers seeking to understand and cope with martial law. It explains what Americans can expect if martial law is imposed on them locally or nationally, and what they can do to oppose it. It includes numerous case histories detailing the few times martial law has been mandated; the circumstances leading up to it; who has the authority to declare it, and how some of them have used it capriciously; the safeguards built in to prevent authorities from imposing it without just cause; how it affected individuals and society in general; the constitutional rights people lost, which is a disturbing, inevitable aspect of the practice; and how the citizens reacted.