We are all ready under martial law in the US. If not we would not have a commander in chief. The centralization of power in the president is irrepressible because there are no specific constitutional restraints. Lincoln seized total power when Congress adjourned sine die on March 28th, 1861. This ended the original de jure government under the Constitution. In 1863, Lincoln instituted martial law. He ordered that the states (people) either conscribe troops and provide money in support of the North or be recognized as an enemy of the nation. This martial law Act of Congress is still in effect today - what it means is that the President has dictatorial authority to do anything that can be done by the government in accord with the Constitution of the United States of America. This is the foundation of Presidential Executive Orders.
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