Martial law is the imposition of military rule by military authorities over designated regions on an emergency basis—(usually) only temporary—when the civilian government or civilian authorities fail to function effectively (e.g., maintain order and security, and provide essential services), when there are extensive riots and protests, or when the disobedience of the law becomes widespread. In most cases, military forces are deployed to subdue the crowds, to secure government buildings and key or sensitive locations, and to maintain order.^[1] Generally, military personnel replace civil authorities and perform some or all of their functions. In full-scale martial law, the highest-ranking military officer would take over, or be installed, as the military governor or as head of the government, thus removing all power from the previous executive, legislative, and judicial branches of government.^[1]

Martial law can be used by governments to enforce their rule over the public. Such incidents may occur after a coup d'état (Thailand 2006); when threatened by popular protest (China, Tiananmen Square protests of 1989); to suppress political opposition (Poland in 1981); to stabilize insurrections or perceived insurrections (Canada, The October Crisis of 1970). Martial law may be declared in cases of major natural disasters, however most countries use a different legal construct, such as a "state of emergency".

Martial law has also been imposed during conflicts and in cases of occupations, where the absence of any other civil government provides for an unstable population. Examples of this form of military rule include post World War II reconstruction in Germany and Japan as well as the southern reconstruction following the U.S. Civil War.

Typically, the imposition of martial law accompanies curfews, the suspension of civil law, civil rights, habeas corpus, and the application or extension of military law or military justice to civilians. Civilians defying martial law may be subjected to military tribunal (court-martial).

By country[link]

Bahrain[link]

See: 2011 Bahraini uprising

Canada[link]

The War Measures Act was a Canadian statute that allowed the government to assume sweeping emergency powers, stopping short of martial law, i.e. the military does not administer justice, which remains in the hands of the courts. The Act has been invoked three times: During World War I, World War II, and the October Crisis of 1970. In 1988, the War Measures Act was replaced by the Emergencies Act.

Prior to 1837, martial law was proclaimed and applied in the territory of the Province of Quebec during the invasion of Canada by the army of the American Continental Congress in 1775-1776. It was also applied twice in the territory of Lower Canada during the 1837-1838 insurrections.

On December 5, following the events of November 1837, martial law was proclaimed in the district of Montréal by Governor Gosford, without the support of the Legislative Assembly in the Parliament of Lower Canada. It was imposed until April 27, 1838.

Martial law was proclaimed a second time on November 4, 1838, this time by acting Governor John Colborne, and was applied in the district of Montreal until August 24, 1839.^[2]

Egypt[link]

Martial law in Egypt: Egyptian flagged tanks man an apparent checkpoint just outside the midtown Tahrir area during the 2011 Egyptian revolution.

In Egypt, a State of Emergency has been in effect almost continuously since 1967. Following the assassination of President Anwar el-Sadat in 1981, state of emergency was declared. Egypt has been under state of emergency ever since; the Parliament has renewed the emergency laws every three years since they were imposed. The legislation was last extended in 2003 and was due to expire at the end of May 2006; plans were in place to replace it with new anti-terrorism laws, but after the Dahab bombings in April of that year, state of emergency was renewed for another two years.^[3][4] In May 2008 there was a further extension to June 2010.^[5] In May 2010, the state of emergency was further extended, albeit with a promise from the government to be applied only to 'Terrorism and Drugs' suspects. State of Emergency gives military courts the power to try civilians and allows the government to detain for renewable 45-day periods and without court orders anyone deemed to be threatening state security. Public demonstrations are banned under the legislation. On 10 Feb 2011, the ex-president of Egypt (Hosni Mubarak) promised the deletion of the relevant constitutional article that gives legitimacy to State of Emergency in an attempt to please the mass number of protesters that demanded him to resign. On 11 Feb 2011, the ex-president stepped down and the Vice President Omar Suleiman de facto introduced the country to Martial Law when transferring all civilian powers from the presidential institution to the military institution. It meant that the presidential executive powers, the parliamentary legislative powers and the judicial powers all transferred directly into the military system which may delegate powers back and forth to any civilian institution within its territory. Under Martial Law the source of power is not the people, not the parliament, not the constitution, not a Holy Text, but solely the Supreme Council of the Armed Forces. The military issued in its third announcement the "end of the State of Emergency as soon as order is restored in Egypt". Before Martial law, the Egyptian parliament under the constitution had the civilian power to declare a State of Emergency. When in Martial law, the military gained all powers of the state, including to dissolve the parliament and suspend the constitution as it did in its fifth announcement. Under Martial law, the only legal framework within the Egyptian territory is the numbered announcements from the military. These announcements could for instance order any civilian laws to come back into force. The military announcements (communiques) are the de facto only current constitution and legal framework for the Egyptian territory. It means that all affairs of the entire state are bound by the Geneva Conventions.

Iran[link]

A classic case of a full-blown martial law in recent history took place in Iran in 1978. On September 7, Shah of Iran, Mohammad Reza Pahlavi, appointed the chief of army staff, General Gholam Ali Oveisi as the military governor of the capital city, Tehran.^[6] The army divisions took position in key locations in the city. (Martial law was also declared in some other cities.) On September 8, the army opened fire on protesters, killing somewhere from 300 to 4000 (estimates vary). The day is often referred to as Black Friday. Unable to control the unrest, Shah dissolved the civil government headed by Prime Minister Jafar Sharif-Emami on November 6, and appointed General Gholam Reza Azhari as the prime minister. Azhari’s military government also failed to bring order to the country. As a last-ditch effort, as he was preparing to leave the country, Shah dissolved the military government and appointed Shapour Bakhtiar, a reformist critic of his rule, as the new prime minister on January 4, 1979. Bakhtiar’s government fell on February 11, and with it, the history of over two thousand years of monarchy in Iran came to an end.^[6]

Ireland[link]

During the Easter Rising in 1916, Lord Wimborne, a cousin of Winston Churchill and then Lord Lieutenant of Ireland, declared martial law to maintain order in the streets of Dublin. This was later extended both in duration and geographical reach to the whole of the country with the consent of the British government. Much of Ireland was declared under martial law by the British authorities during the Irish War of Independence. A large portion of Ireland was also under de facto martial law during the Irish Civil War.

Israel[link]

Military administrative government was in effect from 1949 to 1966 over some geographical areas of Israel having large Arab populations, primarily the Negev, Galilee, and the Triangle. The residents of these areas were subject to a number of controlling measures that amounted to martial law.^[7][8] Permits from the military governor had to be procurred to travel more than a given distance from a person's registered place of residence, and curfew, administrative detentions, and expulsions were common.^[7] Although the military administration was officially for geographical areas, and not people, its restrictions were seldom enforced on the Jewish residents of these areas. In the 1950s, martial law ceased to be in effect for those Arab citizens living in predominantly Jewish cities, but remained in place in all Arab localities within Israel until 1966. The West Bank is under Israeli martial law since 1967 to present, and Gaza Strip was under martial law until 2005, the Syrian Golan Heights was also under Israeli martial law, but after the Golan Heights law was passed the territory has been under Israeli civil law.^[7]

During the 2006 Lebanon war, martial law was declared by Defense Minister Amir Peretz over the north of the country. The Israel Defense Forces were granted the authority to issue instructions to civilians, and to close down offices, schools, camps and factories in cities considered under threat of attack, as well as to impose curfews on cities in the north.^[9]

Instructions of the Home Front Command are obligatory under martial law, rather than merely recommended.^[9] The order signed by Peretz was in effect for 48 hours^[9] and was extended by the Cabinet and the Knesset Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee over the war's duration.^{[citation needed]}

Pakistan[link]

Martial law has been declared in Pakistan four times. On 7 October 1958, President Iskander Mirza staged a coup d'état. He abrogated the constitution, imposed martial law and appointed General Muhammad Ayub Khan as the Chief Martial Law Administrator and Aziz Ahmad as Secretary General and Deputy Chief Martial Law Administrator. However, three weeks later General Ayub—who had been openly questioning the authority of the government prior to the imposition of martial law—deposed Iskandar Mirza on 27 October 1958 and assumed the presidency that practically formalized the militarization of the political system in Pakistan.[6] Four years later a new document, Constitution of 1962 was adopted. The second martial law was imposed on 25 March 1969, when President Ayub Khan abrogated the Constitution of 1962 and handed over power to the Army Commander-in-Chief, General Agha Mohammad Yahya Khan. On assuming the presidency, General Yahya Khan acceded to popular demands by abolishing the one-unit system in West Pakistan and ordered general elections on the principle of one man one vote. the third was imposed by the [General Zia] in 5 July 1979 After several tumultuous years, which witnessed the secession of East Pakistan, politician Zulfikar Ali Bhutto took over in 1971 as the first civilian martial law administrator in recent history, imposing selective martial law in areas hostile to his rule, such as the country's largest province, Balochistan. Following widespread civil disorder, General Muhammad Zia-ul-Haq overthrew Bhutto and imposed martial law in its totality on July 5, 1977, in a bloodless coup d'état. Unstable areas were brought under control through indirect military action, such as Balochistan under Martial Law Governor, General Rahimuddin Khan. Civilian government resumed in 1988 following General Zia's death in an aircraft crash.

On October 12, 1999, the government of Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif was dissolved, and the Army took control once more. But no martial law was imposed. General Pervez Musharraf took the title of Chief Executive until the President of Pakistan Rafiq Tarar resigned and General Musharraf became President. Elections were held in October 2002 and Mir Zafarullah Khan Jamali became Prime Minister of Pakistan. Jamali premiership was followed by Chaudhry Shujaat Hussain and Shaukat Aziz. While the government was supposed to be run by the elected Prime Minister, there was a common understanding that important decisions were made by the President General Musharraf.

On November 3, 2007, President General Musharraf declared the state of emergency in the country which is claimed to be equivalent to the state of martial law as the constitution of Pakistan of 1973, was suspended, and the Chief Justices of the Supreme Court were fired.

On November 12, 2007, Musharraf issued some amendments in the Military Act, which gave the armed forces some additional powers.

Philippines[link]

President of the Philippines Jose P. Laurel of the wartime Second Philippine Republic (puppet-government under Japan) placed the Philippines under martial law in 1944 through Proclamation No. 29, dated September 21. Martial law came into effect on September 22, 1944, at 9:00 am. Proclamation No. 30 was issued the next day, declaring the existence of a state of war between the Philippines and the United States and the United Kingdom. This took effect on September 23, 1944 at 10:00 am.

The country was under martial law again from 1972 to 1981 under the authoritarian rule of Ferdinand Marcos. Proclamation No. 1081 (Proclaiming a State of Martial Law in the Philippines) was signed on September 21, 1972 and came into force on September 22 - exactly 28 years after similar proclamations by President Laurel. Martial law was declared to suppress increasing civil strife and the threat of communist takeover following a series of bombings and a government-staged assassination attempt on the Defense Minister Juan Ponce Enrile in Manila. The declaration of martial law was initially well-received by some sectors, but it eventually proved unpopular as excesses and human rights abuses by the military emerged, such as the use of torture as a method of extracting information. The well-known People Power Revolution of 1986 took place because of the many violated rights and abuse of authority of Marcos. The People Power Revolution eventually ousted Marcos, and he fled to Hawaii where he died in exile in 1989.

There were rumours that President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo was planning to impose martial law to put an end to military coup plots, general civilian dissatisfaction, and criticism of the legitimacy of her presidency due to dubious election results. Instead, a "State of National Emergency" was imposed to crush a coup plot and to tackle protesters which lasted from February 24, 2006 until March 3 of the same year.

On December 4, 2009, through Proclamation No. 1959, President Macapagal-Arroyo has officially placed Maguindanao province under a state of martial law.^[10] The declaration also suspended the writ of habeas corpus in the province.^[11] The announcement was made days after hundreds of government troops were sent to the province, which would later raid armories of the powerful Ampatuan clan. The Ampatuan family was implicated in the massacre that saw the murder of 57 persons, including women members of the rival Mangudadatu clan, human rights lawyers, and 31 media workers, in the worst incident of political violence in the nation's history. It has also been condemned worldwide as the worst loss of life of media professionals in one day in the history of journalism.^[12]

Poland[link]

Martial law was introduced in Communist Poland on December 13, 1981 by Generals Czesław Kiszczak and Wojciech Jaruzelski to prevent democratic opposition from gaining popularity and political power in the country. Thousands of people linked to democratic opposition, including Lech Wałęsa, were arbitrarily arrested and detained. About 100 deaths are attributed to the martial law, including 9 miners shot by the police during the pacification of striking Wujek Coal Mine. The martial law was lifted July 22, 1983. Polish society is divided in opinion on the necessity of introduction of the martial law, which is viewed by some as a lesser evil compared to alleged Soviet military intervention. The generals' trials are still in progress almost thirty years after the events.

Switzerland[link]

There are no provisions for martial law as such in Switzerland. Under the Army Law of 1995 [4], the Army can be called upon by cantonal (state) authorities for assistance (Assistenzdienst). This regularly happens in the case of natural disasters or special protection requirements (e.g., for the World Economic Forum in Davos). This assistance generally requires parliamentary authorization, though, and takes place in the regular legal framework and under the civilian leadership of the cantonal authorities. On the other hand, the federal authorities are authorized to use the Army to enforce law and order when the Cantons no longer can or want to do so (Ordnungsdienst). With this came many significant points of reference. This power largely fell into disuse after World War II. See [5].

Taiwan[link]

Following World War II, the United Nations transferred rule of Taiwan to the Republic of China, which then initiated the longest period of martial law in modern history at the time. In the aftermath of the 228 Incident of 1947, martial law was declared in 1948 despite the democracy promised in the Constitution of the Republic of China. After the Nationalist-led Republic of China government lost control of its possessions in mainland China to the Communist Party of China and retreated to Taiwan in 1949, the perceived need to suppress Communist and Taiwan Independence activities in Taiwan meant that martial law was not lifted until 1987.

Today, still present martial law systems like in Syria (since the 1963 Syrian coup d'état) or in the West Bank (since the 1967 Six-Day War with Israel) have surpassed Taiwan as longer ranging periods of active martial law.

Thailand[link]

In Thailand many coups have taken place since the 1930s, but many have failed. In January 2004, the Prime Minister of Thailand, Thaksin Shinawatra, declared a state of martial law in the provinces of Pattani, Yala, and Narathiwat in response to the growing South Thailand insurgency. On September 19, 2006, Thailand's army declared martial law following a bloodless military coup in the Thai capital of Bangkok, declared while Prime Minister Shinawatra was in New York to address the United Nations General Assembly. General Sonthi Boonyaratglin took the control of the government, and soon after handed the premiership to ex-Army Chief General Surayud. Sonthi himself is Chief of the Administrative Reform Council.

Turkey[link]

Since the foundation of the Republic of Turkey in 1923 the military conducted three coups d'état and announced martial law. Martial law between 1978 and 1983 was replaced by a State of emergency that lasted until November 2002.

SFR Yugoslavia[link]

During the Yugoslav Wars in 1991, a "State of Direct War Threat" was declared. Although forces from the whole SFRY were included in this conflict, martial law was never announced, but after secession, Croatia and Bosnia and Herzegovina declared martial law. On March 23, 1999, a "State of Direct War Threat" was declared in the Yugoslavia, following the possibility of NATO air-strikes. The day after strikes began, martial law was declared, which lasted until June 1999, although strikes ended on June 10, following Kumanovo Treaty.

United States of America[link]

Throughout United States history are several examples of the imposition of martial law, aside from that during the Civil War.

During the War of 1812, General Andrew Jackson imposed martial law in New Orleans. Martial law was also imposed in a four mile radius around the vicinity. When word came of the end of the war, Jackson maintained martial law, contending that he had not gotten official word of the peace. A judge demanded habeas corpus for a man arrested for sedition. Rather than comply with the writ, Jackson had the judge arrested.

In 1892 at Coeur d'Alene, Idaho, rebellious mine workers blew up a mill and shot at strike-breaking workers. The explosion leveled a four-story building and killed one person. The governor declared martial law. At the same time, a request was made for federal troops to back guardsmen. Over 600 people were arrested. The list was whittled down to two dozen ring leaders who were tried in military court. While in prison, the mine workers formed a new union, the Western Federation of Miners.

In 1914 imposition of martial law climaxed the so-called Coal Field Wars in Colorado. Dating back decades, the conflicts came to a head in Ludlow in 1913. The Colorado National Guard was called in to quell the strikers. For a time, the peace was kept, but it is reported that the make-up of the Guard stationed at the mines began to shift from impartial normal troops to companies of loyal mine guards. Clashes increased and the proclamation of martial law was made by the governor. President Wilson sent in federal troops, eventually ending the violence.

In 1934 California Governor Frank Merriam placed the docks of San Francisco under martial law, citing "riots and tumult" resulting from a dock worker's strike. The Governor threatened to place the entire city under martial law. The National Guard was called in to open the docks, and a city-wide institution of martial law was averted when goods began to flow. The guardsmen were empowered to make arrests and to then try detainees or turn them over to the civil courts.

Martial law and San Francisco were no strangers - following the earthquake of 1906, the troops stationed in the Presidio were pressed into martial law service. Guards were posted throughout the city, and all dynamite was confiscated. The dynamite was used to destroy buildings in the path of fires, to prevent the fires from spreading. Troops were ordered to shoot looters.

Hawaii was placed under martial law in 1941, following the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor. Many Hawaiians were, and are, of Asian descent, and the loyalty of these people was called into question. After the war, the federal judge for the islands condemned the conduct of martial law, saying, "Gov. Poindexter declared lawfully martial law but the Army went beyond the governor and set up that which was lawful only in conquered enemy territory namely, military government which is not bound by the Constitution. And they ... threw the Constitution into the discard and set up a military dictatorship."

On 8/26/2005 in the wake of Hurricane Katrina, New Orleans was placed under martial law after widespread flooding rendered civil authority ineffective. The state of Louisiana does not have an actual legal construct called "martial law," but instead something quite like it: a state of public health emergency. The state of emergency allowed the governor to suspend laws, order evacuations, and limit the sales of items such as alcohol and firearms. The governor's order limited the state of emergency, to end on 9/25/2005, "unless terminated sooner."

There have been many instances of the use of the military within the borders of the United States, such as during the Whiskey Rebellion and in the South during the civil rights crises, but these acts are not tantamount to a declaration of martial law. The distinction must be made as clear as that between martial law and military justice: deployment of troops does not necessarily mean that the civil courts cannot function, and that is one of the keys, as the Supreme Court noted, to martial law.

The martial law concept in the U.S. is closely tied with the right of habeas corpus, which is in essence the right to a hearing on lawful imprisonment, or more broadly, the supervision of law enforcement by the judiciary. The ability to suspend habeas corpus is often equated with martial law.^{[citation needed]} Article 1, Section 9 of the U.S. Constitution states, "The Privilege of the Writ of Habeas Corpus shall not be suspended, unless when in Cases of Rebellion or Invasion the public Safety may require it."

In United States law, martial law is limited by several court decisions that were handed down between the American Civil War and World War II. In 1878, Congress passed the Posse Comitatus Act, which forbids military involvement in domestic law enforcement without congressional approval. On October 1, 2002 United States Northern Command was established to provide command and control of Department of Defense homeland defense efforts and to coordinate defense support of civil authorities.^[13]

The National Guard is an exception, since unless federalized, they are under the control of state governors.^[14] This was changed briefly: Public Law 109-364, or the "John Warner Defense Authorization Act of 2007" (H.R.5122), was signed by President Bush on October 17, 2006, and allowed the President to declare a "public emergency" and station troops anywhere in America and take control of state-based National Guard units without the consent of the governor or local authorities. Title V, Subtitle B, Part II, Section 525(a) of the JWDAA of 2007 reads "The [military] Secretary [of the Army, Navy or Air Force] concerned may order a member of a reserve component under the Secretary's jurisdiction to active duty...The training or duty ordered to be performed...may include...support of operations or missions undertaken by the member's unit at the request of the President or Secretary of Defense."^[15] The President signed the Defense Authorization Act of 2008 on January 13, 2008. However, Section 1068 in the enacted 2008 defense authorization bill (H.R. 4986: "National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2008") repealed this section of PL 109-364.^[16]

The American Revolution[link]

As a result of the Boston Tea Party, Parliament passed the Massachusetts Government Act, one of the Intolerable Acts, which suppressed town meetings and assemblies, and imposed appointed government, tantamount to martial law.^[17][18][19]

New Orleans, Louisiana in the War of 1812[link]

During the War of 1812, U.S. General Andrew Jackson imposed martial law in New Orleans, Louisiana before repulsing the British in the Battle of New Orleans.^[20][21][22]

Ex parte Milligan[link]

On September 15, 1863 President Lincoln imposed Congressionally authorized martial law.^{[citation needed]} The authorizing act allowed the President to suspend habeas corpus throughout the entire United States (which he had already done under his own authority on April 27, 1861). Lincoln imposed the suspension on "prisoners of war, spies, or aiders and abettors of the enemy," as well as on other classes of people, such as draft dodgers. The President's proclamation was challenged in Ex parte Milligan, 71 US 2 [1866]). The Supreme Court ruled that Lincoln's imposition of martial law (by way of suspension of habeas corpus) was unconstitutional in areas where the local courts were still in session.

The Great Chicago Fire[link]

In response to the Great Chicago Fire of 1871, Chicago mayor Roswell B. Mason declared a state of martial law and placed General Philip Sheridan in charge of the city on October 9, 1871. After the fire was extinguished, there were no widespread disturbances and martial law was lifted within a few days.^[23]

The West Virginia Mine War[link]

During the events of the West Virginia Mine War, martial law was declared on the state of West Virginia. At the behest of Governor Cornwell, federal troops had been dispatched to Mingo County to deal with the striking miners.^{[citation needed]}

The Territory of Hawaii[link]

During World War II (1939 to 1945) what is now the State of Hawaii was held under martial law from December 7, 1941 to October 24, 1944.^[24]

Freedom Riders[link]

On May 21, 1961, Governor Patterson of Montgomery, AL declared martial law. Freedom Riders

Hurricane Katrina[link]

Contrary to many media reports at the time, martial law was not declared in New Orleans in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, because no such term exists in Louisiana state law. However, a State of Emergency was declared, which does give unique powers to the state government similar to those of martial law. On the evening of August 31, 2005, New Orleans Mayor Ray Nagin nominally declared "martial law" and said that officers didn't have to observe civil rights and Miranda rights in stopping the looters.^[25] Federal troops were a common sight in New Orleans after Katrina. At one point, as many as 15,000 federal troops and National Guardsmen patrolled the city. Additionally it has been reported that armed contractors from Blackwater USA assisted in policing the city.^[26]

National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2012 (NDAA) Section 1031[link]

At least two American lawmakers have stated on the record that, in their opinion, Section 1031 of the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2012 legalizes or authorizes martial law in the United States.

Senator Mark Udall (D-Colorado) stated "These provisions raise serious questions as to who we are as a society and what our Constitution seeks to protect...Section 1031 essentially repeals the Posse Comitatus Act of 1878 by authorizing the U.S. military to perform law enforcement functions on American soil."^[27]

See also[link]

• Authoritarianism
• Military junta a government led by a committee of military leaders.
• Military dictatorship a government where in the political power resides with the military.
• Military government the form of administration by which an occupying power exercises governmental authority over occupied territory.
• Military law (law to which members of the military are subject)
• Military rule (disambiguation)
• State of emergency
• Martial law in Poland
• Chief Martial Law Administrator
• DEFCON

Additional reading[link]

• Macomb, Alexander, Major General of the United States Army, The Practice of Courts Martial, (New York: Harper & Brothers, 1841) 154 pages.
• Macomb, Alexander, Major General of the United States Army, A Treatise on Martial Law, and Courts-Martial as Practiced in the United States. (Charleston: J. Hoff, 1809), republished (New York: Lawbook Exchange, June 2007), ISBN 1-58477-709-5, ISBN 978-1-58477-709-0, 340 pages.^[28]
• Rehnquist, William H. (1998). All the Laws but One: Civil Liberties in Wartime. New York: William Morrow & Co. ISBN 0-688-05142-1. 
• The Concise Oxford Dictionary of Politics / edited by Iain McLean and Alistair McMillan, Oxford University Press, 2004.
• Black's Law Dictionary : Definitions of the Terms and Phrases of American and English Jurisprudence, Ancient and Modern / by Henry Campbell Black, St. Paul : West Pub. Co., 1979

References[link]

External links[link]

• 'Martial law' in the Encyclopædia Britannica
• Martial law in Thailand in 2005
• Full text of the 1972 Martial Law in the Philippines
• NSPD-51
• Emergency Rule of 3rd Nov. 2007 Pakistan

Martial
Born	March 1, 40 Augusta Bilbilis (now Calatayud, Spain)
Died	Between 102 and 104 AD Rome
Occupation	Author
Nationality	Roman
Genres	Satire
Notable work(s)	Epigrams
Influences Catullus, Pedo, and Marsus and Juvenal

Marcus Valerius Martialis (known in English as Martial) (March 1, 40 AD – between 102 and 104 AD), was a Latin poet from Hispania (the Iberian Peninsula) best known for his twelve books of Epigrams, published in Rome between AD 86 and 103, during the reigns of the emperors Domitian, Nerva and Trajan. In these short, witty poems he cheerfully satirises city life and the scandalous activities of his acquaintances, and romanticises his provincial upbringing. He wrote a total of 1,561, of which 1,235 are in elegiac couplets. He is considered to be the creator of the modern epigram.

Early life[link]

Knowledge of his origins and early life are derived almost entirely from his works, which can be more or less dated according to the well-known events to which they refer. In Book X of his Epigrams, composed between 95 and 98, he mentions celebrating his fifty-seventh birthday; hence he was born on March 1 (x. 24) 38, 39, 40 or 41 AD, under Caligula or Claudius. His place of birth was Augusta Bilbilis (now Calatayud) in Hispania Tarraconensis. His parents, Fronto and Flaccilla, appear to have died in his youth.

His name seems to imply that he was born a Roman citizen, but he speaks of himself as "sprung from the Celts and Iberians, and a countryman of the Tagus;" and, in contrasting his own masculine appearance with that of an effeminate Greek, he draws particular attention to "his stiff Hispanian hair" (x. 65, 7).

His home was evidently one of rude comfort and plenty, sufficiently in the country to afford him the amusements of hunting and fishing, which he often recalls with keen pleasure, and sufficiently near the town to afford him the companionship of many comrades, the few survivors of whom he looks forward to meeting again after his thirty-four years' absence (x. 104). The memories of this old home, and of other spots, the rough names and local associations which he delights to introduce into his verse, attest to the simple pleasures of his early life and were among the influences which kept his spirit alive in the stultifying routines of upper-crust social life in Rome.

He was educated in Hispania, a country which in the 1st century produced several notable Latin writers, including Seneca the Elder and Seneca the Younger, Lucan and Quintilian, and Martial's contemporaries Licinianus of Bilbilis, Decianus of Emerita and Canius of Gades. Martial professes to be of the school of Catullus, Pedo, and Marsus, and he admits his inferiority only to the first. The epigram bears to this day the form impressed upon it by his unrivalled skill.

Life in Rome[link]

The success of his countrymen may have been what motivated Martial to move to Rome, from Hispania, once he had completed his education. This move occurred in AD 64, in which Seneca the Younger and Lucan may have served as his first patrons.

Not much is known of the details of his life for the first twenty years or so after he came to Rome. He published some juvenile poems of which he thought very little in his later years, and he laughs at a foolish bookseller who would not allow them to die a natural death (I. 113). Martial had neither youthful passion nor youthful enthusiasm to precociously make him a poet. His faculty ripened with experience and with the knowledge of that social life which was both his theme and his inspiration; many of his best epigrams are among those written in his last years. From many answers which he makes to the remonstrances of friends—among others to those of Quintilian—it may be inferred that he was urged to practice at the bar, but that he preferred his own lazy Bohemian kind of life. He made many influential friends and patrons and secured the favor of both Titus and Domitian. From them he obtained various privileges, among others the semestris tribunatus, which conferred on him equestrian rank. Martial failed, however, in his application to Domitian for more substantial advantages, although he commemorates the glory of having been invited to dinner by him, and also the fact that he procured the privilege of citizenship for many persons on whose behalf he appealed to him.

The earliest of his extant works, known as Liber spectaculorum, was first published at the opening of the Colosseum in the reign of Titus. It relates to the theatrical performances given by him, but the book as it now stands was presented to the world in or about the first year of Domitian, i.e. about the year 81. The favour of the emperor procured him the countenance of some of the worst creatures at the imperial court—among them of the notorious Crispinus, and probably of Paris, the supposed author of Juvenal's exile, for whose monument Martial afterwards wrote a eulogistic epitaph. The two books, numbered by editors xiii. and xiv., and known by the names of Xenia and Apophoreta—inscriptions in two lines each for presents—were published at the Saturnalia of 84. In 86 he gave to the world the first two of the twelve books on which his reputation rests.

From that time till his return to Hispania in 98 he published a volume almost every year. The first nine books and the first edition of Book X. appeared in the reign of Domitian; Book XI. appeared at the end of 96, shortly after the accession of Nerva. A revised edition of book X., that which we now possess, appeared in 98, about the time of Trajan's entrance into Rome. The last book was written after three years' absence in Hispania, shortly before his death, which happened about the year 102 or 103.

These twelve books bring Martial's ordinary mode of life between the age of forty-five and sixty very fully before us. His regular home for thirty-five years was Rome. He lived at first up three flights of stairs, and his "garret" overlooked the laurels in front of the portico of Agrippa. He had a small villa and unproductive farm near Nomentum, in the Sabine territory, to which he occasionally retired from the boors and noises of the city (ii. 38, xii. 57). In his later years he had also a small house on the Quirinal, near the temple of Quirinus.

At the time when his third book was brought out he had retired for a short time to Cisalpine Gaul, in weariness, as he tells us, of his unprofitable attendance to the bigwigs of Rome. For a time he seems to have felt the charm of the new scenes which he visited, and in a later book (iv. 25) he contemplates the prospect of retiring to the neighbourhood of Aquileia and the Timavus. But the spell exercised over him by Rome and Roman society was too great; even the epigrams sent from Forum Corneli and the Aemilian Way ring much more of the Roman forum, and of the streets, baths, porticos and clubs of Rome, than of the places from which they are dated.

His final departure from Rome was motivated by a weariness of the burdens imposed on him by his social position, and apparently the difficulties of meeting the ordinary expenses of living in the metropolis (x. 96); and he looks forward to a return to the scenes familiar to his youth. The well-known epigram addressed to Juvenal (xii. I 8) shows that for a time his ideal was realized; but the more trustworthy evidence of the prose epistle prefixed to Book XII. proves and that he could not live happily away from the literary and social pleasures of Rome for long. The one consolation of his exile was a lady, Marcella, of whom he writes rather as if she were his patroness—and it seems to have been a necessity of his being to have always a patron or patroness—than his wife or mistress.

During his life at Rome, although he never rose to a position of real independence, and had always a hard struggle with poverty, he seems to have known everybody, especially every one of any eminence at the bar or in literature. In addition to Lucan and Quintilian, he numbered among his friends or more intimate acquaintances Silius Italicus, Juvenal, the younger Pliny; and there were many others of high position whose society and patronage he enjoyed. The silence which he and Statius, although authors writing at the same time, having common friends and treating often of the same subjects, maintain in regard to one another may be explained by mutual dislike or want of sympathy. Martial in many places shows an undisguised contempt for the artificial kind of epic on which Statius's reputation chiefly rests; and it seems quite natural that the respectable author of the Thebaid and the Silvae should feel little admiration for either the life or the works of the bohemian epigrammatist.

Martial and his patrons[link]

Martial was dependent on his wealthy friends and patrons for gifts of money, for his dinner, and even for his dress, but the relation of client to patron had been recognized as an honourable one by the best Roman traditions. No blame had attached to Virgil or Horace on account of the favours which they received from Augustus and Maecenas, or of the return which they made for these favours in their verse. That old honourable relationship, however, greatly changed between Augustus and Domitian. Men of good birth and education, and sometimes even of high official position (Juv. i. 117), accepted the dole (sportula). Martial was merely following a general fashion in paying his court to "a lord," and he made the best of the custom. In his earlier career he used to accompany his patrons to their villas at Baiae or Tibur, and to attend their morning levees. Later on, he went to his own small country house, near Nomentum, and sent a poem, or a small volume of his poems, as his representative at the early visit.

Martial's character[link]

Pliny the Younger, in the short tribute which he pays to him on hearing of his death, wrote, "He had as much good-nature as wit and pungency in his writings" (Ep. iii. 21). Martial professes to avoid personalities in his satire, and honour and sincerity (fides and simplicitas) seem to have been the qualities which he most admires in his friends. Some have found distasteful his apparent servile flattery to the worst of the many bad emperors of Rome in the 1st century. These were emperors Martial would later censure immediately after their death (xii. 6). However, he seems to have disliked hypocrisy in its many forms, and seems to be free from cant, pedantry, or affectation of any kind.

Though many of his epigrams indicate a cynical disbelief in the character of women, yet others prove that he could respect and almost revere a refined and courteous lady. His own life in Rome afforded him no experience of domestic virtue; but his epigrams show that, even in the age which is known to modern readers chiefly from the Satires of Juvenal, virtue was recognized as the purest source of happiness. The tenderest element in Martial's nature seems, however, to have been his affection for children and for his dependents.

[edit] Martial's Epigrams

Martial's keen curiosity and power of observation are manifested in his epigrams. The enduring literary interest of Martial's epigrams arises as much from their literary quality as from the colorful references to human life that they contain. Martial's epigrams bring to life the spectacle and brutality of daily life in imperial Rome, with which he was intimately connected.

From Martial, for example, we have a glimpse of living conditions]in the city of Rome:

"I live in a little cell, with a window that won't even close,

In which Boreas himself would not want to live."
Book VIII, No. 14. 5–6.

As Jo-Ann Shelton has written, "fire was a constant threat in ancient cities because wood was a common building material and people often used open fires and oil lamps. However, some people may have deliberately set fire to their property in order to collect insurance money."^[1] Martial makes this accusation in one of his epigrams:

"Tongilianus, you paid two hundred for your house;

An accident much common in this city destroyed it.

You collected ten times more. Doesn't it seem, I pray,

That you set fire to your own house, Tongilianus?"
Book III, No. 52

Martial also pours scorn on the doctors of his day:

"I felt a little ill and called Dr. Symmachus.

Well, you came, Symmachus, but you brought 100 medical students with you.

One hundred ice-cold hands poked and jabbed me.

I didn't have a fever, Symmachus, when I called you –but now I do.
Book V, No. 9

Martial's epigrams also refer to the extreme cruelty shown to slaves in Roman society. Below, he chides a man named Rufus for flogging his cook for a minor mistake:

"You say that the rabbit isn't cooked, and ask for the whip;

Rufus, you prefer to carve up your cook than your rabbit."
Book III, No. 94

Martial's epigrams are also characterized by their biting and often scathing sense of wit as well as for their lewdness; this has earned him a place in literary history as the original insult comic. Below is a sample of his more insulting work:

"You feign youth, Laetinus, with your dyed hair
So suddenly you are a raven, but just now you were a swan.
You do not deceive everyone. Proserpina knows you are grey-haired;
She will remove the mask from your head."
Book III, No. 43

"Rumor tells, Chiona, that you are a virgin,
and that nothing is purer than your fleshy delights.
Nevertheless, you do not bathe with the correct part covered:
if you have the decency, move your panties onto your face."
Book III, No. 87

"'You are a frank man', you are always telling me, Cerylus.
Anyone who speaks against you, Cerylus, is a frank man."
Book I, No. 67

"Eat lettuce and soft apples eat:
For you, Phoebus, have the harsh face of a defecating man."
Book III, No. 89

Or the following two examples (in translations by Mark Ynys-Mon):

Fabullus' wife Bassa frequently totes

A friend's baby, on which she loudly dotes.

Why does she take on this childcare duty?

It explains farts that are somewhat fruity.
Book IV, No. 87

With your giant nose and cock

I bet you can with ease

When you get excited

check the end for cheese.
Book VI, No. 36

Reception[link]

The works of Martial became highly valued on their discovery by the Renaissance, whose writers often saw them as sharing an eye for the urban vices of their own times. The poet's influence is seen in Juvenal, late classical literature, the Carolingian revival, the Renaissance in France and Italy, the Siglo de Oro, and early modern English and German poetry, until with the growth of the Romantic Movement he became unfashionable.

Notes[link]

External links[link]

Works[link]

Wikisource has original works written by or about: Martial

Latin Wikisource has original text related to this article: Marcus Valerius Martialis

• Martial on Wikisource
• Liber spectaculorum (in Latin)
• Epigrammata (in Latin) at Bibliotheca Augustana.
• Epigrammaton (in Latin) at The Latin Library.
• Complete Epigrams (in English) at The Tertullian Project – actually incomplete: sexually explicit material is untranslated.
• Selected Epigrams in translation at Theatre of Pompey: 2:14; 6:9; 10:51; 11:1; 14:29; 14:166
• Some of Martial's more risqué Epigrams translated by Joseph S Salemi
• Selected Epigrams translated by Elizabeth Duke
• Translations from Martial by Franklin P Adams
• Apophoreta (in Latin)
• Xenia (in Latin)

Other links[link]

Wikiquote has a collection of quotations related to: Martial

• Poems by Martial at Poemhunter.com
• Martial Quotations at The Quotations Page
• Martial Blog
• SORGLL: Martial I.96, V.41, and X.30; read by Wakefield Foster
• [1]
• Court Poet & Pornographer Glen Bowersock on Martial from The New York Review of Books

References[link]

•  This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). Encyclopædia Britannica (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. 

J P Sullivan. Martial: the unexpected classic (1991)

Brad Sherman
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from California's 27th district
Incumbent
Assumed office January 3, 2003
Preceded by	Adam Schiff
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from California's 24th district
In office January 3, 1997 – January 3, 2003
Preceded by	Anthony C. Beilenson
Succeeded by	Elton Gallegly
Member of the California Board of Equalization from the 4th district
In office 1991–1997
Preceded by	Conway Collis
Succeeded by	John Chiang
Personal details
Born	Bradley James Sherman (1954-10-24) October 24, 1954 (age 57) Los Angeles, California, U.S.
Political party	Democratic
Spouse(s)	Lisa Kaplan Sherman
Residence	Sherman Oaks, Los Angeles, California, U.S.
Alma mater	Harvard Law School University of California, Los Angeles
Occupation	Accountant Lawyer
Religion	Judaism

Bradley James "Brad" Sherman (born October 24, 1954) is an American politician. He has been a Democratic member of the United States House of Representatives since 1997, representing California's 27th congressional district. Sherman represents California’s San Fernando Valley, and currently resides in Sherman Oaks, CA.

Early life, education, and early career[link]

Sherman was born in Monterey Park, Los Angeles, the son of Lane and Maurice Hyman Sherman. His parents were both of Russian Jewish descent.^[1] He attended Mark Keppel High School and Corona del Mar High School. He received a B.A. from University of California Summa Cum Laude^[2] in 1974 and a J.D. from Harvard Law School Magna Cum Laude^[3] in 1979.^[4]

Before joining Congress, Sherman was on staff at one of the nations’ big-four CPA firms. While at the firm, he audited large businesses and governmental entities, provided tax law counsel on multi-million dollar transactions, advised entrepreneurs and small businesses on tax and investment issues, and helped represent the Government of the Philippines under President Aquino in a successful effort to seize assets of deposed President Marcos.^[5] Sherman was also an instructor at Harvard Law School’s International Tax Program.^[6]

Board of Equalization (1991-1996)[link]

Congressman Sherman’s public service career includes serving on the California State Board of Equalization from 1991 to 1996. He was Chairman of the Board from 1991 to 1995.,^[6]

U.S. House of Representatives (1997-Present)[link]

Elections[link]

In 1994, incumbent Democrat U.S. Congressman Anthony C. Beilenson of California's 24th congressional district barely survived the Republican Revolution, winning re-election by just a two point margin,^[7] by far the worst election performance of his career. In 1996, he decided to retire. Sherman decided to run and won the 7-candidate Democratic primary with 54% of the vote.^[7] In the general election, he defeated Republican nominee Rich Sybert (also 1994 nominee) 49%-44%.^[8]

In 1998, he won re-election with 57% of the vote.^[9] After that, he has won re-election every two years with at least 62%.^[10]

After redistricting, Sherman will face fellow U.S. Congressman Howard Berman in the open primary.^[11]

Tenure[link]

First elected to the United States House of Representatives in 1996, Sherman is serving his eighth term in Congress. He's senior member of the House Foreign Affairs Committee and serves as the top Democrat on the Subcommitee on International Terrorism, Nonproliferation and Trade. He is also a senior member of the Financial Services Committee.^[6]

Sherman has held over 160 Town Hall meetings since being elected to Congress.^[12]

Environment

Congressman Sherman has earned a 100% rating from the Sierra Club^[13] and the League of Conservation Voters^[14] – two of the oldest, largest, and most influential grassroots environmental organization in the United States.

Serving on the House Budget Committee in 1997, Congressman Sherman authored the Sherman Amendment to the Budget Resolution providing an additional $700 million for the acquisition of environmentally important lands in FY ‘98.^[15] The Sherman Amendment was included in the Joint Budget Resolution and effectuated by a $699 million appropriation. Sherman also secured $20 million to acquire land and to complete the Backbone Trail System through the Santa Monica Mountains National Recreation Area.

Labor

Sherman’s voting record has most often earned him a 100% rating from the AFL-CIO, the Service Employees International Union (SEIU), and the American Federation of State, County & Municipal Employees (AFSCME).^[16][17]

Sherman was an original cosponsor of The Employee Free Choice Act when it was introduced at the start of 2007, and again when it was re-introduced in 2009.^[18]

Sherman introduced legislation, in 2008 and 2010, to eliminate so-called state “Right to Work” laws nationwide.^[19] and he supports a single national standard that protects labor rights. Sherman has also opposed Free Trade deals with South Korea, Colombia, and other countries because he believes they are bad for the American worker.^[20][21]

Transportation

Sherman has worked to reduce airport noise in the San Fernando Valley. Sherman joined several colleagues in introducing legislation, the Valley-Wide Noise Relief Act, to allow the operator of Bob Hope Airport to implement a mandatory nighttime curfew.^[22]

Sherman secured federal funds to initiate several improvements at the 101/405 interchange.^[23]

Animal Rights

Sherman’s voting record has consistently earned a 100% rating from the Humane Society which has awarded him the “Humane Champion” award for five consecutive years.^[17][24]

Financial crisis

During the debate over the Emergency Economic Stabilization Act of 2008 (commonly referred to as "the bailout of the U.S. financial system), Sherman was an early and outspoken critic of the proposal, leading the House revolt against the bailout bill, a move which made him "spectacularly unpopular with both the Republican and Democratic leaderships, not to mention K Street."^[25] Sherman argued that Bush and his advisors had created a panic atmosphere in an effort to get lawmakers to rubber-stamp the bill.^[26]

Social Security and Health Care

Sherman has said he is "opposed to creating a voucher system for Medicare." He wants to avoid "turn[ing] Social Security into a welfare program" instead keeping it "for people who contribute to it."^[27]

For his voting record and efforts in Congress, Sherman has consistently earned a 100% rating from the National Committee to Preserve Social Security and Medicare and from the AARP (American Association of Retired Persons).^[17] Congressman Sherman supported the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, which closed the “donut hole” or coverage gap.

Housing

Sherman introduced the Preserving Equal Access to Mortgage Finance Programs Act (HR 1754), which raises the conforming loan limit for FHA loans in high-cost areas such as Sherman's district.^[28][29]

Foreign relations

In August 2010, Sherman introduced legislation aimed at rescinding China's Most Favored Nation status as long as there was not "a more level playing field between our two nations".^[30] He said that "the U.S.-China trade relationship is horrendously lopsided".^[30]

Sherman has introduced or co-sponsored more than 20 bills in the 111th and 112th Congresses that he says, "enact tougher sanctions to isolate Iran economically and diplomatically."^[31] His efforts have included legislation designed to close loopholes for U.S. companies with subsidiaries operating in Iran. and to curtail U.S. funding of international organizations providing loans to Iran.^[32]

Sherman has been a strong supporter and advocate of the U.S-Israel relationship, consistently supporting aid to Israel.^[33] In 2004, Brad Sherman first^[34] introduced the U.S.-Israel Energy Cooperation Act.^[34] It provides grant money to joint ventures between American and Israeli academics and private sector companies that conduct research and develop energy-efficient and renewable energy technologies.

As a senior member of the House Committee on Foreign Affairs, Sherman has focused on Congressional recognition of the Armenian Genocide, as well as increasing funding to Armenia and Nagorno-Karabakh.^[35][36][37]

Religion

Sherman is a member of the Jewish faith. For many years Congressman Sherman and his wife Lisa have been members of Valley Beth Shalom, a conservative synagogue in Encino, California.

In 2006 Congressman Sherman was married to Lisa Kaplan by the senior Rabbi of Valley Beth Shalom, Rabbi Eddie Feinstein.

Sherman's Los Angeles district lies within Scientology's West Coast stronghold,^[38] though there are no Scientology centers in Sherman's district.^[39] He attended the Church of Scientology's reopening in Washington, DC in October 2009.^[38][40] Speaking about the importance of religious freedom, he praised the church's work in support of that aim; but his representative noted that the congressman has appeared at events for "over 100" religious groups and "this does not give me the time to evaluate each of their organizational structures or doctrines because I am also showing up at hundreds of events for nonreligious organizations."^[38][40] Sherman has been described as "[one] of the church's best friends currently serving in Congress."^[41] At a 2004 Celebrity Centre gala, a flag was presented to Scientology on behalf of Sherman and Congresswoman Ileana Ros-Lehtinen.^[42]

Internet policy

In 2011, Sherman co-sponsored SOPA because "Hollywood's first offer" in combating piracy of music, films and books.^[43]

LGBT

Congressman Sherman is a strong supporter of LGBT rights and an advocate of equality. He earned a 100% rating from The Human Rights Campaign,^[44] the largest LGBT advocacy group in the country.

Sherman is a member of the LGBT Equality Caucus,^[45] which serves to promote lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender equality. Sherman supports full marriage equality,^[46] and supported the overturning of the military’s “Don’t Ask Don’t Tell Policy.^[47]”

Sherman was an original co-sponsor of Congressman Jared Polis's Student Non-Discrimination Act.^[48] Sherman is also a cosponsor of the Employment Non-Discrimination Act,^[49] known as ENDA, (H.R. 1397). In 2009, Sherman voted for the Matthew Shepard and James Byrd, Jr. Hate Crimes Prevention Act,^[50] which imposes additional federal penalties for crimes motivated by hatred on the basis of race, religion, or actual or perceived sexual orientation.

Abortion

Sherman is pro-choice. He has earned a 100% rating from NARAL^[51] and Planned Parenthood^[52]

Gun Control

Congressman Sherman has worked to expand the definition of armor-piercing ammunition in US law. He was a sponsor of the Protect Law Enforcement Armor (PLEA) Act.^[53] Sherman has received a 100% rating from The Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence^[16]

Trade

Sherman has opposed the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) and the Central American Free Trade Agreement (CAFTA) arguing that the agreements cost American jobs, fail to protect foreign workers, harm the environment, and cost U.S. taxpayers billions of dollars.^[54] Sherman has also opposed a Free Trade Agreement with South Korea arguing that, a proposed U.S. trade agreement could undermine U.S. security and economic interests by benefiting China and North Korea.^[55]

Education

Congressman Sherman has earned a 100% rating from the California Teachers Association,^{[citation needed]} the National Education Association,^[56] and the American Federation of Teachers.^[57]

Sherman supported the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (Also know as the Stimulus Bill) which allocated $53.6 billion for K through 12 education, 6 billion of which went to California schools. The stimulus bill also included $12.2 billion for the administration of the Individuals with Disabilities Education (IDEA) Act.^[58]

Sherman cosponsored the Student Aid and Fiscal Responsibility Act,^[59] the single largest investment in our nation’s history in aid to students and families to pay for college. This legislation reforms the system of federal student loans to save taxpayers $87 billion and then invests $77 billion of those savings back into education, and directs $10 billion back to the Treasury to reduce entitlement spending.^[60]

Committee assignments[link]

• Committee on Financial Services
  • Subcommittee on Capital Markets, Insurance, and Government-Sponsored Enterprises
  • Subcommittee on Insurance, Housing and Community Opportunity
• Committee on Foreign Affairs
  • Subcommittee on Terrorism, Nonproliferation and Trade (Ranking Member)
  • Subcommittee on Asia and the Pacific

Personal life[link]

On December 3, 2006, Sherman married Lisa Nicola Kaplan, a foreign affairs officer for the U.S. State Department.^[61] The couple’s first child, Molly Hannah Sherman, was born on January 14, 2009.^[62] Their second child, Naomi Claire Sherman, was born on February 6, 2010.^[63] Their third child, Lucy Rayna Sherman, was born on August 8, 2011.^[64]

References[link]

External links[link]

Wikisource has original works written by or about: Brad Sherman

• U.S. Congressman Brad Sherman, U.S. House site

• Biography at the Biographical Directory of the United States Congress
• Voting record maintained by The Washington Post
• Biography, voting record, and interest group ratings at Project Vote Smart
• Issue positions and quotes at On the Issues
• Financial information at OpenSecrets.org
• Campaign finance reports and data at the Federal Election Commission
• Brad Sherman for U.S. Congress, Campaign site

James David Manning (born February 20, 1947)^[1] is chief pastor at the ATLAH World Missionary Church on 123rd Street in New York City. Manning grew up in Red Springs, North Carolina, born to an African American family, and has been at ATLAH since 1981. ATLAH stands for All The Land Anointed Holy, which is Manning's name for Harlem.^[2] His congregation, "ATLAH Worldwide Missionary Church" is the former Bethelite Missionary Baptist Church. The church is also the site of the ATLAH Theological Seminary, which offers classes on preaching and prophecy.^[3]

Manning is fiercely opposed to the gentrification of Harlem^[4] and calls for its residents to boycott its shops, restaurants, doctors, banks and churches.^[5] That action, combined with a general rent strike, would force all property owners out of Harlem, he said, leaving the neighborhood to its rightful inheritors: black people.^[2][6] Manning calls his plan "No Dew, Nor Rain," after Elijah's warning to Ahab, king of Israel, of a coming drought. "When there's no dew, no rain, there's a drought – there's all kinds of suffering," said Manning. The whole of Harlem, he said, is to be a "drought zone."^[5][7]

Biography[link]

Manning graduated from Union Theological Seminary in the City of New York where he was awarded a Master of Divinity.^[8] Manning also holds a Doctor of Philosophy degree from his own ATLAH Theological Seminary, an unaccredited educational institution.^[9]

As a younger man, Manning burgled homes, mostly on Long Island. He spent about three and a half years in prison in New York and Florida for burglary, robbery, larceny, criminal possession of a weapon, and other charges before his release in 1978. While in prison, he became a devout Christian.^[2]

According to Manning, he attended the Oxford Round Table in 2004.^[10]

2008 presidential election[link]

Manning came to public attention in the 2008 presidential election after ATLAH posted several sermons of his that were harshly critical of Democratic candidate Barack Obama on the website YouTube.^{[11][dead link][12]} Among other accusations, he called Obama's mother "white trash" for becoming pregnant by a black man out of wedlock,^[13] an issue he discussed during a press conference at the National Press Club on December 8, 2008.^[14]

"It is common knowledge that African men, coming from the continent of Africa—especially for the first time—do diligently seek out white women to have sexual intercourse with. Generally the most noble of white society choose not to intercourse sexually with these men. So it's usually the trashier ones who make their determinations that they're going to have sex."^[14]

Manning defended his sermons in an interview on Fox News, saying that "we also have to talk about his character."^[15]

The sermons drew the attention of the Americans United for Separation of Church and State, which filed a complaint with the Internal Revenue Service objecting to alleged violations of laws granting tax-free status to churches on condition that they refrain from certain forms of political activity.^[8]

Views on Barack Obama as President[link]

Manning has continued his criticisms of Obama after the election, comparing him to Hitler and frequently calling him a criminal and "long-legged mack daddy." He produced a video in summer 2009 in which he predicts that there will be a white backlash against Obama, complete with riots,^[16] and attending one of the first "birther" events.^[17] In an interview with Israeli radio station Arutz Sheva, Manning asserted that Obama had chosen to befriend Muslims instead of Jews; he also offered praise of Meir Kahane.^[18]

In responding to a comment by Bill O'Reilly, a commentator on Fox News Channel, calling birther lawyer Orly Taitz a "nut", he and Taitz organized a protest outside Fox News headquarters in New York City in November 2009, which drew an estimated 15 to 20 attendees.^[19]

References[link]

External links[link]

• Website of ATLAH World Missionary Church

Sir David Manning GCMG CVO
Sir David Manning during an interview with Donald Rumsfeld and Jack Straw, on 9 May 2005.
British Ambassador to the United States
In office 2003–2007
Preceded by	Christopher Meyer
Succeeded by	Nigel Sheinwald
British Ambassador to Israel
In office 1995–1998
Preceded by	Robert Andrew Burns
Succeeded by	Francis Cornish
Personal details
Born	(1949-12-05) 5 December 1949 (age 62)
Alma mater	Oriel College, Oxford Paul H. Nitze School of Advanced International Studies

Sir David Geoffrey Manning, GCMG, CVO (born 5 December 1949) is a former British diplomat, who was the British Ambassador to the United States from 2003 to 2007. He authored the so-called "Manning Memo" summarising the details of a January 2003 meeting between American president George W. Bush and British prime minister Tony Blair during the run-up to the invasion of Iraq. He has since been appointed to the Household of TRH The Duke of Cambridge and Prince Harry of Wales.