Journey From Kingdom to Republic to State | Grandma's Ramblings

In 1959 Hawaii became our fiftieth state. A statewide referendum in favor of statehood was approved by 93% of Hawaiians. Before then multiple proposals for statehood had been submitted to Congress. Many were skeptical that a territory two thousand miles from the U.S. coast could be a viable state.

Long before Hawaii became a part of the United States, it had been governed by warring chiefs. In 1810 Kamehameha unified the islands into one kingdom. Legends say that there were storms and strange lights on the day of his birth. Hawaiians thought this spoke of a great chief. After several years of battles between different chiefs, Kamehameha won and pronounced himself King Kamehameha.

Celebrated as the strongest Hawaiian ruler, he governed the islands during the period when Europeans began exploration of the islands. He was able to maintain his kingdom’s independence as European and Americans began to arrive at the island and try to take control.

There are four statutes of Kamehameha, three in the islands and one in Washington, D.C. This one stands in front of the old Judiciary Building in Honolulu. On June 11, Kamehameha Day, the statue is draped wreaths of flower lei. This is a public holiday in Hawaii with parades and other celebrations.

As white landowners and businessmen came to the islands, they began introducing American ideas of government. This led to a constitutional monarchy and then to an elected government. While that sounded good, the transfer of the King’s power to an elected legislature was done by the powerful group of white landowners. Voting rights were given only to literate males of Hawaiian, European and American descent and there were income and wealth requirements to be able to vote for the House of Nobles. Power was consolidated among the elite members of the island. Native Hawaiians were left powerless with no say in the government chosen. This document became known as the “Bayonet Constitution” because it had been enacted by intimidation.

The only queen of Hawaii, Queen Liliuokalani, succeeded to the throne in 1891. She introduced a new constitution that restored power to the monarchy and gave back rights to the native Hawaiians. The powerful landowners threatened to overthrow the monarch and create a government that would favor annexation by the United States. When U.S. Marines landed on the islands supposedly to protect American interests, she was forced to resign. The Republic of Hawaii was born, run by Sanford B. Dole.

Dole was born in Hawaii to missionaries and favored westernization of the islands. He was part of the group that wrote the Bayonet Constitution. When Grover Cleveland became president he appointed a congressman from Georgia, James Blount, to investigate the overthrow of the queen. His report stated that the queen had been overthrown illegally. While Blount took the side of the native Hawaiians, it was because he held white supremacist views. He opposed annexation of the islands as it would add new non-whites citizens to the United States.

The Hawaiian Patriotic League organized mass protest rallies against the Republic. The new government arrested many of them and Queen Liliuokalani and charged them with treason. The queen served several months of house arrest. Finally, on January 24, 1895 she abdicated her throne in exchange for the pardon of her and her compatriots.

When President McKinley submitted a treaty of annexation to the U.S. Senate, Queen Liliuokalani and four other Hawaiians, came to Washington D.C. with a Petition Against Annexation. Roughly 55% of the non-white population signed the petition. With this display of opposition to the annexation, the treaty was defeated in the Senate.

When the war with Spain broke out, Hawaii suddenly became important as a mid-Pacific fueling station and naval base to support the action against Spain in the Philippines. On July 4, 1898, a joint resolution to annexed Hawaii passed Congress. Three days later Hawaii became a U.S. territory.

Six decades passed before Hawaii became a state. In 1959 Hawaii’s bid for statehood was combined with Alaska’s bid. Alaska leaned toward the Democratic side and Hawaii leaned Republican. Alask was approved to be the 49th state and Hawaii the 50th.

By this time most Hawaiians now wanted the same rights as other U.S. citizens and 93% of the population voted in favor of statehood.