Danish West Indian Islands sale referendum, 1916
Encyclopedia
A referendum on the sale of the Danish West Indian Islands to the United States of America
was held in Denmark
on 14 December 1916. The non-binding referendum saw 283,670 vote in favor of the sale and 158,157 against. The residents of the islands were not allowed to vote on the matter, but in an unofficial vote on St. Croix arranged by David Hamilton Jackson, 4,027 voted in favor of the sale and only seven voted against. As a result of the referendum the islands were formally relinquished to the United States on the 31 March 1917 as the United States Virgin Islands
for a sum of US$
25,000,000 in gold.
s, and although the slaves had been emancipated in 1848, the agricultural land and the trade was still controlled by the white population, and the living conditions of the descendants of the slaves were poor.
At the negotiations for the Treaty of Vienna
after the defeat in the Second Schleswig War in 1864, Denmark had tried to use the islands as a trade-in for South Jutland, but the Prussian Government was not interested.
At the eve of the American Civil War
, the United States became interested in the islands as the possible location of a Caribbean naval base. On 24 October 1867 the Danish parliament, the Rigsdag
, ratified a treaty on the sale of two of the islands — St. Thomas
and St. John
— for a sum of US$7,500,000. However, the United States Senate
did not ratify the treaty due to concerns over a number of natural disasters that had struck the islands and a political feud with and the possible impeachment of President Andrew Johnson
.
Negotiations resumed in 1899, and on 24 January 1902 Washington signed a convention on the transfer of the islands for a sum of US$5,000,000. One chamber of the Danish parliament — the Folketing
— passed the proposal, but in the other chamber — the Landsting
— it failed with 32 votes against 32. In particular the conservative party Højre
opposed it on the grounds that the treaty did not ensure the local population a vote on the matter, and that it did not grant them US citizenship or freedom from customs duty on the export of sugar to the United States. According to historian Povl Engelstoft, there is no doubt that Council President Johan Henrik Deuntzer
was privately against the sale even though his party, the Venstre Reform Party, supported it, and when the Landsting failed to pass the proposal, he made a statement that neither did he see a reason for the cabinet
to step down, nor would he dissolve the Landsting or assume responsibility for any further work related to the sale. This brought the process to a halt.
in May 1915. He successfully raised awareness of the growing social desperation on the islands and the need for to enter the customs territory of the United States in order for the islands to be able to cope with their economic crisis. After his visit a majority of the Folketing, was convinced that the Danish supremacy of the islands had to end. The First World War
had created a new situation: The relations between Germany and the United States were becoming worse as a consequence of the German submarine warfare, and the Americans were concerned that after an invasion of Denmark the Germans might take control of the islands. This would be unacceptable to the Americans as stated in the Monroe Doctrine
.
The Danish government was convinced that the islands had to be sold for the sake of both the residents and Danish security, and that a transfer would have to be realized before the United States entered the war, so that the transfer would not become a violation of the Danish neutrality
. During May 1915, Foreign Minister of Denmark
Erik Scavenius
contacted the American government with the message that he believed that the islands ought to be sold to the United States and that although he would not make an official proposal, "if the United States gave any encouragement to the consideration of the possibility of such a sale, it might be possible."
On 29 October 1915 United States Secretary of State
Robert Lansing
managed to reopen the negotiations. The negotiations, which lasted until August 1916, were kept absolutely secret in order to maintain the Danish neutrality. Although rumours of the future sale did leak to the press, they were denied categorically by both Scavenius and Minister of Finance Edvard Brandes
. During 1916, the two sides agreed to a sale price of $25,000,000, and the United States accepted a Danish demand for a declaration stating that they would "not object to the Danish Government extending their political and economic interests to the whole of Greenland." Historian Bo Lidegaard questions the utility of such a declaration, however, as the United States had never disputed Danish sovereignty.
. The outrage was partially based on the fact the government was ready to hand off a part of the kingdom for money and partially on the secrecy regarding all the preparations and the fact that the denials by the two ministers had been completely contrary to facts. Those who opposed the sale now demanded that the treaty should be reviewed by a new parliament, with the intend to trigger a new election and hoping that the government would thereby lose its majority in the Folketing. In response, the government proposed a referendum on the issue as had recently become possible with the Constitution of 1915
. The Landsting rejected this proposal, triggering a government crisis.
The prospect of forming a broad-based government of national unity proved to be extremely difficult due to the poisoned atmosphere, and after Scavenius 6 September had rejected an offer from Christian X of Denmark
to form a new government, the parties finally managed to find a compromise 30 September: each of the three opposition parties would appoint one of their members to enter the cabinet as Ministers without Portfolio
, a commission to document the negotiations on the sale would be established and a referendum would be held. The referendum would include the Faroe Islands
, but neither Iceland
nor Greenland
, nor would it include the West Indian Islands, and it would be non-binding in the sense that in the case of a majority in favour of the sale the parliament would still have the right to reject it. The commission published its report on 2 December with the recommendation to approve the sale.
In an unofficial vote on St. Croix arranged by Hamilton Jackson 4,027 voted in favour of the sale and only seven voted against. On 21 December the Danish parliament ratified the treaty, and on 9 March 1917 Christian X of Denmark officially said goodbye to the islands in an open letter. On 1 April the formal transfer
of the islands took place, only five days before the United States declared war on Germany.
In an attempt to create national reconciliation, a majority of the 25 million dollars were spent in South Jutland after the Schleswig Plebiscites
and the return of the region to Danish rule in 1920.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
was held in Denmark
Denmark
Denmark is a Scandinavian country in Northern Europe. The countries of Denmark and Greenland, as well as the Faroe Islands, constitute the Kingdom of Denmark . It is the southernmost of the Nordic countries, southwest of Sweden and south of Norway, and bordered to the south by Germany. Denmark...
on 14 December 1916. The non-binding referendum saw 283,670 vote in favor of the sale and 158,157 against. The residents of the islands were not allowed to vote on the matter, but in an unofficial vote on St. Croix arranged by David Hamilton Jackson, 4,027 voted in favor of the sale and only seven voted against. As a result of the referendum the islands were formally relinquished to the United States on the 31 March 1917 as the United States Virgin Islands
United States Virgin Islands
The Virgin Islands of the United States are a group of islands in the Caribbean that are an insular area of the United States. The islands are geographically part of the Virgin Islands archipelago and are located in the Leeward Islands of the Lesser Antilles.The U.S...
for a sum of US$
United States dollar
The United States dollar , also referred to as the American dollar, is the official currency of the United States of America. It is divided into 100 smaller units called cents or pennies....
25,000,000 in gold.
Background
Two of the islands had been in Danish possession since the 17th century and St. Croix since 1733. The glory days of the colony had been from around 1750 to 1850 based on transit trade and the production of rum and sugar using African slaves as labor. By the second half of the 19th century the sugar production was embattled by the cultivation of sugar beetSugar beet
Sugar beet, a cultivated plant of Beta vulgaris, is a plant whose tuber contains a high concentration of sucrose. It is grown commercially for sugar production. Sugar beets and other B...
s, and although the slaves had been emancipated in 1848, the agricultural land and the trade was still controlled by the white population, and the living conditions of the descendants of the slaves were poor.
At the negotiations for the Treaty of Vienna
Treaty of Vienna (1864)
The Treaty of Vienna was a peace treaty signed on October 30, 1864 in Vienna between the Austrian Empire, the Kingdom of Prussia, and the Kingdom of Denmark. The treaty ended the Second War of Schleswig. Based on the terms of the treaty, Prussia would administer Schleswig and Austria would...
after the defeat in the Second Schleswig War in 1864, Denmark had tried to use the islands as a trade-in for South Jutland, but the Prussian Government was not interested.
At the eve of the American Civil War
American Civil War
The American Civil War was a civil war fought in the United States of America. In response to the election of Abraham Lincoln as President of the United States, 11 southern slave states declared their secession from the United States and formed the Confederate States of America ; the other 25...
, the United States became interested in the islands as the possible location of a Caribbean naval base. On 24 October 1867 the Danish parliament, the Rigsdag
Rigsdag
Rigsdagen was the name of the Parliament of Denmark from 1849 to 1953.Rigsdagen was Denmark's first parliament, and it was incorporated in the Constitution of 1849. It was a bicameral legislature, consisting of two houses, the Folketing and the Landsting. The distinction between the two houses was...
, ratified a treaty on the sale of two of the islands — St. Thomas
Saint Thomas, U.S. Virgin Islands
Saint Thomas is an island in the Caribbean Sea and with the islands of Saint John, Saint Croix, and Water Island a county and constituent district of the United States Virgin Islands , an unincorporated territory of the United States. Located on the island is the territorial capital and port of...
and St. John
Saint John, U.S. Virgin Islands
Saint John is an island in the Caribbean Sea and a constituent district of the United States Virgin Islands , an unincorporated territory of the United States. St...
— for a sum of US$7,500,000. However, the United States Senate
United States Senate
The United States Senate is the upper house of the bicameral legislature of the United States, and together with the United States House of Representatives comprises the United States Congress. The composition and powers of the Senate are established in Article One of the U.S. Constitution. Each...
did not ratify the treaty due to concerns over a number of natural disasters that had struck the islands and a political feud with and the possible impeachment of President Andrew Johnson
Andrew Johnson
Andrew Johnson was the 17th President of the United States . As Vice-President of the United States in 1865, he succeeded Abraham Lincoln following the latter's assassination. Johnson then presided over the initial and contentious Reconstruction era of the United States following the American...
.
Negotiations resumed in 1899, and on 24 January 1902 Washington signed a convention on the transfer of the islands for a sum of US$5,000,000. One chamber of the Danish parliament — the Folketing
Folketing
The Folketing , is the national parliament of Denmark. The name literally means "People's thing"—that is, the people's governing assembly. It is located in Christiansborg Palace, on the islet of Slotsholmen in central Copenhagen....
— passed the proposal, but in the other chamber — the Landsting
Landsting (Denmark)
The Landsting was a house of the Rigsdag in Denmark from 1849 until 1953, when the bicameral system was abolished. The house had powers equal to the Folketing, which made the two houses of parliament hard to distinguish....
— it failed with 32 votes against 32. In particular the conservative party Højre
Højre
Højre was the name of two Danish political parties of Conservative persuasion.The first Højre party existed from 1848 to 1866....
opposed it on the grounds that the treaty did not ensure the local population a vote on the matter, and that it did not grant them US citizenship or freedom from customs duty on the export of sugar to the United States. According to historian Povl Engelstoft, there is no doubt that Council President Johan Henrik Deuntzer
Johan Henrik Deuntzer
Johan Henrik Deuntzer was a Danish politician, member of the Liberal Venstre party until 1905 where he joined the Danish Social Liberal Party...
was privately against the sale even though his party, the Venstre Reform Party, supported it, and when the Landsting failed to pass the proposal, he made a statement that neither did he see a reason for the cabinet
Cabinet of Deuntzer
After the 1901 Danish Folketing election, the Council President Johan Henrik Deuntzer of the Venstre Reform Party became the leader of Denmark's first liberal government. The resulting cabinet, which replaced the Cabinet of Sehested consisting of member of the conservative party Højre, was formed...
to step down, nor would he dissolve the Landsting or assume responsibility for any further work related to the sale. This brought the process to a halt.
Negotiations
Famous labor leader David Hamilton Jackson, made a visit to CopenhagenCopenhagen
Copenhagen is the capital and largest city of Denmark, with an urban population of 1,199,224 and a metropolitan population of 1,930,260 . With the completion of the transnational Øresund Bridge in 2000, Copenhagen has become the centre of the increasingly integrating Øresund Region...
in May 1915. He successfully raised awareness of the growing social desperation on the islands and the need for to enter the customs territory of the United States in order for the islands to be able to cope with their economic crisis. After his visit a majority of the Folketing, was convinced that the Danish supremacy of the islands had to end. The First World War
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
had created a new situation: The relations between Germany and the United States were becoming worse as a consequence of the German submarine warfare, and the Americans were concerned that after an invasion of Denmark the Germans might take control of the islands. This would be unacceptable to the Americans as stated in the Monroe Doctrine
Monroe Doctrine
The Monroe Doctrine is a policy of the United States introduced on December 2, 1823. It stated that further efforts by European nations to colonize land or interfere with states in North or South America would be viewed as acts of aggression requiring U.S. intervention...
.
The Danish government was convinced that the islands had to be sold for the sake of both the residents and Danish security, and that a transfer would have to be realized before the United States entered the war, so that the transfer would not become a violation of the Danish neutrality
Neutral country
A neutral power in a particular war is a sovereign state which declares itself to be neutral towards the belligerents. A non-belligerent state does not need to be neutral. The rights and duties of a neutral power are defined in Sections 5 and 13 of the Hague Convention of 1907...
. During May 1915, Foreign Minister of Denmark
Foreign Minister of Denmark
The Danish Minister for Foreign Affairs handles Denmark's foreign affairs. The Foreign Minister works in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Denmark.The current Minister for Foreign Affairs is Villy Søvndal.-External links:***...
Erik Scavenius
Erik Scavenius
Erik Julius Christian Scavenius was the Danish foreign minister 1909–1910, 1913–1920 and 1940–1943, and prime minister from 1942 to 1943. His cabinet resigned in 1943 and suspended operations...
contacted the American government with the message that he believed that the islands ought to be sold to the United States and that although he would not make an official proposal, "if the United States gave any encouragement to the consideration of the possibility of such a sale, it might be possible."
On 29 October 1915 United States Secretary of State
United States Secretary of State
The United States Secretary of State is the head of the United States Department of State, concerned with foreign affairs. The Secretary is a member of the Cabinet and the highest-ranking cabinet secretary both in line of succession and order of precedence...
Robert Lansing
Robert Lansing
Robert Lansing served in the position of Legal Advisor to the State Department at the outbreak of World War I where he vigorously advocated against Britain's policy of blockade and in favor of the principles of freedom of the seas and the rights of neutral nations...
managed to reopen the negotiations. The negotiations, which lasted until August 1916, were kept absolutely secret in order to maintain the Danish neutrality. Although rumours of the future sale did leak to the press, they were denied categorically by both Scavenius and Minister of Finance Edvard Brandes
Edvard Brandes
Carl Edvard Cohen Brandes was a Danish politician, critic and author, and the younger brother of Georg Brandes and Ernst Brandes. He was a Ph.D. in eastern philology....
. During 1916, the two sides agreed to a sale price of $25,000,000, and the United States accepted a Danish demand for a declaration stating that they would "not object to the Danish Government extending their political and economic interests to the whole of Greenland." Historian Bo Lidegaard questions the utility of such a declaration, however, as the United States had never disputed Danish sovereignty.
Government crisis
The government informed the parliament of the negotiations and their result in August 1916, and the message arouse bitter feelings in particular among the conservatives and to some degree within VenstreVenstre (Denmark)
VenstreThe party name is officially not translated into any other language, but is in English often referred to as the Liberal Party. Similar rules apply for the name of the party's youth wing Venstres Ungdom. , full name Venstre, Danmarks Liberale Parti , is the largest political party in Denmark...
. The outrage was partially based on the fact the government was ready to hand off a part of the kingdom for money and partially on the secrecy regarding all the preparations and the fact that the denials by the two ministers had been completely contrary to facts. Those who opposed the sale now demanded that the treaty should be reviewed by a new parliament, with the intend to trigger a new election and hoping that the government would thereby lose its majority in the Folketing. In response, the government proposed a referendum on the issue as had recently become possible with the Constitution of 1915
Constitution of Denmark
The Constitutional Act of Denmark is the Kingdom of Denmark's constitution, or fundamental law. Originally verified in 1849, the last revision was signed on 5 June 1953 as "the existing law, for all to unswerving comply with, the Constitutional Act of Denmark".-Idea and structure:The main...
. The Landsting rejected this proposal, triggering a government crisis.
The prospect of forming a broad-based government of national unity proved to be extremely difficult due to the poisoned atmosphere, and after Scavenius 6 September had rejected an offer from Christian X of Denmark
Christian X of Denmark
Christian X was King of Denmark from 1912 to 1947 and the only King of Iceland between 1918 and 1944....
to form a new government, the parties finally managed to find a compromise 30 September: each of the three opposition parties would appoint one of their members to enter the cabinet as Ministers without Portfolio
Minister without Portfolio
A minister without portfolio is either a government minister with no specific responsibilities or a minister that does not head a particular ministry...
, a commission to document the negotiations on the sale would be established and a referendum would be held. The referendum would include the Faroe Islands
Faroe Islands
The Faroe Islands are an island group situated between the Norwegian Sea and the North Atlantic Ocean, approximately halfway between Scotland and Iceland. The Faroe Islands are a self-governing territory within the Kingdom of Denmark, along with Denmark proper and Greenland...
, but neither Iceland
Iceland
Iceland , described as the Republic of Iceland, is a Nordic and European island country in the North Atlantic Ocean, on the Mid-Atlantic Ridge. Iceland also refers to the main island of the country, which contains almost all the population and almost all the land area. The country has a population...
nor Greenland
Greenland
Greenland is an autonomous country within the Kingdom of Denmark, located between the Arctic and Atlantic Oceans, east of the Canadian Arctic Archipelago. Though physiographically a part of the continent of North America, Greenland has been politically and culturally associated with Europe for...
, nor would it include the West Indian Islands, and it would be non-binding in the sense that in the case of a majority in favour of the sale the parliament would still have the right to reject it. The commission published its report on 2 December with the recommendation to approve the sale.
Results
The referendum was held on 14 December 1916. As the election act of 1915, which significantly increased the number of eligible voters, was used for the referendum even though it did not otherwise take effect until 1918, the exact number of eligible voters is unknown but estimated at 1,200,000.| Choice | Votes | % |
|---|---|---|
| For | 283,670 | 64.2 |
| Against | 158,157 | 35.8 |
| Invalid/blank votes | 7,267 | – |
| Total | 449,094 | 100 |
| Source: Nohlen & Stöver | ||
In an unofficial vote on St. Croix arranged by Hamilton Jackson 4,027 voted in favour of the sale and only seven voted against. On 21 December the Danish parliament ratified the treaty, and on 9 March 1917 Christian X of Denmark officially said goodbye to the islands in an open letter. On 1 April the formal transfer
Transfer Day
Transfer Day is a holiday celebrated in the U.S. Virgin Islands on March 31. It marks the transfer of the islands from Denmark to the United States that took place in 1917. The year of 2007 marked the 90th anniversary of the acquisition of the islands....
of the islands took place, only five days before the United States declared war on Germany.
In an attempt to create national reconciliation, a majority of the 25 million dollars were spent in South Jutland after the Schleswig Plebiscites
Schleswig Plebiscites
The Schleswig Plebiscites were two plebiscites, organized according to section XII, articles 109 to 114 of the Treaty of Versailles of June 28, 1919, in order to determine the future border between Denmark and Germany through the former duchy of Schleswig...
and the return of the region to Danish rule in 1920.