Hawaiian Revolutions
Encyclopedia
The Hawaiian Rebellions and Revolutions took place in Hawaii between 1887 and 1895. Until annexation in 1898, Hawaii was an independent sovereign state, recognized by the United States, United Kingdom, France and Germany with exchange of ambassadors. However, there were several challenges to the reigning governments of the Kingdom and Republic of Hawaii during the eight and a half year (1887–1895) period.
and an armed militia forced the king to promulgate what is known by its critics as the "Bayonet Constitution". The impetus behind the imposition of the 1887 constitution was the frustration amongst members of the Reform Party (also known as the Missionary Party) with the growing debt of the Kingdom, the spending habits of the King, and general governance of the Kingdom. It was specifically triggered by an ill-fated attempt by Kalakaua to create a Polynesian Federation under his rule, and a bribery scandal Kalakaua was involved in regarding opium licenses. The 1887 constitution stripped the monarchy of much of its authority, imposed significant income and property requirements for voting, and completely disenfranchised all Asians from voting. Only well-to-do Europeans, Americans and native Hawaiians were given full voting rights. When Kalākaua died in 1891 during a visit to San Francisco, his sister Liliuokalani assumed the throne.
Native Hawaiians on the other hand, according to Queen Liliuokalani in her autobiography, called her brother's reign "a golden age materially for Hawaii" and felt that the new constitution was imposed by a minority of the foreign population because of the king's refusal to renew the Reciprocity Treaty, which now included an amendment that would have allowed the US Navy to have a permanent naval base at Pearl Harbor in O'ahu, and the king's foreign policy. According to bills submitted by the King to the Hawaiian parliament, the King's foreign policy included an alliance with Japan and supporting other Malay countries suffering from colonialism. Native Hawaiians were deeply opposed to a permanent US military presence in their country.
and Robert Boyd attempted to replace the hated Bayonet Constitution and stormed 'Iolani Palace. The rebellion was later crushed.
attempted to overthrow the monarchy.
they had obtained in 1887 by threat of force against King Kalakaua
.
In response to Liliuokalani's attempt to promulgate a new constitution, a group of European and American residents formed a "Committee of Safety" on January 14, 1893 in opposition to the Queen and her plans. After a mass meeting of supporters, the Committee committed itself to the removal of the Queen, and seeking annexation to the United States.
United States Government Minister John L. Stevens
summoned a company of uniformed U.S. Marines from the U.S.S. Boston
and two companies of U.S. sailors to land on the Kingdom and take up positions at the U.S. Legation, Consulate, and Arion Hall on the afternoon of January 16, 1893. This deployment was at the request of the Committee of Safety, which claimed an "imminent threat to American lives and property". Historian William Russ states, "the injunction to prevent fighting of any kind made it impossible for the monarchy to protect itself."
A provisional government was set up with the strong support of the Honolulu Rifles, a militia group which had defended the Kingdom against the Wilcox rebellion in 1889.
Under this pressure, Liliuokalani gave up her throne to the Committee of Safety
. The Queen's statement yielding authority, on January 17, 1893, also pleaded for justice:
An immediate investigation into the events of the overthrow was commissioned by President Cleveland
was conducted by former Congressman James Henderson Blount
. The Blount Report
was completed on July 17, 1893 and concluded that "United States diplomatic and military representatives had abused their authority and were responsible for the change in government.".
Minister Stevens was recalled, and the military commander of forces in Hawaii was forced to resign his commission. President Cleveland stated "Substantial wrong has thus been done which a due regard for our national character as well as the rights of the injured people requires we should endeavor to repair the monarchy." Cleveland further stated in his 1893 State of the Union Address
and
that, "Upon the facts developed it seemed to me the only honorable course for our Government to pursue was to undo the wrong that had been done by those representing us and to restore as far as practicable the status existing at the time of our forcible intervention." Submitting the matter to Congress on December 18, 1893, after President Sanford Dole refused to reinstate the Queen on Cleveland's command, the Senate Foreign Relations Committee under Chairman Morgan, continued investigation into the matter.
On February 26, 1894, the Morgan Report
was submitted, contradicting the Blount Report and finding Stevens and the U.S. troops "not guilty" of any involvement in the overthrow. The report asserted that, "The complaint by Liliuokalani in the protest that she sent to the President of the United States and dated the 18th day of January, is not, in the opinion of the committee, well founded in fact or in justice." After submission of the Morgan Report, Cleveland ended any efforts to reinstate the monarchy, and conducted normal diplomatic relations with the Provisional Government and later, the Republic of Hawaii. He rebuffed further entreaties from the Queen to intervene further in the matter.
The Republic of Hawaii
was established July 4, 1894 under the presidency of Sanford Dole.
John L. Stevens
was forced to retire after supporting the Overthrow of the Hawaiians Kingdom and replaced by James Henderson Blount
. After completing the Blount Report he was replaced by Albert S. Willis
. Willis, despite the America’s neutrality toward Hawaii, threatened an amphibious invasion attempting to force the Provisional Government to restore the Queen. The attempted failed to restore the monarchy but was a partial victory by prolonging annexation.
, members of the Royal Household Guards, and later Robert Wilcox
attempted to overthrow the Republic of Hawaii, and led to the conviction and imprisonment of the former Queen Liliuokalani. According to A History of Hawaii by Professor Ralph Kuykendall, the 1895 counter-rebellion was also heavily financed by Chinese and Japanese immigrants, who had felt some loyalty to Queen Liliuokalani.
Rebellion of 1887
In 1887, a group of cabinet officials and advisors to King KalākauaKalakaua
Kalākaua, born David Laamea Kamanakapuu Mahinulani Nalaiaehuokalani Lumialani Kalākaua and sometimes called The Merrie Monarch , was the last reigning king of the Kingdom of Hawaii...
and an armed militia forced the king to promulgate what is known by its critics as the "Bayonet Constitution". The impetus behind the imposition of the 1887 constitution was the frustration amongst members of the Reform Party (also known as the Missionary Party) with the growing debt of the Kingdom, the spending habits of the King, and general governance of the Kingdom. It was specifically triggered by an ill-fated attempt by Kalakaua to create a Polynesian Federation under his rule, and a bribery scandal Kalakaua was involved in regarding opium licenses. The 1887 constitution stripped the monarchy of much of its authority, imposed significant income and property requirements for voting, and completely disenfranchised all Asians from voting. Only well-to-do Europeans, Americans and native Hawaiians were given full voting rights. When Kalākaua died in 1891 during a visit to San Francisco, his sister Liliuokalani assumed the throne.
Native Hawaiians on the other hand, according to Queen Liliuokalani in her autobiography, called her brother's reign "a golden age materially for Hawaii" and felt that the new constitution was imposed by a minority of the foreign population because of the king's refusal to renew the Reciprocity Treaty, which now included an amendment that would have allowed the US Navy to have a permanent naval base at Pearl Harbor in O'ahu, and the king's foreign policy. According to bills submitted by the King to the Hawaiian parliament, the King's foreign policy included an alliance with Japan and supporting other Malay countries suffering from colonialism. Native Hawaiians were deeply opposed to a permanent US military presence in their country.
Rebellion of 1888
A plot by Princess Liliuokalani was exposed to overthrow King Kalākaua in a military coup.Rebellion of 1889
In 1889, a rebellion of Native Hawaiians led by Colonel Robert WilcoxRobert William Wilcox
Robert William Kalanihiapo Wilcox , nicknamed the Iron Duke of Hawaii, was a native Hawaiian revolutionary soldier and politician. He led uprisings against both the government of the Kingdom of Hawaii under King Kalākaua and the Republic of Hawaii under Sanford Dole, what are now known as the...
and Robert Boyd attempted to replace the hated Bayonet Constitution and stormed 'Iolani Palace. The rebellion was later crushed.
Rebellion of 1892
A plot by Native Hawaiians led by Colonel Robert WilcoxRobert William Wilcox
Robert William Kalanihiapo Wilcox , nicknamed the Iron Duke of Hawaii, was a native Hawaiian revolutionary soldier and politician. He led uprisings against both the government of the Kingdom of Hawaii under King Kalākaua and the Republic of Hawaii under Sanford Dole, what are now known as the...
attempted to overthrow the monarchy.
Revolution of 1893
According the Queen Liliuokalani in her autobiography, Hawaii's Story by Hawaii's Queen, immediately upon ascending the throne, she received petitions from 2/3 of her subjects and the major Native Hawaiian political party in parliament, Hui Kālaiāina, asking her to proclaim a new constitution. Believing her actions were supported by both her cabinet and her Native Hawaiian subjects, Liliuokalani drafted a new constitution that would restore the monarchy's authority and strip American and European residents of the suffrageSuffrage
Suffrage, political franchise, or simply the franchise, distinct from mere voting rights, is the civil right to vote gained through the democratic process...
they had obtained in 1887 by threat of force against King Kalakaua
Kalakaua
Kalākaua, born David Laamea Kamanakapuu Mahinulani Nalaiaehuokalani Lumialani Kalākaua and sometimes called The Merrie Monarch , was the last reigning king of the Kingdom of Hawaii...
.
In response to Liliuokalani's attempt to promulgate a new constitution, a group of European and American residents formed a "Committee of Safety" on January 14, 1893 in opposition to the Queen and her plans. After a mass meeting of supporters, the Committee committed itself to the removal of the Queen, and seeking annexation to the United States.
United States Government Minister John L. Stevens
John L. Stevens
John Leavitt Stevens was the United States Department of State Minister to the Kingdom of Hawaii in 1893 when he was accused of conspiring to overthrow Queen Liliuokalani in association with the Committee of Safety, led by Lorrin A. Thurston and Sanford B...
summoned a company of uniformed U.S. Marines from the U.S.S. Boston
USS Boston (1884)
The fifth USS Boston, a protected cruiser, was launched 4 December 1884 by John Roach & Sons, Chester, Pennsylvania, and commissioned 2 May 1887, Captain Francis M. Ramsay in command....
and two companies of U.S. sailors to land on the Kingdom and take up positions at the U.S. Legation, Consulate, and Arion Hall on the afternoon of January 16, 1893. This deployment was at the request of the Committee of Safety, which claimed an "imminent threat to American lives and property". Historian William Russ states, "the injunction to prevent fighting of any kind made it impossible for the monarchy to protect itself."
A provisional government was set up with the strong support of the Honolulu Rifles, a militia group which had defended the Kingdom against the Wilcox rebellion in 1889.
Under this pressure, Liliuokalani gave up her throne to the Committee of Safety
Committee of Safety (Hawaii)
The Committee of Safety, formally the Citizen's Committee of Public Safety, was a 13-member group of the Hawaiian League also known as the Annexation Club...
. The Queen's statement yielding authority, on January 17, 1893, also pleaded for justice:
- I Liliuokalani, by the Grace of God and under the Constitution of the Hawaiian Kingdom, Queen, do hereby solemnly protest against any and all acts done against myself and the Constitutional Government of the Hawaiian Kingdom by certain persons claiming to have established a Provisional Government of and for this Kingdom.
- That I yield to the superior force of the United States of America whose Minister Plenipotentiary, His Excellency John L. Stevens, has caused United States troops to be landed at Honolulu and declared that he would support the Provisional Government.
- Now to avoid any collision of armed forces, and perhaps the loss of life, I do this under protest and impelled by said force yield my authority until such time as the Government of the United States shall, upon facts being presented to it, undo the action of its representatives and reinstate me in the authority which I claim as the Constitutional Sovereign of the Hawaiian Islands.
An immediate investigation into the events of the overthrow was commissioned by President Cleveland
Grover Cleveland
Stephen Grover Cleveland was the 22nd and 24th president of the United States. Cleveland is the only president to serve two non-consecutive terms and therefore is the only individual to be counted twice in the numbering of the presidents...
was conducted by former Congressman James Henderson Blount
James Henderson Blount
James Henderson Blount was an American statesman, soldier and congressman from Georgia. He opposed the annexation of Hawaii in 1893 in his investigation into the alleged American involvement in the political revolution in the Kingdom of Hawai'i...
. The Blount Report
Blount Report
The Blount Report is the popular name given to the part of the 1893 United States House of Representatives Foreign Relations Committee Report regarding the overthrow of the Kingdom of Hawaii. The report was conducted by U.S. Commissioner James H. Blount, appointed by U.S...
was completed on July 17, 1893 and concluded that "United States diplomatic and military representatives had abused their authority and were responsible for the change in government.".
Minister Stevens was recalled, and the military commander of forces in Hawaii was forced to resign his commission. President Cleveland stated "Substantial wrong has thus been done which a due regard for our national character as well as the rights of the injured people requires we should endeavor to repair the monarchy." Cleveland further stated in his 1893 State of the Union Address
State of the Union Address
The State of the Union is an annual address presented by the President of the United States to the United States Congress. The address not only reports on the condition of the nation but also allows the president to outline his legislative agenda and his national priorities.The practice arises...
and
that, "Upon the facts developed it seemed to me the only honorable course for our Government to pursue was to undo the wrong that had been done by those representing us and to restore as far as practicable the status existing at the time of our forcible intervention." Submitting the matter to Congress on December 18, 1893, after President Sanford Dole refused to reinstate the Queen on Cleveland's command, the Senate Foreign Relations Committee under Chairman Morgan, continued investigation into the matter.
On February 26, 1894, the Morgan Report
Morgan Report
The Morgan Report was an 1894 report concluding an official U.S. Congressional investigation into the events surrounding the overthrow of the Hawaiian Kingdom, including the alleged role of U.S. military troops in the overthrow of Queen Liliuokalani...
was submitted, contradicting the Blount Report and finding Stevens and the U.S. troops "not guilty" of any involvement in the overthrow. The report asserted that, "The complaint by Liliuokalani in the protest that she sent to the President of the United States and dated the 18th day of January, is not, in the opinion of the committee, well founded in fact or in justice." After submission of the Morgan Report, Cleveland ended any efforts to reinstate the monarchy, and conducted normal diplomatic relations with the Provisional Government and later, the Republic of Hawaii. He rebuffed further entreaties from the Queen to intervene further in the matter.
The Republic of Hawaii
Republic of Hawaii
The Republic of Hawaii was the formal name of the government that controlled Hawaii from 1894 to 1898 when it was run as a republic. The republic period occurred between the administration of the Provisional Government of Hawaii which ended on July 4, 1894 and the adoption of the Newlands...
was established July 4, 1894 under the presidency of Sanford Dole.
Koolau Rebellion
Following the Overthrow of the Hawaiians Kingdom the Provisional Government in an act to assert their authority strictly enforced leprosy quarantine laws by forcefully relocated Lepers. This resulted in a revolt leading to the death of one sheriff and three national guardsmen by a gunman named Koolau.Black Week
Although not a rebellion the Black Week was a near war event directly involved with the Hawaiian Rebellions. United States Minister to HawaiiUnited States Minister to Hawaii
The Minister to Hawaii was an office of the United States Department of State to the Kingdom of Hawaii during the period of 1810 to 1898. Appointed by the President of the United States with the consent of Congress, the Minister to Hawaii was equivalent in rank to the present-day ambassador of the...
John L. Stevens
John L. Stevens
John Leavitt Stevens was the United States Department of State Minister to the Kingdom of Hawaii in 1893 when he was accused of conspiring to overthrow Queen Liliuokalani in association with the Committee of Safety, led by Lorrin A. Thurston and Sanford B...
was forced to retire after supporting the Overthrow of the Hawaiians Kingdom and replaced by James Henderson Blount
James Henderson Blount
James Henderson Blount was an American statesman, soldier and congressman from Georgia. He opposed the annexation of Hawaii in 1893 in his investigation into the alleged American involvement in the political revolution in the Kingdom of Hawai'i...
. After completing the Blount Report he was replaced by Albert S. Willis
Albert S. Willis
Albert Shelby Willis was a United States Representative from Kentucky and a Minister to Hawaii.-Life:Born in Shelbyville, Kentucky, Willis attended the common schools, and graduated from the Louisville Male High School in 1860. He taught school for four years before graduating from the University...
. Willis, despite the America’s neutrality toward Hawaii, threatened an amphibious invasion attempting to force the Provisional Government to restore the Queen. The attempted failed to restore the monarchy but was a partial victory by prolonging annexation.
Rebellion of 1895
In 1895, a counter-rebellion led by Colonel Robert Nowlein, Minister Joseph NawahiJoseph Nawahi
Joseph Nāwahī also known as Joseph Kahooluhi Nāwahī and as Joseph Kahooluhi Nāwahīokalaniōpuu was a native Hawaiian legislator, lawyer, newspaper publisher, and painter.-Life:...
, members of the Royal Household Guards, and later Robert Wilcox
Robert William Wilcox
Robert William Kalanihiapo Wilcox , nicknamed the Iron Duke of Hawaii, was a native Hawaiian revolutionary soldier and politician. He led uprisings against both the government of the Kingdom of Hawaii under King Kalākaua and the Republic of Hawaii under Sanford Dole, what are now known as the...
attempted to overthrow the Republic of Hawaii, and led to the conviction and imprisonment of the former Queen Liliuokalani. According to A History of Hawaii by Professor Ralph Kuykendall, the 1895 counter-rebellion was also heavily financed by Chinese and Japanese immigrants, who had felt some loyalty to Queen Liliuokalani.