Provisional Government of Hawaii
Encyclopedia
The Provisional Government of Hawaii abbreviated "P.G." was proclaimed on January 17, 1893 by the 13 member Committee of Safety
under the leadership of Sanford B. Dole
. It governed the Kingdom of Hawaii
after the overthrow of Queen Liliuokalani until the Republic of Hawaii
was established on July 4, 1894.
in Hawaii, a commission including Lorrin A. Thurston
actively lobbied for annexation
to the United States
, negotiating a treaty with President Benjamin Harrison
that was sent to the Senate for approval. At the same time Princess Victoria Kaiulani
was in Washington DC to state that the overthrow of the Hawaiian monarchy was illegal.
President Grover Cleveland
opposed the idea of annexation, being an anti-imperialist himself, and withdrew the treaty negotiated by President Benjamin Harrison upon taking office. After commissioning the secret Blount Report
, he stated that the U.S. had inappropriately used military force and called for the reinstatement of Queen Liliuokalani. The matter was referred by Cleveland to Congress after Sanford Dole refused Cleveland's demands, and the U.S. Senate held a further investigation, culminating in the Morgan Report
http://morganreport.org, which completely rejected that there had been any U.S. involvement in the overthrow. After the findings of this committee were submitted, Cleveland reversed his position, and accepted the Provisional Government as legitimate, and rebuffed further requests from the queen to interfere in the matter.
, commanded by Hugh Gunn; and C Company made up of ethnic Portuguese volunteers, commanded by Joseph M. Camara. The regulars were D company made up, like B Company, from the Honolulu Rifles, commanded by John Good.
The military was active under the Provisional Government of Hawaii where they were activated in the Leprosy War in 1893
and the Republic of Hawaii
and were again acivated during the 1895 Counter-Revolution in Hawaii
in 1895. After Hawaii was annexed becoming the Territory of Hawaii
in 1898 the companies entered the Army National Guard
system and became part of the Hawaii Army National Guard
.
drove the Hawaiian language
, which rivaled the English language
, to near extinction. They also restricted voting from 14,000 under the Bayonet Constitution to 4,000 people, most of them politicians in power of the population of approximately 100,000. James Henderson Blount
would comment on this disproportion of voters and population in his report Blount Report
.
and established the Republic of Hawaii
. This government maintained power until the U.S. annexed Hawaii in 1898 with the Newlands Resolution
.
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...
under the leadership of Sanford B. Dole
Sanford B. Dole
Sanford Ballard Dole was a lawyer and jurist in the Hawaiian Islands as a kingdom, protectorate, republic and territory...
. It governed the Kingdom of Hawaii
Kingdom of Hawaii
The Kingdom of Hawaii was established during the years 1795 to 1810 with the subjugation of the smaller independent chiefdoms of Oahu, Maui, Molokai, Lānai, Kauai and Niihau by the chiefdom of Hawaii into one unified government...
after the overthrow of Queen Liliuokalani until 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 on July 4, 1894.
Provisional Government
Following the overthrow of the Hawaiian Kingdom and the establishment of the Provisional GovernmentProvisional government
A provisional government is an emergency or interim government set up when a political void has been created by the collapse of a very large government. The early provisional governments were created to prepare for the return of royal rule...
in Hawaii, a commission including Lorrin A. Thurston
Lorrin A. Thurston
Lorrin Andrews Thurston was a lawyer, politician, and businessman born and raised in the Kingdom of Hawaii. The grandson of two of the first Christian missionaries to Hawaii, Thurston played a prominent role in the overthrow of the Hawaiian Kingdom that replaced Queen Liliuokalani with the...
actively lobbied for annexation
Annexation
Annexation is the de jure incorporation of some territory into another geo-political entity . Usually, it is implied that the territory and population being annexed is the smaller, more peripheral, and weaker of the two merging entities, barring physical size...
to the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
, negotiating a treaty with President Benjamin Harrison
Benjamin Harrison
Benjamin Harrison was the 23rd President of the United States . Harrison, a grandson of President William Henry Harrison, was born in North Bend, Ohio, and moved to Indianapolis, Indiana at age 21, eventually becoming a prominent politician there...
that was sent to the Senate for approval. At the same time Princess Victoria Kaiulani
Ka'iulani
Victoria Kaiulani Kalaninuiahilapalapa Kawēkiu i Lunalilo Cleghorn was heir to the throne of the Kingdom of Hawaii and held the title of crown princess. Kaiulani became known throughout the world for her intelligence, beauty and determination...
was in Washington DC to state that the overthrow of the Hawaiian monarchy was illegal.
President Grover 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...
opposed the idea of annexation, being an anti-imperialist himself, and withdrew the treaty negotiated by President Benjamin Harrison upon taking office. After commissioning the secret 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...
, he stated that the U.S. had inappropriately used military force and called for the reinstatement of Queen Liliuokalani. The matter was referred by Cleveland to Congress after Sanford Dole refused Cleveland's demands, and the U.S. Senate held a further investigation, culminating in 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...
http://morganreport.org, which completely rejected that there had been any U.S. involvement in the overthrow. After the findings of this committee were submitted, Cleveland reversed his position, and accepted the Provisional Government as legitimate, and rebuffed further requests from the queen to interfere in the matter.
Hawaiian Army
Following the overthrow of the monarchy a military was formed on January 27, 1893 and put under the command of Colonel John Soper. This military consisted of four companies: three national guard companies and one regular army company. The national guard companies were: the A Company made up of ethnic German volunteers, commanded by Charles W. Zeiler; B Company made up of members of the Honolulu RiflesHonolulu Rifles
The Honolulu Rifle Company was a paramilitary force loyal to the Missionary Party and the later Reform Party. It was created in 1854 as a militia to deal with internal conflict, 24 Rifles were deployed during the [[ʻIolani Barracks#1873 Barracks Revolt|1873 Barracks Revolt]]...
, commanded by Hugh Gunn; and C Company made up of ethnic Portuguese volunteers, commanded by Joseph M. Camara. The regulars were D company made up, like B Company, from the Honolulu Rifles, commanded by John Good.
The military was active under the Provisional Government of Hawaii where they were activated in the Leprosy War in 1893
Leper War on Kaua'i
The Leper War on Kauai also known as the Koolau Rebellion, Battle of Kalalau or the short name, the Leper War. Following the overthrow of the Kingdom of Hawaii, the stricter government enforced the 1865 "Act to Prevent the Spread of Leprosy" carried out by Attorney General and President of the...
and 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...
and were again acivated during the 1895 Counter-Revolution in Hawaii
1895 Counter-Revolution in Hawaii
The 1895 Counter-revolution in Hawaii was a brief war from January 6 to January 9, 1895, that consisted of three battles on the island of Oahu, Hawaii...
in 1895. After Hawaii was annexed becoming the Territory of Hawaii
Territory of Hawaii
The Territory of Hawaii or Hawaii Territory was an organized incorporated territory of the United States that existed from July 7, 1898, until August 21, 1959, when its territory, with the exception of Johnston Atoll, was admitted to the Union as the fiftieth U.S. state, the State of Hawaii.The U.S...
in 1898 the companies entered the Army National Guard
Army National Guard
Established under Title 10 and Title 32 of the U.S. Code, the Army National Guard is part of the National Guard and is divided up into subordinate units stationed in each of the 50 states, three territories and the District of Columbia operating under their respective governors...
system and became part of the Hawaii Army National Guard
Hawaii Army National Guard
The Hawaii Army National Guard is a component of the United States Army and the United States National Guard. Nationwide, the Army National Guard comprises approximately one half of the US Army's available combat forces and approximately one third of its support organization...
.
Home front
Under the new administration the Government was made more restrictive, including denying citizenship to Chinese immigrants. The Hawai'i Department of EducationHawai'i Department of Education
The Hawaii State Department of Education is the most centralized and only statewide public education system in the United States. The school district can be thought of as analogous to the school districts of other cities and communities in the United States, but in some manners can also be thought...
drove the Hawaiian language
Hawaiian language
The Hawaiian language is a Polynesian language that takes its name from Hawaii, the largest island in the tropical North Pacific archipelago where it developed. Hawaiian, along with English, is an official language of the state of Hawaii...
, which rivaled the English language
English language
English is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...
, to near extinction. They also restricted voting from 14,000 under the Bayonet Constitution to 4,000 people, most of them politicians in power of the population of approximately 100,000. 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...
would comment on this disproportion of voters and population in his report 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...
.
The testimony of leading annexationists is that if the question of annexation was submitted to a popular vote, excluding all persons who could not read and write except foreigners (under the Australian-ballot system, which is the law of the land), that annexation would be defeated.’’(from page 599 of the Blount Report)
Republic of Hawaii
Following the Morgan Report, and the Turpie Resolution which stated a policy of non-interference in Hawaiian affairs by the U.S., Lorrin A. Thurston and the Provisional Government of Hawaii convened a constitutional conventionConstitutional convention (political meeting)
A constitutional convention is now a gathering for the purpose of writing a new constitution or revising an existing constitution. A general constitutional convention is called to create the first constitution of a political unit or to entirely replace an existing constitution...
and established 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...
. This government maintained power until the U.S. annexed Hawaii in 1898 with the Newlands Resolution
Newlands Resolution
The Newlands Resolution, was a joint resolution written by and named after United States Congressman Francis G. Newlands. It was an Act of Congress to annex the Republic of Hawaii and create the Territory of Hawaii....
.