Territory of Hawaii
Encyclopedia
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. Congress
passed the Newlands Resolution
which annexed the former Kingdom of Hawaii
and later Republic of Hawaii
to the United States. Hawaii's territorial history includes a period from 1941 to 1944 — during World War II — when the islands were placed under martial law
. Civilian government was dissolved and a military governor was appointed.
led by Lorrin A. Thurston
established the Provisional Government of Hawaii
to govern the islands in transition to expected annexation
by the United States. Thurston actively lobbied Congress while the monarchy, represented in Washington, D.C. by Princess Victoria Kaiulani, argued that the overthrow of her aunt's government was illegal.
First annexation proceedings began when U.S. President Benjamin Harrison
stepped down and Grover Cleveland
took office. Cleveland was an anti-imperialist and was strongly against annexation. He withdrew the annexation treaty from consideration, mounted an inquiry and recommended the restoration of Liliuokalani. Further investigation by Congress led to the Morgan Report
, which established that the actions of U.S. troops were completely neutral, and exonerated the U.S. from any accusations of complicity with the overthrow.
The provisional government convened a constitutional convention in Honolulu to establish the Republic of Hawaii
. Thurston was urged to become the nation's first president but he was worried his brazen personality would damage the cause of annexation. The more conservative former Supreme Court Justice and friend of Queen Liliuokalani, Sanford B. Dole
, was elected the first and only president of the new regime.
When Grover Cleveland's presidency ended in March 1897, former American Civil War
soldier William McKinley
took office. McKinley believed in increasing American prominence on the international stage.
Under McKinley's policies Americans were sent to fight against Spain
in Cuba
, the Philippines
, and Puerto Rico
in 1898. Hawaii's strategic location for warfare in the Philippines made it especially important to American interests.
In April 1917, Queen Liliuokalani flew the U.S. flag
over her residence at Washington Place
. She stated it was in honor of the Hawaiians who lost their lives as American soldiers in World War I
, and was seen as her final acceptance of the overthrow of her monarchy and the annexation of Hawaii to the United States. Her newfound patriotism for the United States was inspired by the death of five Hawaiian sailors.
(named after Congressman Francis Newlands) which officially annexed Hawaii to the United States. A formal ceremony was held on the steps of [[ʻIolani Palace]] where the Hawaiian flag
was lowered and the American flag raised. Dole was appointed Hawaii's first territorial governor.
The Newlands Resolution said, "Whereas, the Government of the Republic of Hawaii having, in due form, signified its consent, in the manner provided by its constitution, to cede absolutely and without reserve to the United States of America, all rights of sovereignty of whatsoever kind in and over the Hawaiian Islands and their dependencies, and also to cede and transfer to the United States, the absolute fee and ownership of all public, Government, or Crown lands, public buildings or edifices, ports, harbors, military equipment, and all other public property of every kind and description belonging to the Government of the Hawaiian Islands, together with every right and appurtenance thereunto appertaining: Therefore, Resolved by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, That said cession is accepted, ratified, and confirmed, and that the said Hawaiian Islands and their dependencies be, and they are hereby, annexed as a part of the territory of the United States and are subject to the sovereign dominion thereof, and that all and singular the property and rights hereinbefore mentioned are vested in the United States of America."
The Newlands Resolution established a five-member commission to study which laws were needed in Hawaii. The commission included: Territorial Governor Sanford B. Dole (R-Hawaii Territory), Senators Shelby M. Cullom (R-IL) and John T. Morgan (D-AL), Representative Robert R. Hitt (R-IL) and former Hawaii Chief Justice and later Territorial Governor Walter F. Frear (R-Hawaii Territory). The commission's final report was submitted to Congress for a debate which lasted over a year. Congress raised objections that establishing an elected territorial government in Hawaii would lead to the admission of a state with a non-white majority.
.
The Organic Act established the Office of the Territorial Governor, an office appointed by the sitting American president and was usually from his own political party. The territorial governor served at the pleasure of the president and could be replaced at any time.
The Organic Act created a bicameral
territorial legislature, consisting of a House of Representatives
and Senate
, with its members elected by popular vote, and a Supreme Court led by a chief justice.
:
Hawaii's tourism industry began in 1882 when Matson Navigation Company
, founded by William Matson, began sailing vessels between San Francisco and Hawaii carrying goods. His transports encouraged him to purchase passenger steamships that would carry tourists hoping to vacation in Hawaii from the mainland United States.
Matson's fleet included the SS Wilhelmina
, rivaling the best passenger ship
s serving traditional Atlantic
routes. With the boom in interest of Hawaiian vacations by America's wealthiest families in the late 1920s, Matson added the SS Mariposa
, SS Monterey
and SS Lurline
(one of many Lurlines) to the fleet.
Matson Navigation Company opened two resort
hotels in Honolulu near royal grounds. The first (and for a time the only) hotel on Waikīkī was the Moana Hotel
which opened in 1901. As the first hotel in Waikīkī, the Moana Hotel was nicknamed the "First Lady of Waikīkī." The hotel gained international attention in 1920 when Edward, Prince of Wales
and future King Edward VIII of the United Kingdom
, stayed as a guest.
In 1927, the Royal Hawaiian Hotel
, informally called the "Pink Palace of the Pacific," opened for business. It was the preferred Hawaii residence of U.S. President Franklin D. Roosevelt
during World War II.
expanded the military presence in Hawaii and established several key bases, some still in use today. By 1906, the entire island of Oahu was being fortified at the coastlines with the construction of a "Ring of Steel," a series of gun
batteries
mounted on steel coastal walls. One of the few surviving batteries completed in 1911, Battery Randolph, is today the site of the Hawaii Army Museum.
List of Territorial Installations:
gained a new infusion of investment. By getting rid of tariff
s imposed on sugarcane
sent to the United States, planters had more money to spend on equipment, land and labor. Increased capital resulted in increased production. Five kingdom-era corporations benefited from annexation, becoming multi-million dollar conglomerations
: Castle & Cooke
, Alexander & Baldwin
, C. Brewer & Co.
, American Factors (later Amfac
), Theo H. Davies & Co.
Together, the five companies dominated the Hawaiian economy as the "Big Five
."
The Big Five corporations together became a single dominating force in Hawaii. The companies did not compete with each other but rather cooperated to keep the prices on their goods and services—and their profits—high. Soon, the executives of the Big Five sat on each others' boards of directors. With economic power came political power over Hawaii. They often threatened the labor force to vote in their favor. Plantation managers hung pencils over voting booths. The way the pencil swayed indicated how the laborer voted. Retaliation for voting "the wrong way" was common.
The territory became an oligarchy
governed by the Big Five. They backed only whites and Republicans
to run the government. During the rule of the Big Five, it was almost impossible to win an election in Hawaii as a Democrat
.
, also known as the Pineapple King, arrived in Hawaii in 1899. He purchased land in Wahiawā and established the first pineapple
plantation
in Hawaii. Believing that pineapples could become a popular food substance outside of Hawaii, Dole built a cannery
near his first plantation in 1901. HawaiianPineapple Company, later renamed Dole Food Company
, was born.
With his business climbing in profits, Dole expanded and built a larger cannery in Iwilei near Honolulu Harbor
in 1907. The Iwilei location made his main operations more accessible to labor. The cannery at Iwilei was in operation until 1991. Actress and performer Bette Midler
was one of its most famous employees.
Dole found himself in the midst of an economic boom industry. In response to growing pineapple demand in 1922, Dole purchased the entire island of Lanai
and transformed the desert landscape
into the largest pineapple plantation in the world. For a long stretch of time, Lanai would produce 75% of the world's pineapple and become immortalized as the "Pineapple Island."
By the 1930s, Hawaii became the pineapple capital of the world and pineapple production became its second largest industry. After World War II, there were a total of eight pineapple companies in Hawaii.
, Japan
, the Philippines
and Portugal
. There was a substantially large native Hawaiian
population that also shared in the work. Their plantation experiences molded Hawaii to become a plantation culture. The Hawaiian Pidgin
language was developed on the plantations so they all could understand each other. They shared each others' food and traditions. Buddhism
and Shintoism grew to become some of Hawaii's largest religions. Catholicism
became Hawaii's largest Christian denomination. Hawaii was diverse and the many ethnicities lived more or less harmoniously.
officer's wife, got drunk and alleged that she was beaten and raped. That same night, the Honolulu Police Department
stopped a car and detained five men, all plantation boys. Officers took the men to Massie's hospital bedroom where she identified them. Many analysts today say she was mistaken, pinning the crime on them because of their ethnicity. Although evidence couldn't prove that the men were directly involved, national newspapers were quick to run stories about the brute locals on the prowl for white women in Hawaii. The jury in the initial trial could not reach a verdict. One of the accused was afterwards severely beaten, while another, Joseph Kahahawai, was forced into a car and shot dead.
Police caught the Kahahawai killers: Massie's husband Thomas, mother Grace Fortescue, and two sailors. Famed criminal lawyer Clarence Darrow
defended them. A jury of locals found them guilty and sentenced to hard labor for ten years. Outraged by the court's punishment, the territory's white leaders as well as 103 members of Congress signed a letter threatening to impose martial law over the territory. This pressured Governor Lawrence M. Judd
to commute the sentences to an hour each in his executive chambers. Hawaii residents were shocked and all of America reconsidered what they thought of Hawaii's racial diversity.
white supremacist
politicians were outraged at the notion that Congress would allow for a non-white majority territory to be afforded the rights given to Americans on the mainland. Statehood was postponed for more than 20 years over the question of race.
and America's entry into World War II, Territorial Governors Joseph B. Pointdexter and Ingram M. Stainback stripped themselves of their administrative powers by declaring martial law
. With the territorial constitution suspended, the legislature and supreme court were also dissolved indefinitely. Military law was enforced on all residents of Hawaii. The formation of the military government was mostly done by Maj. Gen. Thomas H. Green of the U.S Army Judge Advocate General's Corps, who became Military Attorney General. General Walter Short
appointed himself military governor December 7, 1941. He assumed control of Hawaii and governed from [[ʻIolani Palace]], which was quickly barricaded and fitted with trenches. He was relieved December 17 and charged with dereliction of duty
, accused of making poor preparations in case of attack before the Attack on Pearl Harbor
.
Under martial law, every facet of Hawaiian life was under the control of the military governor. His government fingerprinted all residents over the age of six, imposed blackouts and curfew
s, rationed food and gasoline, censored
the news and media, censored all mail, prohibited alcohol
, assigned business hours, and administered traffic and special garbage collection. The military governor's laws were called General Orders. Violations meant punishment without appeal by military tribunal
s.
List of Military Governors:
consisting of general strikes, protest
s, and other acts of civil disobedience
. The Revolution culminated in the territorial elections of 1954 where the reign of the Hawaii Republican Party
in the legislature came to an abrupt end, as they were voted out of office to be replaced by members of the Democratic Party of Hawaii
.
fears brewed and the U.S. was in the middle of the Second Red Scare. The FBI employed the Smith Act
toward the ILWU and Communist Party of Hawaii
, arresting those who would become known as the Hawaii 7 on August 28, 1951 in synchronized raids at 6:30 that morning. They were convicted in a two-year long trial. The Hawaii 7 were eventually released in 1958.
A former officer of the Honolulu Police Department
, John A. Burns
was elected Hawaii's delegate to Congress in 1956. A Democrat
, Burns won without the white vote but rather with the overwhelming support of Japanese and Filipinos in Hawaii. His election proved pivotal to the statehood movement. Upon arriving in Washington, D.C., Burns began making key political maneuvers by winning over allies among Congressional leaders and state governors. Burns' most important accomplishment was convincing Senate Majority Leader
Lyndon B. Johnson
(D-TX) that Hawaii was ready to become a state.
In March 1959, both houses of Congress passed the Hawaii Admission Act
and U.S. President Dwight D. Eisenhower
signed it into law. (The act excluded Palmyra Atoll
, part of the Kingdom and Territory of Hawaii, from the new state.) On June 27 of that year, a plebiscite was held asking Hawaiians to vote on accepting the statehood bill. Hawaii voted 17 to 1 to accept. On August 21, church bells throughout Honolulu were rung upon the proclamation that Hawaii was finally a US state.
First Session, December 4, 1899-June 7, 1900. Photostatic Reproductions from the
Congressional Record, Vol. 33, Parts 1-8.
was an organized incorporated territory
Organized incorporated territories of the United States
Organized incorporated territories are those territories of the United States that are both incorporated and organized .Through most of U.S...
of the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
that existed from July 7, 1898, until August 21, 1959, when its territory, with the exception of Johnston Atoll
Johnston Atoll
Johnston Atoll is a atoll in the North Pacific Ocean about west of Hawaii. There are four islands located on the coral reef platform, two natural islands, Johnston Island and Sand Island, which have been expanded by coral dredging, as well as North Island and East Island , an additional two...
, was admitted to the Union
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
as the fiftieth U.S. state
U.S. state
A U.S. state is any one of the 50 federated states of the United States of America that share sovereignty with the federal government. Because of this shared sovereignty, an American is a citizen both of the federal entity and of his or her state of domicile. Four states use the official title of...
, the State of Hawaii
Hawaii
Hawaii is the newest of the 50 U.S. states , and is the only U.S. state made up entirely of islands. It is the northernmost island group in Polynesia, occupying most of an archipelago in the central Pacific Ocean, southwest of the continental United States, southeast of Japan, and northeast of...
.
The U.S. Congress
United States Congress
The United States Congress is the bicameral legislature of the federal government of the United States, consisting of the Senate and the House of Representatives. The Congress meets in the United States Capitol in Washington, D.C....
passed 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....
which annexed the former 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...
and later 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...
to the United States. Hawaii's territorial history includes a period from 1941 to 1944 — during World War II — when the islands were placed under martial law
Martial law
Martial law is the imposition of military rule by military authorities over designated regions on an emergency basis— only temporary—when the civilian government or civilian authorities fail to function effectively , when there are extensive riots and protests, or when the disobedience of the law...
. Civilian government was dissolved and a military governor was appointed.
Provisional Government
Upon the overthrow of Queen Liliuokalani in 1893, the Committee of SafetyCommittee 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...
led by 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...
established the Provisional Government of Hawaii
Provisional Government of Hawaii
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...
to govern the islands in transition to expected 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...
by the United States. Thurston actively lobbied Congress while the monarchy, represented in Washington, D.C. by Princess Victoria Kaiulani, argued that the overthrow of her aunt's government was illegal.
First annexation proceedings began when U.S. 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...
stepped down and 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...
took office. Cleveland was an anti-imperialist and was strongly against annexation. He withdrew the annexation treaty from consideration, mounted an inquiry and recommended the restoration of Liliuokalani. Further investigation by Congress led to 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...
, which established that the actions of U.S. troops were completely neutral, and exonerated the U.S. from any accusations of complicity with the overthrow.
The provisional government convened a constitutional convention in Honolulu to establish 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...
. Thurston was urged to become the nation's first president but he was worried his brazen personality would damage the cause of annexation. The more conservative former Supreme Court Justice and friend of Queen Liliuokalani, 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...
, was elected the first and only president of the new regime.
Manifest Destiny
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...
soldier William McKinley
William McKinley
William McKinley, Jr. was the 25th President of the United States . He is best known for winning fiercely fought elections, while supporting the gold standard and high tariffs; he succeeded in forging a Republican coalition that for the most part dominated national politics until the 1930s...
took office. McKinley believed in increasing American prominence on the international stage.
Under McKinley's policies Americans were sent to fight against Spain
Spanish-American War
The Spanish–American War was a conflict in 1898 between Spain and the United States, effectively the result of American intervention in the ongoing Cuban War of Independence...
in Cuba
Cuba
The Republic of Cuba is an island nation in the Caribbean. The nation of Cuba consists of the main island of Cuba, the Isla de la Juventud, and several archipelagos. Havana is the largest city in Cuba and the country's capital. Santiago de Cuba is the second largest city...
, the Philippines
Philippines
The Philippines , officially known as the Republic of the Philippines , is a country in Southeast Asia in the western Pacific Ocean. To its north across the Luzon Strait lies Taiwan. West across the South China Sea sits Vietnam...
, and Puerto Rico
Puerto Rico
Puerto Rico , officially the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico , is an unincorporated territory of the United States, located in the northeastern Caribbean, east of the Dominican Republic and west of both the United States Virgin Islands and the British Virgin Islands.Puerto Rico comprises an...
in 1898. Hawaii's strategic location for warfare in the Philippines made it especially important to American interests.
In April 1917, Queen Liliuokalani flew the U.S. flag
Flag of the United States
The national flag of the United States of America consists of thirteen equal horizontal stripes of red alternating with white, with a blue rectangle in the canton bearing fifty small, white, five-pointed stars arranged in nine offset horizontal rows of six stars alternating with rows...
over her residence at Washington Place
Washington Place
Washington Place is a Greek Revival palace in the Hawaii Capital Historic District in Honolulu, Hawaii. It was where Queen Liliuokalani was arrested during the overthrow of the Hawaiian Kingdom. Later it became the official residence of the Governor of Hawaii. It is a National Historic Landmark,...
. She stated it was in honor of the Hawaiians who lost their lives as American soldiers in World War I
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...
, and was seen as her final acceptance of the overthrow of her monarchy and the annexation of Hawaii to the United States. Her newfound patriotism for the United States was inspired by the death of five Hawaiian sailors.
Newlands Resolution of 1898
On 7 July 1898, McKinley signed the Newlands ResolutionNewlands 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....
(named after Congressman Francis Newlands) which officially annexed Hawaii to the United States. A formal ceremony was held on the steps of [[ʻIolani Palace]] where the Hawaiian flag
Flag of Hawaii
The flag of the state of Hawaii is the official standard symbolizing Hawaii as a U.S. state. The same flag had also previously been used by the kingdom, protectorate, republic, and territory of Hawaii...
was lowered and the American flag raised. Dole was appointed Hawaii's first territorial governor.
The Newlands Resolution established a five-member commission to study which laws were needed in Hawaii. The commission included: Territorial Governor Sanford B. Dole (R-Hawaii Territory), Senators Shelby M. Cullom (R-IL) and John T. Morgan (D-AL), Representative Robert R. Hitt (R-IL) and former Hawaii Chief Justice and later Territorial Governor Walter F. Frear (R-Hawaii Territory). The commission's final report was submitted to Congress for a debate which lasted over a year. Congress raised objections that establishing an elected territorial government in Hawaii would lead to the admission of a state with a non-white majority.
Organic Act
Congress finally agreed to grant Hawaii a popularly elected government of its own and McKinley signed a law, An Act to Provide a Government for the Territory of Hawaii, also known as the Hawaiian Organic Act of 1900Hawaiian Organic Act
The Hawaiian Organic Act of April 30, 1900 was a United States federal law enacted to provide a government for the territory of Hawaii.-Background:...
.
The Organic Act established the Office of the Territorial Governor, an office appointed by the sitting American president and was usually from his own political party. The territorial governor served at the pleasure of the president and could be replaced at any time.
Territorial governors
- Sanford B. DoleSanford B. DoleSanford Ballard Dole was a lawyer and jurist in the Hawaiian Islands as a kingdom, protectorate, republic and territory...
, Republican, (1900–1903) - George R. CarterGeorge R. CarterGeorge Robert Carter was the second Territorial Governor of Hawaii, serving from 1903 to 1907.He was born December 28, 1866 in Honolulu. His mother was Sybil Augusta Judd , daughter of Gerrit P...
, Republican, (1903–1907) - Walter F. FrearWalter F. FrearWalter Francis Frear was a lawyer and judge in the Kingdom of Hawaii and Republic of Hawaii, and the third Territorial Governor of Hawaii from 1907 to 1913.-Life:...
, Republican, (1907–1913) - Lucius E. PinkhamLucius E. PinkhamLucius Eugene Pinkham was the fourth Territorial Governor of Hawaii, serving from 1913 to 1918. Pinkham was the first member of the Democratic Party of Hawaii to become governor.-Life:...
, Democrat, (1913–1918) - Charles J. McCarthyCharles J. McCarthyCharles James McCarthy was the fifth Territorial Governor of Hawai'i and served from 1918 to 1921.McCarthy was born August 4, 1861 in Boston, Massachusetts, to Charles McCarthy and Joana McCarthy. McCarthy moved with his parents to San Francisco, California in 1866...
, Democrat, (1918–1921) - Wallace R. Farrington, Republican, (1921–1929)
- Lawrence M. JuddLawrence M. JuddLawrence McCully Judd was a politician of the Territory of Hawaii, serving as the seventh Territorial Governor. He was devoted to the Hansen's Disease-afflicted residents of Kalaupapa on the island of Molokai.-Life:...
, Republican, (1929–1934) - Joseph B. Poindexter, Democrat, (1934–1942)
- Ingram M. Stainback, Democrat, (1942–1951)
- Oren E. LongOren E. LongOren Ethelbirt Long , was the tenth Territorial Governor of Hawai'i and served from 1951 to 1953. A member of the Hawai'i Democratic Party, Long was appointed to the office after the term of Ingram M. Stainback. After statehood was achieved he served in the United States Senate, one of the first...
, Democrat, (1951–1953) - Samuel Wilder KingSamuel Wilder KingSamuel Wilder King was the eleventh Territorial Governor of Hawaii and served from 1953 to 1957. He was appointed to the office after the term of Oren E. Long. Previously, King served in the United States House of Representatives as a delegate from the Territory of Hawaii...
, Republican, (1953–1957) - William F. QuinnWilliam F. QuinnWilliam Francis Quinn was the Governor of the Territory of Hawai'i from 1957 to 1959 and the Governor of the State of Hawai'i from 1959 to 1962. Originally appointed to the office by President Dwight D...
, Republican (1957–1959)
The Organic Act created a bicameral
Bicameralism
In the government, bicameralism is the practice of having two legislative or parliamentary chambers. Thus, a bicameral parliament or bicameral legislature is a legislature which consists of two chambers or houses....
territorial legislature, consisting of a House of Representatives
Hawaii House of Representatives
The Hawaii House of Representatives is the lower house of the Hawaii State Legislature. Accord to Article III, Section 3 of the Hawaii Constitution, amended during the 1978 constitutional convention, the House of Representatives consists of 51 members representing an equal amount of districts...
and Senate
Hawaii Senate
The Hawaii State Senate is the upper chamber of the Hawaii State Legislature. The senate consists of twenty-five members elected from an equal number of constituent districts across the islands. The senate is led by the President of the Senate, elected from the membership of the body, currently...
, with its members elected by popular vote, and a Supreme Court led by a chief justice.
Congressional delegates
Representation in the U.S. House of Representatives was limited to a single, non-voting delegateDelegate (United States Congress)
A delegate to Congress is a non-voting member of the United States House of Representatives who is elected from a U.S. territory and from Washington, D.C. to a two-year term. While unable to vote in the full House, a non-voting delegate may vote in a House committee of which the delegate is a member...
:
- Robert William WilcoxRobert William WilcoxRobert 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...
(1900–1903) - Jonah Kūhiō Kalanianaole (1903–1922)
- Henry Alexander BaldwinHenry Alexander BaldwinHenry Alexander Baldwin or Harry Alexander Baldwin was a sugarcane plantation manager, and politician who served as Congressional Delegate to the United States House of Representatives representing the Territory of Hawaii...
(1922) - William Paul JarrettWilliam Paul JarrettWilliam Paul Jarrett was an American legal officer and politician.Jarrett was born August 22, 1877 and grew up in Honolulu, Hawaii, on the island of Oahu, and attended Saint Louis School. His father was William H. Jarrett and mother was Emma Stevens. He married Mary H.K. Clark.He was one of the...
(1923–1927) - Victor Stewart Kaleoaloha HoustonVictor Stewart Kaleoaloha HoustonVictor Stewart Kaleoaloha Houston, popularly known as Victor S. K. Houston , was an American politician and naval officer who served in the United States Congress representing the Territory of Hawaii....
(1927–1933)
- Lincoln Loy McCandlessLincoln Loy McCandlessLincoln “Link” Loy McCandless was an American cattle rancher, industrialist and politician from Hawaii. McCandless served in the United States Congress as a territorial delegate...
(1933–1935) - Samuel Wilder KingSamuel Wilder KingSamuel Wilder King was the eleventh Territorial Governor of Hawaii and served from 1953 to 1957. He was appointed to the office after the term of Oren E. Long. Previously, King served in the United States House of Representatives as a delegate from the Territory of Hawaii...
(1935–1943) - Joseph Rider FarringtonJoseph Rider FarringtonJoseph Rider Farrington was an American newspaper editor and statesman who served in the United States Congress as delegate for the Territory of Hawai'i.-Education and military career:...
(1943–1954) - Mary Elizabeth Pruett Farrington (1954–1957)
- John Anthony Burns (1957–1959)
Tourism begins
Matson Navigation Company
The Matson Navigation Company, a subsidiary of Alexander & Baldwin, is a private shipping company with roots extending into the late 19th century...
, founded by William Matson, began sailing vessels between San Francisco and Hawaii carrying goods. His transports encouraged him to purchase passenger steamships that would carry tourists hoping to vacation in Hawaii from the mainland United States.
Matson's fleet included the SS Wilhelmina
USS Wilhelmina (ID-2168)
USS Wilhelmina was a transport for the United States Navy during World War I. Built in 1909 for Matson Navigation Company as SS Wilhelmina, she sailed from the West Coast of the United States to Hawaii until 1917. After her war service, she was returned to Matson and resumed Pacific Ocean service...
, rivaling the best passenger ship
Passenger ship
A passenger ship is a ship whose primary function is to carry passengers. The category does not include cargo vessels which have accommodations for limited numbers of passengers, such as the ubiquitous twelve-passenger freighters once common on the seas in which the transport of passengers is...
s serving traditional Atlantic
Atlantic Ocean
The Atlantic Ocean is the second-largest of the world's oceanic divisions. With a total area of about , it covers approximately 20% of the Earth's surface and about 26% of its water surface area...
routes. With the boom in interest of Hawaiian vacations by America's wealthiest families in the late 1920s, Matson added the SS Mariposa
SS Mariposa
SS Mariposa was a luxury ocean liner launched in 1931; one of four ships in the Matson Lines "White Fleet" which included , and . It was later renamed the SS Homeric.-Career with Matson Lines:...
, SS Monterey
SS Monterey
SS Monterey was a luxury ocean liner launched on 10 October 1931; one of four ships in the Matson Lines "White Fleet" which included , and . Monterey, the third of four Matson ships designed by William Francis Gibbs was identical to Mariposa and very similar to her sister ship Lurline...
and SS Lurline
SS Lurline (1932)
SS Lurline was the third Matson Lines vessel to hold that name and the last of four fast and luxurious ocean liners that Matson built for the Hawaii and Australasia runs from the West Coast of the United States. Lurlines sister ships were , and...
(one of many Lurlines) to the fleet.
Matson Navigation Company opened two resort
Resort
A resort is a place used for relaxation or recreation, attracting visitors for holidays or vacations. Resorts are places, towns or sometimes commercial establishment operated by a single company....
hotels in Honolulu near royal grounds. The first (and for a time the only) hotel on Waikīkī was the Moana Hotel
Moana Hotel
The Moana Hotel, also known as the First Lady of Waikīkī, is a famous historic hotel on the island of Oahu, located at 2365 Kalākaua Avenue in Honolulu, Hawaii. Built in the late 19th century as the first hotel in Waikiki, the Moana opened its doors to guests in 1901, becoming the first large hotel...
which opened in 1901. As the first hotel in Waikīkī, the Moana Hotel was nicknamed the "First Lady of Waikīkī." The hotel gained international attention in 1920 when Edward, Prince of Wales
Prince of Wales
Prince of Wales is a title traditionally granted to the heir apparent to the reigning monarch of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and the 15 other independent Commonwealth realms...
and future King Edward VIII of the United Kingdom
Edward VIII of the United Kingdom
Edward VIII was King of the United Kingdom and the Dominions of the British Commonwealth, and Emperor of India, from 20 January to 11 December 1936.Before his accession to the throne, Edward was Prince of Wales and Duke of Cornwall and Rothesay...
, stayed as a guest.
In 1927, the Royal Hawaiian Hotel
Royal Hawaiian Hotel
Royal Hawaiian Hotel, also known as the Pink Palace of the Pacific, is a hotel located at 2259 Kalākaua Avenue in Honolulu, Hawaii, on the island of Oahu. One of the first hotels established in Waikiki, the Royal Hawaiian Hotel is considered one of the flagship hotels in Hawaii tourism...
, informally called the "Pink Palace of the Pacific," opened for business. It was the preferred Hawaii residence of U.S. President Franklin D. Roosevelt
Franklin D. Roosevelt
Franklin Delano Roosevelt , also known by his initials, FDR, was the 32nd President of the United States and a central figure in world events during the mid-20th century, leading the United States during a time of worldwide economic crisis and world war...
during World War II.
Military bases
With annexation, the United States saw Hawaii as its most strategic military asset. McKinley and his successor U.S. President Theodore RooseveltTheodore Roosevelt
Theodore "Teddy" Roosevelt was the 26th President of the United States . He is noted for his exuberant personality, range of interests and achievements, and his leadership of the Progressive Movement, as well as his "cowboy" persona and robust masculinity...
expanded the military presence in Hawaii and established several key bases, some still in use today. By 1906, the entire island of Oahu was being fortified at the coastlines with the construction of a "Ring of Steel," a series of gun
Coastal artillery
Coastal artillery is the branch of armed forces concerned with operating anti-ship artillery or fixed gun batteries in coastal fortifications....
batteries
Artillery battery
In military organizations, an artillery battery is a unit of guns, mortars, rockets or missiles so grouped in order to facilitate better battlefield communication and command and control, as well as to provide dispersion for its constituent gunnery crews and their systems...
mounted on steel coastal walls. One of the few surviving batteries completed in 1911, Battery Randolph, is today the site of the Hawaii Army Museum.
List of Territorial Installations:
- Camp McKinley (est. 1898)
- Fort KamehamehaFort KamehamehaFort Kamehameha was a United States Army military base that was the site of several coastal artillery batteries to defend Pearl Harbor starting in 1907 in Honolulu, Hawaii.-History:The eastern areas of the fort were in the district called Moanalua...
(est. 1907) - Pearl Harbor Naval StationPearl HarborPearl Harbor, known to Hawaiians as Puuloa, is a lagoon harbor on the island of Oahu, Hawaii, west of Honolulu. Much of the harbor and surrounding lands is a United States Navy deep-water naval base. It is also the headquarters of the U.S. Pacific Fleet...
(est. 1908) - Fort ShafterFort ShafterFort Shafter is in Honolulu CDP, City and County of Honolulu, Hawai‘i, extending up the interfluve between Kalihi and Moanalua valleys, as well as onto the coastal plain at Māpunapuna. Fort Shafter is the headquarters of the United States Army Pacific Command, the MACOM of U.S. Army forces in...
(est. 1907) - Fort RugerFort RugerFort Ruger is a fort on the island of Oahu that served as the first military reservation in the Territory of Hawaii. Named after Civil War General Thomas H...
(est. 1909) - Schofield Barracks (est. 1909)
- Battery Closson (est. 1911)
- Battery Dudley (est. 1911)
- Battery Randolph (est. 1911)
- Fort DeRussyFort DeRussy (Hawaii)Fort DeRussy is a United States military reservation in the Waikiki area of Honolulu, Hawaii, under the jurisdiction of the United States Army. Unfenced and largely open to public traffic, the installation consists mainly of landscaped greenspace. The former Battery Randolph now houses the U.S...
(est. 1915) - Wheeler Army AirfieldWheeler Army AirfieldWheeler Army Airfield , also known as Wheeler Field and formerly as Wheeler Air Force Base, is a United States Army post located in the City & County of Honolulu and in the Wahiawa District of the Island of O'ahu, Hawaii...
(est. 1922)
Industrial boom and the "Big Five"
As a territory of the United States, sugarcane plantationsSugar plantations in Hawaii
Sugarcane was introduced to Hawaii by its first inhabitants in approximately 600 AD and was observed by Captain Cook upon arrival in the islands in 1778. Sugar quickly turned into a big business and generated rapid population growth in the islands with 337,000 people immigrating over the span of a...
gained a new infusion of investment. By getting rid of tariff
Tariff
A tariff may be either tax on imports or exports , or a list or schedule of prices for such things as rail service, bus routes, and electrical usage ....
s imposed on sugarcane
Sugarcane
Sugarcane refers to any of six to 37 species of tall perennial grasses of the genus Saccharum . Native to the warm temperate to tropical regions of South Asia, they have stout, jointed, fibrous stalks that are rich in sugar, and measure two to six metres tall...
sent to the United States, planters had more money to spend on equipment, land and labor. Increased capital resulted in increased production. Five kingdom-era corporations benefited from annexation, becoming multi-million dollar conglomerations
Conglomerate (company)
A conglomerate is a combination of two or more corporations engaged in entirely different businesses that fall under one corporate structure , usually involving a parent company and several subsidiaries. Often, a conglomerate is a multi-industry company...
: Castle & Cooke
Castle & Cooke
Castle & Cooke, Inc. is a Los Angeles-based company that was once part of the Big Five companies in territorial Hawaii. The company at one time did most of its business in agriculture...
, Alexander & Baldwin
Alexander & Baldwin
Following World War II, the company entered a new business: land development and real estate. The company formed a new subsidiary, the Kahului Development Co., to develop housing in the Kahului area. In the following years, the company became more involved in the development of its land and the...
, C. Brewer & Co.
C. Brewer & Co.
C. Brewer & Co., Ltd. was a Honolulu-based company that was once part of the Big Five companies in territorial Hawaii. The company did most of its business in agriculture....
, American Factors (later Amfac
Amfac (Hawaii)
Amfac, Inc. formerly known as American Factors and originally H. Hackfeld and Company was a land development company in Hawaii. Founded in 1849 as a retail and sugar business, it was considered one of the so-called Big Five companies in the Territory of Hawaii...
), Theo H. Davies & Co.
Theo H. Davies & Co.
Theo H. Davies & Co. is a company that was one of the Big Five trading and agricultural companies in the Territory of Hawaii.-History:Starkey, Janion, & Co. was a trading company founded in Liverpool in April 1845 by Englishmen James and John Starkey and Robert Cheshire Janion. Janion arrived in...
Together, the five companies dominated the Hawaiian economy as the "Big Five
Big Five (Hawaii)
The Big Five was the name given to a group of what started as sugarcane processing corporations that wielded considerable political power in the Territory of Hawaii during the early 20th century and leaned heavily towards the Hawaii Republican Party. The Big Five were Castle & Cooke, Alexander &...
."
The Big Five corporations together became a single dominating force in Hawaii. The companies did not compete with each other but rather cooperated to keep the prices on their goods and services—and their profits—high. Soon, the executives of the Big Five sat on each others' boards of directors. With economic power came political power over Hawaii. They often threatened the labor force to vote in their favor. Plantation managers hung pencils over voting booths. The way the pencil swayed indicated how the laborer voted. Retaliation for voting "the wrong way" was common.
The territory became an oligarchy
Oligarchy
Oligarchy is a form of power structure in which power effectively rests with an elite class distinguished by royalty, wealth, family ties, commercial, and/or military legitimacy...
governed by the Big Five. They backed only whites and Republicans
Republican Party (United States)
The Republican Party is one of the two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Democratic Party. Founded by anti-slavery expansion activists in 1854, it is often called the GOP . The party's platform generally reflects American conservatism in the U.S...
to run the government. During the rule of the Big Five, it was almost impossible to win an election in Hawaii as a Democrat
Democratic Party (United States)
The Democratic Party is one of two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Republican Party. The party's socially liberal and progressive platform is largely considered center-left in the U.S. political spectrum. The party has the lengthiest record of continuous...
.
Pineapple
James DoleJames Dole
James Drummond Dole , also known as the "Pineapple King'", was an American industrialist who developed the pineapple industry in Hawaii and established the Hawaiian Pineapple Company. Hawaiian Pineapple Company, or HAPCO, was later reorganized to become the Dole Food Company, which now does...
, also known as the Pineapple King, arrived in Hawaii in 1899. He purchased land in Wahiawā and established the first pineapple
Pineapple
Pineapple is the common name for a tropical plant and its edible fruit, which is actually a multiple fruit consisting of coalesced berries. It was given the name pineapple due to its resemblance to a pine cone. The pineapple is by far the most economically important plant in the Bromeliaceae...
plantation
Plantation
A plantation is a long artificially established forest, farm or estate, where crops are grown for sale, often in distant markets rather than for local on-site consumption...
in Hawaii. Believing that pineapples could become a popular food substance outside of Hawaii, Dole built a cannery
Canning
Canning is a method of preserving food in which the food contents are processed and sealed in an airtight container. Canning provides a typical shelf life ranging from one to five years, although under specific circumstances a freeze-dried canned product, such as canned, dried lentils, can last as...
near his first plantation in 1901. HawaiianPineapple Company, later renamed Dole Food Company
Dole Food Company
Dole Food Company, Inc. is an American-based agricultural multinational corporation headquartered in Westlake Village, California. The company is the largest producer of fruits and vegetables in the world, operating with 74,300 full-time and seasonal employees who are responsible for over 300...
, was born.
With his business climbing in profits, Dole expanded and built a larger cannery in Iwilei near Honolulu Harbor
Honolulu Harbor
Honolulu Harbor, also called Kulolia and Ke Awa O Kou, is the principal seaport of Honolulu and the State of Hawaii in the United States. It is from Honolulu Harbor, located on Mamala Bay, that the City & County of Honolulu was developed and urbanized, in an outward fashion, over the course of the...
in 1907. The Iwilei location made his main operations more accessible to labor. The cannery at Iwilei was in operation until 1991. Actress and performer Bette Midler
Bette Midler
Bette Midler is an American singer, actress, and comedian, also known by her informal stage name, The Divine Miss M. She became famous as a cabaret and concert headliner, and went on to star in successful and acclaimed films such as The Rose, Ruthless People, Beaches, and For The Boys...
was one of its most famous employees.
Dole found himself in the midst of an economic boom industry. In response to growing pineapple demand in 1922, Dole purchased the entire island of Lanai
Lanai
Lānai or Lanai is the sixth-largest of the Hawaiian Islands. It is also known as the Pineapple Island because of its past as an island-wide pineapple plantation. The only town is Lānai City, a small settlement....
and transformed the desert landscape
Hawaiian tropical low shrublands
The Hawaiian tropical low shrublands are a tropical savanna ecoregion in the Hawaiian Islands. These shrublands cover an area of in the leeward lowlands of the main islands and most of the smaller islands, including the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands. The ecoregion includes both grasslands and...
into the largest pineapple plantation in the world. For a long stretch of time, Lanai would produce 75% of the world's pineapple and become immortalized as the "Pineapple Island."
By the 1930s, Hawaii became the pineapple capital of the world and pineapple production became its second largest industry. After World War II, there were a total of eight pineapple companies in Hawaii.
Race relations
One of the most prominent challenges territorial Hawaii had to face was race relations. By the time Hawaii became a territory, much of Hawaii's population was made up of plantation workers from ChinaChinese American
Chinese Americans represent Americans of Chinese descent. Chinese Americans constitute one group of overseas Chinese and also a subgroup of East Asian Americans, which is further a subgroup of Asian Americans...
, Japan
Japanese American
are American people of Japanese heritage. Japanese Americans have historically been among the three largest Asian American communities, but in recent decades have become the sixth largest group at roughly 1,204,205, including those of mixed-race or mixed-ethnicity...
, the Philippines
Filipino American
Filipino Americans are Americans of Filipino ancestry. Filipino Americans, often shortened to "Fil-Ams", or "Pinoy",Filipinos in what is now the United States were first documented in the 16th century, with small settlements beginning in the 18th century...
and Portugal
Portuguese American
Portuguese Americans are citizens of the United States whose ancestry originates in the southwest European nation of Portugal, including the offshore island groups of the Azores and Madeira....
. There was a substantially large native Hawaiian
Native Hawaiians
Native Hawaiians refers to the indigenous Polynesian people of the Hawaiian Islands or their descendants. Native Hawaiians trace their ancestry back to the original Polynesian settlers of Hawaii.According to the U.S...
population that also shared in the work. Their plantation experiences molded Hawaii to become a plantation culture. The Hawaiian Pidgin
Hawaiian Pidgin
Hawaii Pidgin English, Hawaii Creole English, HCE, or simply Pidgin, is a creole language based in part on English used by many "local" residents of Hawaii. Although English and Hawaiian are the co-official languages of the state of Hawaii, Pidgin is used by many Hawaii residents in everyday...
language was developed on the plantations so they all could understand each other. They shared each others' food and traditions. Buddhism
Buddhism
Buddhism is a religion and philosophy encompassing a variety of traditions, beliefs and practices, largely based on teachings attributed to Siddhartha Gautama, commonly known as the Buddha . The Buddha lived and taught in the northeastern Indian subcontinent some time between the 6th and 4th...
and Shintoism grew to become some of Hawaii's largest religions. Catholicism
Cathedral of Our Lady of Peace
The Cathedral of Our Lady of Peace — also known by its original French name Cathédrale de Notre Dame de la Paix, its Portuguese variant Catedral de Nossa Senhora da Paz and its Hawaiian derivative Malia o ka Malu Hale Pule Nui — is the Mother Church of the Diocese of Honolulu and houses...
became Hawaii's largest Christian denomination. Hawaii was diverse and the many ethnicities lived more or less harmoniously.
Massie Trial
Race relations in Hawaii took to the national spotlight on September 12, 1931 when Thalia Massie, a United States NavyUnited States Navy
The United States Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the seven uniformed services of the United States. The U.S. Navy is the largest in the world; its battle fleet tonnage is greater than that of the next 13 largest navies combined. The U.S...
officer's wife, got drunk and alleged that she was beaten and raped. That same night, the Honolulu Police Department
Honolulu Police Department
The Honolulu Police Department is the principal law enforcement agency of the City and County of Honolulu, Hawai'i, headquartered in the Alapa'i Police Headquarters in Honolulu CDP....
stopped a car and detained five men, all plantation boys. Officers took the men to Massie's hospital bedroom where she identified them. Many analysts today say she was mistaken, pinning the crime on them because of their ethnicity. Although evidence couldn't prove that the men were directly involved, national newspapers were quick to run stories about the brute locals on the prowl for white women in Hawaii. The jury in the initial trial could not reach a verdict. One of the accused was afterwards severely beaten, while another, Joseph Kahahawai, was forced into a car and shot dead.
Police caught the Kahahawai killers: Massie's husband Thomas, mother Grace Fortescue, and two sailors. Famed criminal lawyer Clarence Darrow
Clarence Darrow
Clarence Seward Darrow was an American lawyer and leading member of the American Civil Liberties Union, best known for defending teenage thrill killers Leopold and Loeb in their trial for murdering 14-year-old Robert "Bobby" Franks and defending John T...
defended them. A jury of locals found them guilty and sentenced to hard labor for ten years. Outraged by the court's punishment, the territory's white leaders as well as 103 members of Congress signed a letter threatening to impose martial law over the territory. This pressured Governor Lawrence M. Judd
Lawrence M. Judd
Lawrence McCully Judd was a politician of the Territory of Hawaii, serving as the seventh Territorial Governor. He was devoted to the Hansen's Disease-afflicted residents of Kalaupapa on the island of Molokai.-Life:...
to commute the sentences to an hour each in his executive chambers. Hawaii residents were shocked and all of America reconsidered what they thought of Hawaii's racial diversity.
Statehood blocked
In 1935 and 1937, Congress began deliberation over whether or not Hawaii should be granted statehood. SouthernSouthern United States
The Southern United States—commonly referred to as the American South, Dixie, or simply the South—constitutes a large distinctive area in the southeastern and south-central United States...
white supremacist
White supremacy
White supremacy is the belief, and promotion of the belief, that white people are superior to people of other racial backgrounds. The term is sometimes used specifically to describe a political ideology that advocates the social and political dominance by whites.White supremacy, as with racial...
politicians were outraged at the notion that Congress would allow for a non-white majority territory to be afforded the rights given to Americans on the mainland. Statehood was postponed for more than 20 years over the question of race.
Martial law
From 1941 to 1944, following the Attack on Pearl HarborAttack on Pearl Harbor
The attack on Pearl Harbor was a surprise military strike conducted by the Imperial Japanese Navy against the United States naval base at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, on the morning of December 7, 1941...
and America's entry into World War II, Territorial Governors Joseph B. Pointdexter and Ingram M. Stainback stripped themselves of their administrative powers by declaring martial law
Martial law
Martial law is the imposition of military rule by military authorities over designated regions on an emergency basis— only temporary—when the civilian government or civilian authorities fail to function effectively , when there are extensive riots and protests, or when the disobedience of the law...
. With the territorial constitution suspended, the legislature and supreme court were also dissolved indefinitely. Military law was enforced on all residents of Hawaii. The formation of the military government was mostly done by Maj. Gen. Thomas H. Green of the U.S Army Judge Advocate General's Corps, who became Military Attorney General. General Walter Short
Walter Short
Walter Campbell Short was a Major General in the United States Army and the U.S. military Commander responsible for the defense of U.S. military installations in Hawaii at the time of the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941.-Early life:He was born in 1880 in Fillmore, Illinois...
appointed himself military governor December 7, 1941. He assumed control of Hawaii and governed from [[ʻIolani Palace]], which was quickly barricaded and fitted with trenches. He was relieved December 17 and charged with dereliction of duty
Dereliction of duty
Dereliction of duty is a specific offense under United States Code Title 10,892. Article 92 and applies to all branches of the US military. A service member who is derelict has willfully refused to perform his duties or has incapacitated himself in such a way that he cannot perform his duties...
, accused of making poor preparations in case of attack before the Attack on Pearl Harbor
Attack on Pearl Harbor
The attack on Pearl Harbor was a surprise military strike conducted by the Imperial Japanese Navy against the United States naval base at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, on the morning of December 7, 1941...
.
Under martial law, every facet of Hawaiian life was under the control of the military governor. His government fingerprinted all residents over the age of six, imposed blackouts and curfew
Curfew
A curfew is an order specifying a time after which certain regulations apply. Examples:# An order by a government for certain persons to return home daily before a certain time...
s, rationed food and gasoline, censored
Censorship
thumb|[[Book burning]] following the [[1973 Chilean coup d'état|1973 coup]] that installed the [[Military government of Chile |Pinochet regime]] in Chile...
the news and media, censored all mail, prohibited alcohol
Prohibition
Prohibition of alcohol, often referred to simply as prohibition, is the practice of prohibiting the manufacture, transportation, import, export, sale, and consumption of alcohol and alcoholic beverages. The term can also apply to the periods in the histories of the countries during which the...
, assigned business hours, and administered traffic and special garbage collection. The military governor's laws were called General Orders. Violations meant punishment without appeal by military tribunal
Military tribunal
A military tribunal is a kind of military court designed to try members of enemy forces during wartime, operating outside the scope of conventional criminal and civil proceedings. The judges are military officers and fulfill the role of jurors...
s.
List of Military Governors:
- Walter C. Short (1941)
- Delos C. EmmonsDelos Carleton Emmons-Biography:He was born on January 17, 1889 in Huntington, West Virginia. He graduated from the United States Military Academy in June 1909 and was commissioned an infantry second lieutenant. Emmons was assigned as commanding officer of Company B, 30th Infantry Regiment at the Presidio of San...
(1941–1943) - Robert C. Richardson, Jr.Robert C. Richardson, Jr.Robert Charlwood Richardson, Jr., born in Charleston, South Carolina on October 27, 1882, and was admitted as a cadet at the United States Military Academy, from that state, on 19 June 1900. His military career spanned the first half of the 20th Century. He was a veteran of the 1904 Philippine...
(1943–1944)
Democratic Revolution of 1954
The Democratic Revolution of 1954 was a nonviolent revolutionNonviolent revolution
A nonviolent revolution is a revolution using mostly campaigns of civil resistance, including various forms of nonviolent protest, to bring about the departure of governments seen as entrenched and authoritarian...
consisting of general strikes, protest
Protest
A protest is an expression of objection, by words or by actions, to particular events, policies or situations. Protests can take many different forms, from individual statements to mass demonstrations...
s, and other acts of civil disobedience
Civil disobedience
Civil disobedience is the active, professed refusal to obey certain laws, demands, and commands of a government, or of an occupying international power. Civil disobedience is commonly, though not always, defined as being nonviolent resistance. It is one form of civil resistance...
. The Revolution culminated in the territorial elections of 1954 where the reign of the Hawaii Republican Party
Hawaii Republican Party
The Hawaii Republican Party is the state affiliate of the Republican Party of the United States. Based in Honolulu, the party is a central organization established for the promotion of the party platform as it is drafted in convention every other year...
in the legislature came to an abrupt end, as they were voted out of office to be replaced by members of the Democratic Party of Hawaii
Democratic Party of Hawaii
The Democratic Party of Hawaii is an arm of the Democratic Party of the United States based in Honolulu, Hawaii. The party is a centralized organization established to promote the party platform as drafted in convention biennially...
.
Hawaii 7
During the years leading up to the ousting the Republican Party Cold WarCold War
The Cold War was the continuing state from roughly 1946 to 1991 of political conflict, military tension, proxy wars, and economic competition between the Communist World—primarily the Soviet Union and its satellite states and allies—and the powers of the Western world, primarily the United States...
fears brewed and the U.S. was in the middle of the Second Red Scare. The FBI employed the Smith Act
Smith Act
The Alien Registration Act or Smith Act of 1940 is a United States federal statute that set criminal penalties for advocating the overthrow of the U.S...
toward the ILWU and Communist Party of Hawaii
Communist Party of Hawaii
The Communist Party of Hawaii was the regional party of the Communist Party USA in the United States Territory of Hawaii.-Appeal:The party targeted poor working class such as the stevedores and plantation workers in the Territory.-Unions:...
, arresting those who would become known as the Hawaii 7 on August 28, 1951 in synchronized raids at 6:30 that morning. They were convicted in a two-year long trial. The Hawaii 7 were eventually released in 1958.
- Jack Hall
- John Reinecke
- Koji AriyoshiKoji Ariyoshi' was a Nisei, Labor activist, and a Sergeant in the United States Army during the Second World War.-Early life:Ariyoshi was born in Hawaii in 1914 to Japanese immigrant parents. Ariyoshi grew up helping his family make a living on a small eight-acre coffee plantation. He attended Konawaena High...
- Jack Kimoto
- Jim Freeman
- Charles Fujimoto
- Eileen Fujimoto
Statehood
After failing in 1935 and 1937 to convince Congress Hawaii was ready for statehood, Hawaii resurrected the campaign in 1940 by placing the statehood question on the ballot. Two-thirds of the electorate in the territory voted in favor of joining the Union. After World War II, the call for statehood was repeated with even larger support, even from some mainland states. The reasons for the support of statehood were clear:- Hawaii wanted the ability to elect its own governor
- Hawaii wanted the ability to elect the president
- Hawaii wanted an end to taxation without voting representation in Congress
- Hawaii suffered the first blow of the war
- Hawaii's non-white ethnic populations, especially the Japanese, proved their loyalty by having served on the European frontlines
- Hawaii consisted of 90% United States citizens, most born within the U.S.
Honolulu Police Department
The Honolulu Police Department is the principal law enforcement agency of the City and County of Honolulu, Hawai'i, headquartered in the Alapa'i Police Headquarters in Honolulu CDP....
, John A. Burns
John A. Burns
John Anthony Burns served as the second Governor of Hawaii from 1962 to 1974. Born in Fort Assinniboine, Montana, Burns was a resident of Hawaii from 1913....
was elected Hawaii's delegate to Congress in 1956. A Democrat
Democratic Party of Hawaii
The Democratic Party of Hawaii is an arm of the Democratic Party of the United States based in Honolulu, Hawaii. The party is a centralized organization established to promote the party platform as drafted in convention biennially...
, Burns won without the white vote but rather with the overwhelming support of Japanese and Filipinos in Hawaii. His election proved pivotal to the statehood movement. Upon arriving in Washington, D.C., Burns began making key political maneuvers by winning over allies among Congressional leaders and state governors. Burns' most important accomplishment was convincing Senate Majority Leader
Party leaders of the United States Senate
The Senate Majority and Minority Leaders are two United States Senators who are elected by the party conferences that hold the majority and the minority respectively. These leaders serve as the chief Senate spokespeople for their parties and manage and schedule the legislative and executive...
Lyndon B. Johnson
Lyndon B. Johnson
Lyndon Baines Johnson , often referred to as LBJ, was the 36th President of the United States after his service as the 37th Vice President of the United States...
(D-TX) that Hawaii was ready to become a state.
In March 1959, both houses of Congress passed the Hawaii Admission Act
Hawaii Admission Act
The Admission Act, formally An Act to Provide for the Admission of the State of Hawaii into the Union is a statute enacted by the United States Congress and signed into law by President Dwight D. Eisenhower which dissolved the Territory of Hawaii and established the State of Hawaii as the 50th...
and U.S. President Dwight D. Eisenhower
Dwight D. Eisenhower
Dwight David "Ike" Eisenhower was the 34th President of the United States, from 1953 until 1961. He was a five-star general in the United States Army...
signed it into law. (The act excluded Palmyra Atoll
Palmyra Atoll
Palmyra Atoll is an essentially unoccupied equatorial Northern Pacific atoll administered as an unorganized incorporated territory by the United States federal government...
, part of the Kingdom and Territory of Hawaii, from the new state.) On June 27 of that year, a plebiscite was held asking Hawaiians to vote on accepting the statehood bill. Hawaii voted 17 to 1 to accept. On August 21, church bells throughout Honolulu were rung upon the proclamation that Hawaii was finally a US state.
See also
- Historic regions of the United StatesHistoric regions of the United StatesThis is a list of historic regions of the United States.-Colonial era :-The Thirteen Colonies:* Connecticut Colony* Delaware Colony* Province of Georgia* Province of Maryland...
- History of HawaiiHistory of HawaiiThe human history of Hawaii includes phases of early Polynesian settlement, British arrival, unification, Euro-American and Asian immigrators, the overthrow of the Hawaiian monarchy, a brief period as the Republic of Hawaii, and admission to the United States as Hawaii Territory and then as the...
- Territorial evolution of the United StatesTerritorial evolution of the United StatesThis is a list of the evolution of the borders of the United States. This lists each change to the internal and external borders of the country, as well as status and name changes. It also shows the surrounding areas that eventually became part of the United States...
- Sovereign states that governed the Hawaiian IslandsHawaiian IslandsThe Hawaiian Islands are an archipelago of eight major islands, several atolls, numerous smaller islets, and undersea seamounts in the North Pacific Ocean, extending some 1,500 miles from the island of Hawaii in the south to northernmost Kure Atoll...
:- Kingdom of HawaiiKingdom of HawaiiThe 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...
, 1795–1893 - Republic of HawaiiRepublic of HawaiiThe 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...
, 1894–1898
- Kingdom of Hawaii
- U.S. stateU.S. stateA U.S. state is any one of the 50 federated states of the United States of America that share sovereignty with the federal government. Because of this shared sovereignty, an American is a citizen both of the federal entity and of his or her state of domicile. Four states use the official title of...
created from the Territory of Hawaii:- State of HawaiiHawaiiHawaii is the newest of the 50 U.S. states , and is the only U.S. state made up entirely of islands. It is the northernmost island group in Polynesia, occupying most of an archipelago in the central Pacific Ocean, southwest of the continental United States, southeast of Japan, and northeast of...
, 1959
- State of Hawaii
- Sovereign states that governed the Hawaiian Islands
Further reading
- Thomas H. Green, The Papers of Major General Thomas H. Green, Judge Advocate General’s Corps, U.S. Army, University Publications of America, 2001
External links
- Hawaii Army Museum Society
- Morgan Report
- Congressional Debates On Hawaiian Organic Act ... Matters Concerning the Hawaiian Islands in the 56th Congress,
First Session, December 4, 1899-June 7, 1900. Photostatic Reproductions from the
Congressional Record, Vol. 33, Parts 1-8.