Blog

by Larry Geller

On July 4, 1894, the Republic of Hawaii was declared, with Sanford B. Dole as president. The illegal
overthrow of the independent nation of Hawaii was complete.

Yes, although your daily paper may want you to forget this, it is news that
should not be ignored. There’s even a federal law confirming the truth
of the history they refuse to print.

From the Apology Resolution, United States Public Law 103-150:

Whereas, in a message to Congress on December 18, 1893, President Grover
Cleveland reported fully and accurately on the illegal acts of the
conspirators, described such acts as an "act of war, committed with the
participation of a diplomatic representative of the United States and
without authority of Congress", and acknowledged that by such acts the
government of a peaceful and friendly people was overthrown... President
Cleveland further concluded that a "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" and called
for the restoration of the Hawaiian monarchy.

Whereas, the indigenous Hawaiian people never directly relinquished their claims to
their inherent sovereignty as a people or over their national lands to
the United States, either through their monarchy or through a plebiscite
or referendum.

A treaty of annexation was never passed by Congress, and President Grover Cleveland withdrew the treaty.
Then on this day in history…

On July 4, 1894, the archipelago's new leaders responded to this rebuff by proclaiming a
Republic of Hawaii, with Sanford Dole as president. Under its
constitution, most legislators would be appointed rather than elected,
and only men with savings and property would be eligible for public
office. This all but excluded native Hawaiians from the government of
their land… [From Overthrow, a book by Stephen Kinzer]

What was the motivation? Need you ask? Why is the US in Iraq?From the Washington Post review of Overthrow:

As Stephen Kinzer tells the story in Overthrow, America's century of
regime changing began not in Iraq but Hawaii. Hawaii? Indeed. Kinzer
explains that Hawaii's white haole minority -- in cahoots with the U.S.
Navy, the White House and Washington's local representative -- conspired
to remove Queen Liliuokalani from her throne in 1893 as a step toward
annexing the islands. The haole plantation owners believed that by
removing the queen (who planned to expand the rights of Hawaii's native
majority) and making Hawaii part of the United States, they could get in
on a lucrative but protected mainland sugar market. Ever wonder why
free trade has such a bad name?

The road leading up to the declaration of the Republic of Hawaii was rocky, and can’t be
summed up in a short blog article. Did you know, for example, that a US
Senate investigation revealed that a bribe had been offered to Queen
Liliuokalani to turn against her people and support the Republic? This
snip is from a New York Times article on the Senate investigation, dated
1/29/1894:

Also, the declaration of the Republic was not a single, static event. There was considerable debate
in Congress on resolutions condemning the overthrown and proposed
annexation. For example, this snip from the 1/25/1894 New York Times
will give you an idea of the complexity that we lose in simplifying
Hawaii’s history:

Each article is much longer than the snips above. It would be worthwhile to skim the New York
Times for a complete account of the Congressional debate. No doubt this
has already been done. If not, the articles are available on-line for
the harvesting..Catch them before the Times imposes its paywall at the
end of the year.

If you’re not familiar with Hawaiian history, beware of websites that have chosen to re-write it. The true picture of
the overthrow is not pretty, nor can the acts of the US government be
justified or whitewashed. Google cautiously.

Let your children know that there is more to July 4 than barbeques and fireworks. It is a
holiday that tears people apart here in Hawaii. See how you can work
this history into your celebrations and festivities, so that it will
never disappear.