Hawaii Territory

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Flag of the Territory of Hawaii
Hawaii Territory

The Territory of Hawaii was a historic territory of the United States that existed from July 7, 1898 through August 21, 1959. After that time, the territory became the 50th state with the name Hawaii in the union.

The US Congress passed the Newlands Resolution , as a result of which the former Kingdom and the later Republic of Hawaii were annexed to the United States. Hawaii's territorial history included a period between 1941 and 1944 when the islands were under martial law . The civil government was dissolved and a military governor was appointed.

Provisional government

When Queen Liliʻuokalani was overthrown in 1893, the Committee of Safety, under the leadership of Lorrin A. Thurston, set up the Provisional Government of Hawaii to administer the islands in transition during the expected annexation by the United States. Furthermore, Thurston was active in the US Congress during the monarchy, with Princess Victoria Kaʻiulani representing them in Washington, DC , arguing that the overthrow of her aunt's government was illegal.

The first annexation process began when US President Benjamin Harrison resigned and Grover Cleveland took office. Cleveland was an anti-imperialist and spoke out strongly against annexation. In this context, he ended the discussion of the annexation treaty, began an investigation and recommended the reinstatement of Liliʻuokalani. Further investigation by the US Congress led to the Morgan Report , which proved that US forces were completely neutral and exonerated the United States of any allegation of complicity in the fall.

The Provisional Government convened a constitutional convention in Honolulu to establish the Republic of Hawaii. Thurston was pressured to become the nation's first president, but he was concerned that his audacity would harm the annexation. The Conservative former Supreme Court Justice and friend of Queen Liliʻuokalani, Sanford Dole , was eventually elected as the first and only President of the new leadership.

Caricature of the United States, its territories and US controlled areas as a classroom with belligerent Filipinos, Hawaiians, Puerto Ricans and Cubans.

Politics of the "Manifest Destiny"

When the tenure of US President Grover Cleveland ended in March 1897, the former Civil War soldier William McKinley took office. McKinley believed in the increasing importance of the United States on the international stage and sought to expand the doctrine of the Manifest Destiny ("obvious purpose", namely for US expansion towards the Pacific) beyond the continental US west coast.

Under McKinley, the US waged war against Spain in 1898 , with US interventions in Cuba , the Philippines and Puerto Rico . Especially Hawaii's strategic location for US warfare in the Philippines made it more important to America's interests.

It was not until April 1917 that the US flag flown over the residence of Queen Liliʻuokalani on Washington Place . So they honored the Hawaiians who gave their lives when American soldiers in World War I had lost. It was also taken as a sign that she had finally accepted the overthrow of the monarchy and the annexation of Hawaii by the United States.

Newland's Resolution of 1898

Sanford Dole takes his oath of office as the first Territorial Governor on the steps of ʻIolani Palace as American businessmen and plantation owners praise the victory over the monarchy.

On July 7, 1898, McKinley signed the Newlands Resolution , named after the MP Francis G. Newlands , with which the United States officially annexed Hawaii. A solemn ceremony was held on the steps of ʻIolani Palace , where the Hawaiian flag was drawn and the American flag was hoisted. Dole was named the first Territorial Governor of Hawaii.

The Newlands Resolution contained the transfer of all sovereign rights of any kind in and over the Hawaiian Islands and the areas dependent on Hawaii with the consent of the Government of the Republic of Hawaii. At the same time, all public, government and land owned by the Crown went to the United States.

The Newlands Resolution set up a five-person commission to investigate what laws were required in Hawaii. The commission consisted of Territorial Governor Dole (R-HI), US Senators Shelby Moore Cullom (R-IL) and John T. Morgan (R-AL), Congressman Robert R. Hitt (R-IL) and the former Chief Justice of Hawaii and later Territorial Governor Walter F. Frear (R-TH). The final commission report was submitted to the US Congress for debate that lasted over a year. The US Congress objected that the establishment of an elected territorial government in Hawaii could result in a state being admitted with a non-white majority.

Organic Act

The U.S. Congress eventually approved a popularly elected government in Hawaii, and McKinley signed a law to that effect, better known as the Hawaiian Organic Act of 1900.

The Organic Act established the office of Territorial Governor, a post filled by the incumbent US President, usually a person from his own political party. The territorial governor served at the discretion of the US president and could be replaced at any time.

List of Territorial Governors

Surname Term of office Political party
Sanford Ballard Dole 1900-1903 republican
George Robert Carter 1903-1907 republican
Walter Francis Frear 1907-1913 republican
Lucius Eugene Pinkham 1913-1918 democrat
Charles James McCarthy 1918-1921 democrat
Wallace Rider Farrington 1921-1929 republican
Lawrence McCully Judd 1929-1934 republican
Joseph Boyd Poindexter 1934-1942 democrat
Ingram Macklin Stainback 1942-1951 democrat
Oren Ethelbirt Long 1951-1953 democrat
Samuel Wilder King 1953-1957 republican
William Francis Quinn 1957-1959 republican

The Organic Act created a territorial bicameral legislature , consisting of a House of Representatives and a Senate, with its members elected by the people and a Supreme Court led by a Chief Justice.

Representation in the US Congress was limited to a single non-voting delegate.

List of Congressmen

Surname Term of office Political party Life dates
Robert William Kalanihiapo Wilcox 1899-1903 Home Rule Party of Hawaii February 15, 1855-23. October 1903
Jonah Kūhiō Kalanianaʻole 1903-1922 republican March 26, 1871–7. January 1922
Henry Alexander Baldwin 1922-1923 republican January 12, 1871–8. October 1946
William Paul Jarrett 1923-1927 democrat August 22, 1877-10. November 1929
Victor Stewart Kaleoaloha Houston 1927-1933 republican July 22, 1876–31. July 1959
Lincoln Loy McCandless 1933-1935 democrat September 18, 1859-5. October 1940
Samuel Wilder King 1935-1943 republican December 17, 1886-24. March 1959
Joseph Rider Farrington 1943-1954 republican October 15, 1897–19. June 1954
Mary Elizabeth Pruett Farrington 1954-1957 republican May 30, 1898-21. July 1984
John Anthony Burns 1957-1959 democrat March 30, 1909-5. April 1975

Start of tourism

Hawai'i's tourism industry began in 1882 when the sailing ships of the Matson Navigation Company , founded by Captain William Matson, began moving goods between San Francisco and Hawaii. His transports encouraged him to buy passenger steamers to transport tourists to Hawaii for their vacation.

Matson's fleet included the SS Wilhelmina , which competed with the best passenger ships on the traditional Atlantic routes. With the success of Hawai'i vacationing interest among wealthy American families in the late 1920s, Matson added the SS Mariposa , SS Monterey, and SS Lurline to his fleet .

The Matson Navigation Company opened two vacation hotels in Honolulu near the royal grounds. The first and for a long time the only hotel in Waikīkī was the Moana Hotel , which opened in 1901. As the first hotel in Waikīkī, the Moana Hotel was nicknamed "First Lady of Waikīkī". The hotel gained international acclaim in 1920 when Edward, Prince of Wales and future King Edward VIII stayed there as a guest.

In 1927 the Royal Hawaiian Hotel , also unofficially known as the Pink Palace of the Pacific, started its business. It was the preferred residence of US President Franklin D. Roosevelt in Hawa'i during the Second World War .

Military bases

With the annexation, the United States saw Hawaii as its most important strategic military post. McKinley and his successor President Theodore Roosevelt expanded the military presence in Hawaii and established several central bases , some of which are still in use today. From 1906 on, the entire island of Oahu was attached to the coastline with the construction of a "Ring of Steel", a number of gun batteries were set up on steel ramparts near the coast. One of the few remaining batteries , Battery Randolph, which were completed in 1911, is now the seat of the Hawai'i Army Museum .

List of military installations

Industrial rise and the Big Five

As a territory of the United States who received sugar cane - plantations a new cash injection. By exempting sugar cane producers from tariffs , the plantation owners had more money to spend on equipment, land and workers. More resources meant more production. Five Kingdom-era enterprises favored annexation. They became multi-million dollar conglomerates overnight : Castle & Cooke , Alexander & Baldwin , C. Brewer & Co. , Amfac and Theo H. Davies & Co. Together, the five companies ruled the Hawaiian economy as the big ones Five .

The Big Five together became a single ruling power in Hawaii. The companies did not compete with each other, rather they worked together to keep the prices of their goods and services high. Their profits skyrocketed even more. Soon the Big Five leaders were sitting on every other board of directors. With economic power came political power over Hawai'i. In this context, they used illegal methods to maintain their political position. They often threatened the workforce so that they could vote on their behalf. Plantation managers hung pens above voting booths. The direction the pen indicated influenced how the workers voted. Retaliation was the order of the day.

During the territorial period, Hawai'i slowly became an oligarchy ruled by the Big Five . They made sure that only whites and Republicans ran for government office in Hawaii. As a result, it was almost impossible for Democrats to win an election in Hawaii during the rule of the Big Five .

pineapple

James Dole , also known as the Pineapple King , arrived in Hawaii in 1899. He bought land in Wahiawā and built the first pineapple plantation in Hawaii there. He believed that the pineapple could become a popular food outside of Hawaii, so in 1901 he built a canning factory near his first plantation. Hawaiian Pineapple Company , later renamed the Dole Food Company , was born.

With his business he hit the profit zone, so he expanded and in 1907 built a larger canning factory in ʻIwilei near Honolulu Harbor . This location made its main operation more accessible to workers. The canning factory in ʻIwilei was in operation until 1991. Actress and performer Bette Midler was one of the most famous employees.

Dole was in the middle of a booming business industry. In response to the growing pineapple demand of 1922, Dole acquired the entire island of Lānaʻi and turned the desert landscape into the largest pineapple plantation in the world. For a long time Lānaʻi produced 75% of the world's pineapple production, so that it was immortalized as the “pineapple island”.

From the 1930s onwards, Hawai'i became the center of pineapple growing in the world and pineapple production the second largest industry. After the Second World War, there were a total of eight pineapple companies in Hawaii.

Ethnic relationships

One of the major challenges facing territorial Hawaii has been ethnic relationships. When Hawaii became a territory, the Hawaiian population on the plantations was increased by workers from China , Japan , the Philippines, and Portugal . There was a considerably larger native Hawaiian population who also shared the work. Their plantation experiences shaped Hawaii into a plantation culture. The Hawaii Pidgin language was developed on the plantations in such a way that everyone could understand each other completely. They shared each other's foods and traditions. Buddhism and Shintoism grew and became Hawaii's largest religions. Catholicism became Hawaii's largest Christian denomination. Hawaii was diverse and most of the ethnicities lived more or less in harmony.

Massie trial

Ethnic relations in Hawaii came into the national spotlight on September 12, 1931, when Thalia Massie , wife of a U.S. Navy officer, got drunk and claimed she had been beaten and raped. That same night, the Honolulu Police Department stopped a car and arrested the five inmates - all of whom were plantation workers. Officials took the men to Massie's hospital room, which they identified. Many analysts today believe that she was wrong and that the plantation workers were only responsible for the crime because of their ethnicity. Although there was no evidence that the men were directly involved, national newspapers quickly circulated stories of brutal locals in prey for white women in Hawaii. The jury was unable to make a judgment in the first trial. Subsequently, one of the accused was severely beaten while another, Joseph Kahahawai, was forced into a car and shot.

The police caught Kahahawai's killers: Massie's husband Thomas and her mother Grace Fortescue and two sailors. Famous criminal defense attorney Clarence Darrow defended them. The local jury found all four guilty and sentenced them to ten years of forced labor . Enraged by the verdict, the territorial white leaders and 103 members of the US Congress signed a letter threatening the territory with martial law . The pressurized Governor Lawrence M. Judd then converted the verdicts to an hour's detention in his office. Hawaii's residents were shocked, and the whole of America reconsidered what it thought of Hawaii's ethnic diversity.

The foiled statehood

The US Congress deliberated in 1935 and 1937 on the question of whether Hawaii should be granted statehood . The southern states were upset by the idea that the US Congress was considering giving a colored-majority territory the same rights as a mainland state. Statehood was postponed indefinitely because of the race issue.

Martial law

After the attack on Pearl Harbor and America's entry into World War II, Territory Governors Joseph B. Poindexter and Ingram M. Stainback forfeited their administrative power by proclaiming martial law from 1941 to 1944. With the suspension of the territorial constitution, the legislature and the Supreme Court were also dissolved indefinitely. Martial law was extended to all residents of Hawaii. A military governor from the Judge Advocate General's Corps took control of Hawaii and ruled from Iolani Palace, which was quickly barricaded and equipped with trenches .

Under martial law, every facet of Hawaiian life was under the control of the military governor. His government took the fingerprints of every resident over six years of age, imposed blackouts and curfew, rationed food and gasoline, censored the news and media and the mail, banned alcohol, certain shop opening times, managed traffic and hazardous waste disposal. The laws of the military governor were called general orders . Violations meant punishment without appeal by the military tribunals.

List of military governors

Statehood

After failing to convince the US Congress in 1935 and 1937, Hawaii was now ready for statehood as a US state , and in 1950 it revived the campaign by placing the statehood issue on the ballot paper. Two thirds of the electorate in the territory voted in favor of joining the Union. After the Second World War, the call for statehood reappeared, this time with greater support, even from some mainland states. The reasons for supporting statehood were clear:

  • Hawaii wanted the right to choose its own governor ;
  • Hawaii wanted the right to elect the US president ;
  • Hawaii wanted an end to taxation without voting in the US Congress ;
  • Hawaii was the first to be attacked in the war;
  • Hawaii's colored ethnic population, particularly the Japanese , demonstrated their loyalty through their service on the European front lines;
  • Hawaii was made up of 90% US citizens , with most being born within the United States.

A former Honolulu Police Department official and Democrat , John Anthony Burns , was elected Hawaii's delegate to Congress in 1956. Burns won the election without the support of white voters, but with overwhelming support from the Japanese and Filipinos in Hawaii. His election proved the existence of the statehood movement. Upon arriving in Washington, DC, Burns immediately began looking for allies among the congressmen and governors. Burn's most important accomplishment was Senate Majority Leader Lyndon B. Johnson's conviction that Hawaii was ready to become a state.

In March 1959, both houses of the US Congress passed the Hawaii Admission Act and US President Dwight D. Eisenhower signed the law. The law excluded Palmyra Atoll , which was part of the Kingdom and Territory of Hawaii, from the new state. A referendum was held on June 27 of that year, where Hawaiians were supposed to vote on the adoption of the statute bill. Hawaii voted 17-1 for adoption. On August 21, when the proclamation that Hawaii was now a US state, the church bells rang in Honolulu.

See also

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Iolani Palace raises US flag to honor Sept. 11 victims
  2. ↑ JOINT Resolution To provide for annexing the Hawaiian Islands to the United States (English)

literature

  • Thomas H. Green, The Papers of Major General Thomas H. Green, Judge Advocate General's Corps, US Army , University Publications of America, 2001.

Web links

Commons : Territory of Hawaii  - Collection of pictures, videos, and audio files