Sanford Dole

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Sanford Dole

Sanford Ballard Dole (born April 23, 1844 in Honolulu , Kingdom of Hawaii , † June 9, 1926 ibid) was a Hawaiian politician and lawyer . He was President of the Provisional Government of Hawaii, President of the Republic of Hawaii and first Governor of the Hawaiian Territory throughout his life . He was also a judge on the Hawaiian Federal District Court.

Life

Sanford Dole came from a family of white Protestant missionaries who immigrated from New England . His cousin was the pineapple magnate James Dole , who later succeeded the family and also emigrated to Hawaii. Sanford Dole therefore belonged to the wealthy and elitist community of immigrants who played a prominent political role in Hawaii. As a successful attorney and friend of both King Kalākaua and Queen Liliʻuokalani , however, he pursued and promoted the goal of westernizing Hawaiian culture and society.

In 1887, Sanford Dole took part in an overthrow of businessmen and plantation owners, when King Kalākaua forced the Bayonet Constitution , written by Lorrin Thurston , to be recognized as the new Hawaiian constitution. It led to the loss of the right to vote for all Asian residents. With the native Hawaiians, the right to vote was now linked to a certain income and wealth, which restricted the circle of these voters. In fact, this shifted the political influence on the immigrant Europeans. In addition, this constitution limited the power of the monarch and transferred it to the Privy Council, the royal cabinet. Sanford Dole himself was subsequently appointed one of the three judges of the Supreme Court of the Kingdom of Hawaii by King Kalākaua .

After Queen Liliʻuokalani had tried in vain to revise the changes introduced by the constitution of 1887, a so-called Committee of Safety took over power in the kingdom on January 17, 1893 . On the following July 17, 1893, the Blount Report commissioned by US President Grover Cleveland was published, which assessed the events of January of that year. This concluded that the Committee of Safety's takeover was illegal.

On the same day, the Provisional Government of Hawaii was therefore formed, which took over governance over the country. The presidency of this Provisional Government , which also included many members of the old Committee of Safety , was reluctantly accepted by Sanford Dole. In effect, this ended the existence of the Kingdom of Hawaii. The members of the Provisional Government originally hoped for a quick annexation of Hawaii to the United States . Grover Cleveland, meanwhile, demanded the reinstatement of Queen Liliʻuokalani in exchange for an amnesty for all those involved in the January 1893 coup. Since the Queen refused to grant the amnesty, the Provisional Government under Sanford Dole also refused to reinstate it. A further investigation into the events of January 1893 was then commissioned. The Morgan Report published on February 26, 1894 came to the conclusion that the coup was legitimate after all. As a result, the Provisional Government called a constituent assembly. On July 4, 1894, the Republic of Hawaii was finally proclaimed, the first and only president of which was Sanford Dole.

As President of Hawaii, Sanford Dole pursued the political goal of the annexation of Hawaii to the United States of America and initiated appropriate preparations. During his tenure, he also had to fend off several attempts aimed at restoring the monarchy - including the armed Wilcox Rebellion in 1895 . Sanford Dole finally achieved his goal with the Newlands Resolution , which was ratified by the United States on July 7, 1898 and led to the formal cession of power on August 18.

From June 14, 1900, Hawaii became a US territory after the Organic Act was passed, and Sanford Dole was appointed as its first governor. However, he resigned from this office in 1903 to take on a position as a judge at the Hawaii Federal District Court . He worked there until 1915.

On June 9, 1926, Sanford Dole died after a series of heart attacks . In 1956 a school in Hawaii was named after him in his honor.

Web links

Commons : Sanford B. Dole  - Collection of images, videos and audio files

• Sanford Dole in the database of Find a Grave (English)