1887 Constitution of the Kingdom of Hawaii

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King David Kalākaua (left) signed the 1887 Constitution under threat of force; Lorrin A. Thurston (right) was one of its holidays of nationswriters.

The 1887 Constitution of the Kingdom of Hawaii was a document prepared by anti-monarchists to strip the Hawaiian monarchy of much of its authority, initiating a transfer of power to American, European and native Hawaiian elites. It became known as the Bayonet Constitution for the use of intimidation by the armed militia which forced King Kalākaua to sign it or be deposed. [1] [2]

Kingdom of Hawaii Established during the years 1795 to 1810, overthrown in 1893–1894

The Kingdom of Hawaiʻi originated in 1795 with the unification of the independent islands of Hawaiʻi, Oʻahu, Maui, Molokaʻi, and Lānaʻi under one government. In 1810, the whole Hawaiian Islands became unified when Kauaʻi and Niʻihau joined the Kingdom of Hawai‘i voluntarily and without bloodshed or war. Two major dynastic families ruled the kingdom: the House of Kamehameha and the House of Kalākaua.

Kalākaua Last reigning king of the Kingdom of Hawaii

Kalākaua, born David Laʻamea Kamananakapu Mahinulani Naloiaehuokalani Lumialani Kalākaua and sometimes called The Merrie Monarch, was the last king and penultimate monarch of the Kingdom of Hawaiʻi. Succeeding Lunalilo, he was elected to the vacant throne of Hawaiʻi against Queen Emma. He reigned from February 12, 1874, until his death in San Francisco, California, on January 20, 1891. Kalākaua had a convivial personality and enjoyed entertaining guests with his singing and ukulele playing. At his coronation and his birthday jubilee, the hula that had been banned from public in the kingdom became a celebration of Hawaiian culture.

Contents

Rebellion of 1887

On June 30, 1887, a meeting of residents including the armed militia of the Honolulu Rifles, a group of white soldiers that were secretly the Hawaiian League’s military arm, [3] and politicians who were members of the Reform Party of the Hawaiian Kingdom, demanded from King Kalākaua the dismissal of his Cabinet, headed by the controversial Walter M. Gibson. Their concerns about Gibson stemmed from the fact that he supported the king’s authority. [4]

Honolulu Rifles

The Honolulu Rifles were the name of two volunteer military companies of the Hawaiian Kingdom. The second company was composed solely of Caucasian citizens.

Walter M. Gibson American politician

Walter Murray Gibson was an American adventurer and a government minister in the Kingdom of Hawaii prior to the kingdom's 1887 constitution.

The meeting was called to order by Sanford B. Dole (cousin of then 9-year-old James Dole and chaired by Peter Cushman Jones, the president of the largest sugarcane plantation agency in Hawaii. [4] The Hawaiian League and Americans controlled a vast majority of the Kingdom of Hawaii’s wealth. Lorrin A. Thurston, the main instigator of the subsequent overthrow of the Hawaiian monarchy, prepared a list of demands to the king. The meeting also insisted a new constitution be written.[ citation needed ]

Sanford B. Dole American judge

Sanford Ballard Dole was a lawyer and jurist in the Hawaiian Islands as a kingdom, protectorate, republic, and territory. A descendant of the American missionary community to Hawaii, Dole advocated the westernization of Hawaiian government and culture. After the overthrow of the monarchy, he served as the President of the Republic of Hawaii until his government secured Hawaii's annexation by the United States.

James Dole American industrialist who developed the Hawaiian pineapple industry; founder of the Hawaiian Pineapple Company

James Drummond Dole, also known as the "Pineapple King'", was an American industrialist who developed the pineapple industry in Hawaii. He established the Hawaiian Pineapple Company (HAPCO) which was later reorganized to become the Dole Food Company and now operates in over 90 countries. Dole was a cousin of Sanford B. Dole, President of the Republic of Hawaii.

Peter Cushman Jones Banker, businessman, and politician during the Kingdom of Hawaii, Provisional Government of Hawaii, Republic of Hawaii and Territory of Hawaii.

Peter Cushman Jones was a businessman and politician during the Kingdom of Hawaii, Provisional Government of Hawaii, Republic of Hawaii and Territory of Hawaii. He founded the second bank in the Hawaiian Islands.

On the next morning, July 1, 1887, a shipment of arms was discovered from a neutral Australian ship (later found to be smooth-bore hunting guns used to scare birds from farmers' fields). The Honolulu Rifles took control and arrested and almost hanged Gibson. [5] Kalākaua called in US Minister George W. Merrill, and the British, French, Portuguese, and Japanese representatives and requested help, but they all suggested that he should comply with any demands, which he did. [6] :363–364

United States Minister to Hawaii

The United States Minister to Hawaii was an office of the United States Department of State to the Kingdom of Hawaii during the period of 1810 to 1898. Appointed by the President of the United States with the consent of Congress, the Minister to Hawaii was equivalent in rank to the present-day ambassador of the United States to foreign governments. As principal envoy of the United States government to the monarch of Hawaii, the Minister to Hawaii often dealt in affairs relating to economic, military and political matters affecting both nations. The Minister to Hawaii also represented the interests of American citizens residing and working in Hawaii, conveying their concerns over United States foreign policy to the President of the United States.

George W. Merrill was an American politician of the 19th century. He was born in Turner, Maine.

Thurston then became the powerful interior minister although Englishman William Lowthian Green was nominally head of the Cabinet as Minister of Finance. Gibson was later exiled to San Francisco. [7]

William Lowthian Green British businessman

William Lowthian Green was an English adventurer and merchant who later became cabinet minister in the Kingdom of Hawaii. As an amateur geologist, he published a theory of the formation of the earth called the tetrahedral hypothesis.

Over less than a week, the new constitution was drafted by a group of lawyers, including Thurston, Dole, William Ansel Kinney, William Owen Smith, George Norton Wilcox, and Edward Griffin Hitchcock. All were also associated with the Hawaiian League, which had explicitly wanted the end of the kingdom and its annexation by the United States since its inception. [1]

William Ansel Kinney lawyer and politician in the Kingdom, the Republic, and then the Territory of Hawaii

William Ansel Kinney (1860–1930) was a lawyer and politician in the Kingdom of Hawaii, through the Republic of Hawaii and into the Territory of Hawaii.

William Owen Smith Hawaiian politician

William Owen Smith was a lawyer from a family of American missionaries who participated in the overthrow of the Kingdom of Hawaii. He served as attorney general for the entire duration of the Provisional Government of Hawaii and the Republic of Hawaii.

George Norton Wilcox Hawaiian politician

George Norton Wilcox was a businessman and politician in the Kingdom of Hawaii and Territory of Hawaii.

Kalākaua signed the document July 6, 1887, despite arguments over the scope of the changes.[ citation needed ]

It stripped the king of most of his personal authority, empowering the legislature and cabinet of the government. It has since become widely known as the "Bayonet Constitution" because of the threat of force used to gain Kalākaua's cooperation. [8] While Thurston and Dole denied this use of coercion and threats, Queen Liliuokalani asserted that Kalakaua’s life was threatened: "He signed that constitution under absolute compulsion."[ citation needed ] [9]

The new constitution was never ratified in the Hawaiian Kingdom's legislature. [1] [10]

Provisions

The 1887 constitution replaced the previous absolute veto, allowed to the king, to one that two-thirds of the legislature of the Hawaiian Kingdom could override.

It also took away the power of the king to act without the consent of his cabinet and gave the legislature, which was controlled by the white Americans by this time, the power to dismiss the cabinet instead of the king. It also removed language from the 1864 constitution implying that the king was above the law, replacing it with language that the king was required to obey his laws to the level of his subjects. The cabinet was now allowed to vote in the legislature, but to reduce the king's influence, he was not allowed to appoint legislators to any other government post. The legislature also gained the authority to imprison those that disrespected, published false reports or comments about or threatened or assaulted any of its members. [11]

The constitution also removed the monarch's power to appoint members of the House of Nobles (the upper house of the legislature), instead making it a body elected by the wealthy landowners to six-year terms and enlarging it to 40 members. Qualifications to serve as a noble or representative now came to include high property and income requirements as well, which stripped almost all of the native population of the ability to serve in the legislature. [11] [12]

The 1887 constitution had also attempted to limit profligate spending, which had become a problem under Kalakaua's reign, namely with the costly construction and maintenance of Iolani Palace. The constitution stipulated that the King was required to appoint a Minister of Finance to oversee government spending and submit an annual budget proposal to the legislature.

The 1887 constitution made significant changes to voting requirements. It allowed foreign resident aliens to vote, not just naturalized citizens. Asians, including subjects who previously enjoyed the right to vote, were specifically denied suffrage. Hawaiian, American, and European males were granted full voting rights only if they met the economic and literacy thresholds. [13]

The 1864 constitution required that voters generate annual income of at least US$75 (equivalent to US$1201 in 2019) or own private property worth at least US$150 (equivalent to $2403 in 2019). The wealth requirements were removed during the short reign of Lunalilo in 1874. [2] That change extended voter eligibility to many more Hawaiians and was kept for the lower house.

However, the 1887 constitution required an income of $600 (equivalent to US$16731 in 2019) or taxable property of US$3000 (equivalent to $83656 in 2019) to vote for the upper house (or serve in it). That excluded an estimated two-thirds of the Hawaiian population. Essentially, only white males, wealthy from the sugar industry, retained suffrage with the Bayonet Constitution.

Allocating the government’s power to the Cabinet and then promptly appointing their members to the Cabinet, and securing the disenfranchisement of their opposition, the Hawaiian League seized complete control over the Kingdom of Hawaii.

The Bayonet Constitution was the first great implement in the decline of the monarchy. Though it did not depose the King, it did place considerable limitations on his power. [14]

Native response

Immediately after the adoption of the Bayonet Constitution, the native population of the Kingdom of Hawaii sought to restore King Kalakaua’s power and authority. A committee of Hawaiians met with Kalakaua to discuss dismantling the constitution because the king signed it under duress. According to Thurston, Kalakaua even defended the constitution to protesting natives. Queen Liliuokalani affirmed that he was threatened with violence should he attempt to undo the new constitution. She also listed several petitions from natives that pleaded for a new constitution. Out of 9,500 registered voters, 6,500 signed the petitions. Since the majority of the population supported a new constitution, Queen Liliuokalani proposed one in January 1893. In response, the Hawaiian League overthrew her monarchy and took control of the country. [4] [10]

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Overthrow of the Kingdom of Hawaii Overthrow of government

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Jonathan Austin was a veteran of the American Civil War, president of Paukaa Sugar Company, and Minister of Foreign Affairs for the Kingdom of Hawaii during the reign of Kalākaua.

Kalākauas Cabinet Ministers

When King Kalākaua began his reign on February 12, 1874, the monarch was constitutionally empowered to appoint and remove the Kingdom of Hawaii cabinet ministers. The four cabinet positions were Attorney General, Ministrer of Finance, Minister of Foreign Affairs and Minister of the Interior. The royal cabinet ministers were also ex-officio members of the House of Nobles in the legislature and the Privy Council of State, a larger body of advisors.

The Cabinet of the Kingdom of Hawaii was a body of the top executive officials appointed to advise the sovereign of the Kingdom of Hawaii from 1845 to 1893. The subsequent regimes of the Provisional Government and the Republic of Hawaii retained the structure of the cabinet and minister positions under the presidency of Sanford B. Dole from 1893 until 1898.

References

  1. 1 2 3 David W. Forbes (2003). Hawaiian national bibliography, 1780–1900. University of Hawaii Press. pp. 232–233. ISBN   978-0-8248-2636-9.
  2. 1 2 Anne Feder Lee (June 30, 1993). The Hawaii state constitution: a reference guide. Greenwood Publishing Group. pp. 4–5. ISBN   978-0-313-27950-8.
  3. ↑ Pat Pitzer. "The Overthrow of the Monarchy." Spirit of Aloha, 1994, 2 Accessed January 27, 2015. http://www.hawaii-nation.org/soa.html.
  4. 1 2 3 Lorrin A. Thurston, and Andrew Farrell. Memoirs of the Hawaiian Revolution. Honolulu: Advertiser Publishing, 1936. http://catalog.hathitrust.org/Record/001261385.
  5. ↑ Sanford B. Dole, and Andrew Farrell. Memoirs of the Hawaiian Revolution. Honolulu: Advertiser Publishing, 1936. http://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=uc1.b3477492;view=1up;seq=9.
  6. ↑ Ralph Simpson Kuykendall (1967). Hawaiian Kingdom 1874–1893, the Kalakaua Dynasty. 3. University of Hawaii Press. ISBN   978-0-87022-433-1.
  7. ↑ "Appointment of a New Cabinet!". Hawaiian Gazette. Honolulu. July 5, 1887. p. 4. Retrieved July 31, 2010.
  8. ↑ Wong, Helen; Rayson, Ann (1987). Hawaii's Royal History. Bess Press. p.  196. ISBN   978-0-935848-48-9.
  9. ↑ Liliuokalani, Queen of Hawaii, 1838-1917. (1990). Hawaii's story by Hawaii's Queen. Honolulu, Hawaii: Mutual Pub. ISBN   0935180850. OCLC   28821522.CS1 maint: Multiple names: authors list (link)
  10. 1 2 Queen of Hawaii, Liliuokalani. Hawaii's Story by Hawaii's Queen. Boston: Lee and Shepard, 1898. http://digital.library.upenn.edu/women/liliuokalani/hawaii/hawaii.html
  11. 1 2 Constitution of the Hawaiian Islands, Signed by His Majesty Kalakaua, July 6 and promulgated July 7, 1887. Hawaiian Gazette (Honolulu, HI), 1887. http://hooilina.org/cgi-bin/journal?e=p-0journal--00-0-0-004-Document---0-1--1en-50---20-docoptions-search-issue---001-0110escapewin&a=p&p=frameset&cl=&d=HASH01b8b242efc454f373219e6b.5.1.6
  12. ↑ Henry Edward Chambers (2009) [January, 1896]. Constitutional History of Hawaii. BiblioBazaar, LLC. pp. 25–27. ISBN   978-1-115-62585-2.
  13. ↑ Buescher, John. "What Happened to the Royal Family of Hawaii After the U.S. Took Over?" Teachinghistory.org, accessed 1 October 2011.
  14. ↑ James H Blount, Report of U.S. Special Commissioner James H. Blount to U.S. Secretary of State Walter Q. Gresham Concerning the Hawaiian Kingdom Investigation. Honolulu, HI. July 17, 1893. http://www.hawaiiankingdom.org/blounts-report.shtml.

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