Hawaiian League victory
116-874: Annexationists : [REDACTED] Republic of Hawaii [REDACTED] United States [REDACTED] Kalākaua [REDACTED] Liliʻuokalani [REDACTED] Samuel Nowlein [REDACTED] Charles B. Wilson [REDACTED] Robert W. Wilcox [REDACTED] Grover Cleveland [REDACTED] Lorrin A. Thurston [REDACTED] Sanford B. Dole [REDACTED] Edward G. Hitchcock [REDACTED] John H. Soper [REDACTED] Liliʻuokalani [REDACTED] Robert W. Wilcox [REDACTED] Robert N. Boyd Hawaii 600 (peak) United States 2 Warships (peak) Japan 2 Warships (peak) United Kingdom The Hawaiian rebellions and revolutions took place in Hawaii between 1887 and 1895. Until annexation in 1898, Hawaii
232-601: A temperate climate , to alpine conditions with a cold, dry climate. The rainy climate impacts soil development , which largely determines ground permeability, affecting the distribution of streams and wetlands . Several areas in Hawaiʻi are under the National Park Service 's protection. Hawaii has two national parks: Haleakalā National Park , near Kula on Maui, which features the dormant volcano Haleakalā that formed east Maui; and Hawaii Volcanoes National Park , in
348-537: A Christian monarchy with the signing of the 1840 Constitution . Hiram Bingham I , a prominent Protestant missionary, was a trusted adviser to the monarchy during this period. Other missionaries and their descendants became active in commercial and political affairs, leading to conflicts between the monarchy and its restive American subjects. Missionaries from the Roman Catholic Church and from The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints were also active in
464-508: A Committee of Safety; it shepherded documents drafted to establish a provisional government. The Committee of Safety expressed concern for the safety and property of American residents in Honolulu. Minister Stevens, advised about these supposed threats to non-combatant American lives and property by the Committee of Safety, obliged their request and summoned a company of uniformed U.S. Marines from
580-425: A Polynesian Federation under his rule, and a bribery scandal Kalakaua was involved in regarding opium licenses. The 1887 constitution stripped the monarchy of much of its authority, imposed significant income and property requirements for voting, and completely disenfranchised all Asians from voting. Only well-to-do Europeans, Americans and native Hawaiians were given full voting rights. When Kalākaua died in 1891 during
696-584: A cognate is the name of the underworld or of the ancestral home, but in Hawaii, the name has no meaning". In 1978, Hawaiian was added to the Constitution of the State of Hawaii as an official state language alongside English. The title of the state constitution is The Constitution of the State of Hawaii . Article XV, Section 1 of the Constitution uses The State of Hawaii . Diacritics were not used because
812-500: A commissioner to the Islands to assess the situation, who reported that the newly established protectorate be withdrawn as unnecessary. Envoy Stevens immediately resigned and returned to Maine, where he spent his time in public denunciation of the new administration's Hawaiian policy. The Blount Report commissioned by President Grover Cleveland was submitted on July 17, 1893, and found Stevens guilty of inappropriate conduct in support of
928-537: A company of uniformed US Marines from the USS Boston and two companies of US sailors to land on the kingdom and take up positions at the US Legation, Consulate, and Arion Hall on the afternoon of January 16, 1893. This deployment was at the request of the Committee of Safety, which claimed an "imminent threat to American lives and property". The royal military and police forces made no effort whatever to interfere, to stop
1044-712: A company that benefited from the annexation of Hawaii, became president of the republic when the Provisional Government of Hawaiʻi ended on July 4, 1894. John L. Stevens John Leavitt Stevens (August 1, 1820 – February 8, 1895) was the United States Minister to the Hawaiian Kingdom in 1893 when he conspired to overthrow Queen Liliuokalani in association with the Committee of Safety , led by Lorrin A. Thurston and Sanford B. Dole –
1160-489: A few sailors arrived in 1778 with Cook's journey, and more in 1789 with an American trader who settled in Hawaiʻi in the late 18th century. It is said that Chinese workers introduced leprosy by 1830, and as with the other new infectious diseases, it proved damaging to the Hawaiians. During the 1780s, and 1790s, chiefs often fought for power. After a series of battles that ended in 1795, all inhabited islands were subjugated under
1276-633: A half centuries, Spanish galleons crossed the Pacific from Mexico along a route that passed south of Hawaiʻi on their way to Manila . The exact route was kept secret to protect the Spanish trade monopoly against competing powers. Hawaiʻi thus maintained independence, despite being on a sea route east–west between nations that were subjects of the Viceroyalty of New Spain , an empire that exercised jurisdiction over many subject civilizations and kingdoms on both sides of
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#17330944153751392-498: A higher percentage of its endemic species than any other U.S. state. The endemic plant Brighamia now requires hand pollination because its natural pollinator is presumed to be extinct. The two species of Brighamia — B. rockii and B. insignis —are represented in the wild by around 120 individual plants. To ensure that these plants set seed, biologists rappel down 3,000-foot (910 m) cliffs to brush pollen onto their stigmas. The archipelago's extant main islands have been above
1508-532: A mass meeting of supporters, the Committee committed itself to the removal of the Queen, and seeking annexation to the United States. United States Government Minister John L. Stevens Follow the explicit policy that it been laid out by President Cleveland's Secretary of State back in 1887, on the need to use American military forces to protect American interests in Hawaii during a revolutionary episode. Stevens summoned
1624-592: A minister representing the United States government. Stevens joined the United States Department of State and was appointed successively minister to Paraguay , Uruguay , Sweden and Norway , and finally to Hawaii , an appointment pushed by his old partner Blaine, who had risen to United States Secretary of State . When Stevens was named to the Hawaiian post, his title was changed to Minister Plenipotentiary and Envoy Extraordinary, indicating his rise within
1740-412: A new constitution that would restore the monarchy's authority and strip American and European residents of the suffrage they had obtained in 1887 by threat of force against King Kalakaua . In response to Liliʻuokalani's attempt to promulgate a new constitution, a group of European and American residents formed a "Committee of Safety" on January 14, 1893, in opposition to the Queen and her plans. After
1856-471: A new constitution to proclaim herself an absolute monarch. On January 14, 1893, a group of mostly Euro-American business leaders and residents formed the Committee of Safety to stage a coup d'état against the kingdom and seek annexation by the United States. U.S. Government Minister John L. Stevens , responding to a request from the Committee of Safety, summoned a company of U.S. Marines. The queen's soldiers did not resist. According to historian William Russ,
1972-504: A single ruler, who became known as King Kamehameha the Great . He established the House of Kamehameha , a dynasty that ruled the kingdom until 1872. After Kamehameha II inherited the throne in 1819, American Protestant missionaries to Hawaiʻi converted many Hawaiians to Christianity. Missionaries have argued that one function of missionary work was to "civilize" and "purify" perceived heathenism in
2088-624: A strange volume of part memoir, part travelogue and part political tract meant to provide a rationale for his actions in the Islands. During his life, Stevens authored several other books, including a two-volume biography of Swedish King Gustavus Adolphus and his involvement in the Thirty Years War , praised by The New York Times as showing "extensive research and much patient reading." The prolific Stevens also authored assorted letters, speeches and tracts, many of them advocating his Manifest Destiny views on American foreign policy. Stevens
2204-410: A unified, internationally recognized kingdom in 1810, remaining independent until American and European businessmen overthrew the monarchy in 1893; this led to annexation by the U.S. in 1898. As a strategically valuable U.S. territory , Hawaii was attacked by Japan on December 7, 1941, which brought it global and historical significance, and contributed to America's entry into World War II. Hawaii
2320-498: A visit to San Francisco , his sister Liliʻuokalani assumed the throne. Native Hawaiians on the other hand, according to Queen Liliʻuokalani in her autobiography, called her brother's reign "a golden age materially for Hawaii" and felt that the new constitution was imposed by a minority of the foreign population because of the king's refusal to renew the Reciprocity Treaty, which now included an amendment that would have allowed
2436-443: Is also restricted and anyone who enters without permission will be arrested. This island may also be dangerous since it was a military base during the world wars and could still have unexploded ordnance. The Hawaiian archipelago is 2,000 mi (3,200 km) southwest of the contiguous United States. Hawaii is the southernmost U.S. state and the second westernmost after Alaska . Like Alaska, Hawaii borders no other U.S. state. It
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#17330944153752552-546: Is creating a conflict between economic and environmental health. In 2020, the Center for Biological Diversity reported on the plastic pollution of Hawaii's Kamilo beach, citing "massive piles of plastic waste". Invasive species are spreading, and chemical and pathogenic runoff is contaminating groundwater and coastal waters. Hawaiʻi is one of two U.S. states, along with Texas , that were internationally recognized sovereign nations before becoming U.S. states. The Kingdom of Hawaiʻi
2668-690: Is getting drier and hotter . The warmest temperature recorded in the state, in Pahala on April 27, 1931, is 100 °F (38 °C), tied with Alaska as the lowest record high temperature observed in a U.S. state. Hawaiʻi's record low temperature is 12 °F (−11 °C) observed in May 1979, on the summit of Mauna Kea . Hawaiʻi is the only state to have never recorded subzero Fahrenheit temperatures. Climates vary considerably on each island; they can be divided into windward and leeward ( koʻolau and kona , respectively) areas based upon location relative to
2784-515: Is national defense when what is being destroyed is the very thing the military is entrusted to defend, the sacred land of Hawaiʻi?" Contemporary Indigenous Hawaiians are still protesting the occupation of their homelands and environmental degradation due to increased militarization in the wake of 9/11. After the rise of sugarcane plantations in the mid 19th century, island ecology changed dramatically. Plantations require massive quantities of water, and European and American plantation owners transformed
2900-505: Is outside the state, is Midway Atoll ). Spanning 1,500 miles (2,400 km), the state is physiographically and ethnologically part of the Polynesian subregion of Oceania . Hawaii's ocean coastline is consequently the fourth-longest in the U.S. , at about 750 miles (1,210 km). The eight main islands, from northwest to southeast, are Niʻihau , Kauaʻi , Oʻahu , Molokaʻi , Lānaʻi , Kahoʻolawe , Maui , and Hawaiʻi , after which
3016-617: Is preserved in the names of some locations in the US state of Idaho , for example. Spanish explorers may have arrived in the Hawaiian Islands in the 16th century, 200 years before Cook's first documented visit in 1778. Ruy López de Villalobos commanded a fleet of six ships that left Acapulco in 1542 bound for the Philippines, with a Spanish sailor named Juan Gaetano aboard as pilot. Gaetano's reports describe an encounter with either Hawaiʻi or
3132-536: Is still owned by Stevens's descendants. The tea service, and the career of its controversial owner, were the subject of a Public Broadcasting Service documentary in 1998 entitled The Nation Within . A one-act play entitled "Cry for the Gods" was written by Judge Paul Handy which presents a dramatized, fictional meeting between Stevens and the Queen on the night of January 16, 1893. It has been performed in Maryland and as part of
3248-510: Is the most recent state to join the union , on August 21, 1959. In 1993, the U.S. government formally apologized for its role in the overthrow of Hawaii's government, which had spurred the Hawaiian sovereignty movement and has led to ongoing efforts to obtain redress for the indigenous population. Historically dominated by a plantation economy , Hawaii remains a major agricultural exporter due to its fertile soil and uniquely tropical climate in
3364-511: Is the only U.S. state not in North America, and the only one completely surrounded by water and entirely an archipelago. In addition to the eight main islands, the state has many smaller islands and islets. Kaʻula is a small island near Niʻihau. The Northwestern Hawaiian Islands is a group of nine small, older islands northwest of Kauaʻi that extends from Nihoa to Kure Atoll ; these are remnants of once much larger volcanic mountains. Across
3480-557: The Boston and two companies of U.S. sailors to land on the Kingdom and take up positions in strategic locations in Honolulu on the afternoon of January 16, 1893. 162 sailors and Marines aboard the Boston came ashore well-armed but under orders of neutrality. They were positioned around Royal residences and Hawaiian government installations, not around United States citizens' quarters. Having observed
3596-490: The kapu system, the prevailing legal system before European contact, and heiau , or "temples" to religious figures. Kapu , which typically translates to "the sacred", refers to social regulations (like gender and class restrictions) that were based upon spiritual beliefs. Under the missionaries' guidance, laws against gambling, consuming alcohol, dancing the hula , breaking the Sabbath, and polygamy were enacted. Without
Hawaiian rebellions (1887–1895) - Misplaced Pages Continue
3712-406: The 11th-least populous ; but with 1.4 million residents, it ranks 13th in population density . Two-thirds of Hawaii residents live on O'ahu, home to the state's capital and largest city, Honolulu . Hawaii is among the country's most demographically diverse states, owing to its central location in the Pacific and over two centuries of migration. As one of only seven majority-minority states , it has
3828-559: The Bayonet Constitution of 1887 Grover Cleveland was president, and his secretary of state Thomas F. Bayard sent written instructions to the American minister George W. Merrill that in the event of another revolution in Hawaii, it was a priority to protect American commerce, lives and property. Bayard specified, "the assistance of the officers of our Government vessels, if found necessary, will therefore be promptly afforded to promote
3944-530: The Canadian Pacific Railway in 1886. Seeking to capitalize on the new transcontinental link in Canada , British capitalists were said to welcome the addition of the Hawaiian Islands as an English protectorate. For aggressive Manifest Destiny advocates like Stevens, the telegraphing of English intentions – even by diplomatic innuendo – signaled the need for a preemptive American response. At
4060-399: The Committee of Safety . The Queen's statement yielding authority, on January 17, 1893, also pleaded for justice: Despite repeated claims that the overthrow was "bloodless", the Queen's Book notes to the contrary that Liluʻokalani received "friends [who] expressed their sympathy in person; amongst these Mrs. J. S. Walker, who had lost her husband by the treatment he received from the hands of
4176-619: The Hawaiʻi hotspot . The process is continuing to build islands; the tectonic plate beneath much of the Pacific Ocean continually moves northwest and the hotspot remains stationary, slowly creating new volcanoes. Because of the hotspot's location, all active land volcanoes are on the southern half of Hawaiʻi Island. The newest volcano, Kamaʻehuakanaloa (formerly Lōʻihi), is south of the coast of Hawaiʻi Island. The last volcanic eruption outside Hawaiʻi Island occurred at Haleakalā on Maui before
4292-570: The Marshall Islands . Most scholars have dismissed these claims due to a lack of credibility. Nonetheless, Spanish archives contain a chart that depicts islands at the same latitude as Hawaiʻi, but with a longitude ten degrees east of the islands. In this manuscript, Maui is named La Desgraciada (The Unfortunate Island), and what appears to be Hawaiʻi Island is named La Mesa (The Table). Islands resembling Kahoʻolawe' , Lānaʻi , and Molokaʻi are named Los Monjes (The Monks). For two and
4408-464: The Seal of Hawaii use the spelling without symbols for glottal stops or vowel length. There are eight main Hawaiian islands. Seven are inhabited, but only six are open to tourists and locals. Niʻihau is privately managed by brothers Bruce and Keith Robinson ; access is restricted to those who have their permission. This island is also home to native Hawaiians. Access to uninhabited Kahoʻolawe island
4524-599: The United States , in the Pacific Ocean about 2,000 miles (3,200 km) southwest of the U.S. mainland. One of the two non-contiguous U.S. states (alongside Alaska ), it is the only state not on the North American mainland, the only state that is an archipelago , and the only state in the tropics . Hawaii consists of 137 volcanic islands that comprise almost the entire Hawaiian archipelago (the exception, which
4640-582: The chiefdoms , which grew to encompass whole islands. Local chiefs, called aliʻi , ruled their settlements, and launched wars to extend their influence and defend their communities from predatory rivals. Ancient Hawaiʻi was a caste -based society, much like that of Hindus in India. Population growth was facilitated by ecological and agricultural practices that combined upland agriculture ( manuka ), ocean fishing ( makai ), fishponds and gardening systems. These systems were upheld by spiritual and religious beliefs, like
4756-455: The kapu system, many temples and priestly statuses were jeopardized, idols were burned, and participation in Christianity increased. When Kamehameha III inherited the throne at age 12, his advisors pressured him to merge Christianity with traditional Hawaiian ways. Under the guidance of his kuhina nui (his mother and coregent Elizabeth Kaʻahumanu ) and British allies, Hawaiʻi turned into
Hawaiian rebellions (1887–1895) - Misplaced Pages Continue
4872-409: The kapu system, the practice of human sacrifice, and the building of heiau . This later immigration is detailed in Hawaiian mythology ( moʻolelo ) about Paʻao . Other authors say there is no archaeological or linguistic evidence of a later influx of Tahitian settlers and that Paʻao must be regarded as a myth. The islands' history is marked by a slow, steady growth in population and the size of
4988-424: The lava flows and the sulfur dioxide fumes, necessitated the evacuation of more than 2,000 inhabitants from their neighborhoods. The islands of Hawaiʻi are distant from other land habitats, and life is thought to have arrived there by wind, waves (i.e., by ocean currents), and wings (i.e., birds, insects, and any seeds that they may have carried on their feathers). Hawaiʻi has more endangered species and has lost
5104-583: The lokahi , that linked cultural continuity with the health of the natural world. According to Hawaiian scholar Mililani Trask , the lokahi symbolizes the "greatest of the traditions, values, and practices of our people ... There are three points in the triangle—the Creator, Akua ; the peoples of the earth, Kanaka Maoli ; and the land, the ʻaina . These three things all have a reciprocal relationship." In January 1778, British Captain James Cook encountered
5220-615: The Blount and Morgan Reports are cited by partisans on both sides to support their claims about the legitimacy or lack thereof of the overthrow. In 1993, Congress passed and the President signed an Apology Resolution apologizing for the overthrow of the Kingdom of Hawaii a century before. Based on the Blount Report and other historical analyses, the Resolution subsequently became a touchstone in
5336-466: The Hawaiian Islands serendipitously while crossing the Pacific during his third voyage of exploration . This marked the first documented contact by a European explorer with Hawaiʻi. Cook named the archipelago "the Sandwich Islands" in honor of his sponsor John Montagu, 4th Earl of Sandwich . The native name of the islands was originally rendered and published as " Owyhee" or "Owhyhee" , a form which
5452-490: The Hawaiian overthrow Stevens helped engineer – and an event said to have sent the diplomat into crippling depression. Hon. John L. Stevens died at his home in Augusta, Maine, at 4 a.m. on February 8, 1895, of heart disease. In 1898 the United States government officially annexed Hawaii. A seven-piece silver service made of melted silver dollars and given to Stevens after his Hawaiian tenure by pro-Annexation forces in Hawaii
5568-629: The Morgan Report, Cleveland ended any efforts to reinstate the monarchy, and conducted normal diplomatic relations with the Provisional Government and later, the Republic of Hawaii. He rebuffed further entreaties from the Queen to intervene further in the matter. The Republic of Hawaii was established July 4, 1894 under the presidency of Sanford Dole . Although not a rebellion, the Black Week
5684-629: The National Park Service's control include Ala Kahakai National Historic Trail on Hawaiʻi Island and the USS Arizona Memorial at Pearl Harbor on Oʻahu. President George W. Bush proclaimed the Papahānaumokuākea Marine National Monument on June 15, 2006. The monument covers roughly 140,000 square miles (360,000 km ) of reefs, atolls, and shallow and deep sea out to 50 miles (80 km) offshore in
5800-474: The New World. This carried into Hawaiʻi. According to historical archaeologist James L. Flexner, "missionaries provided the moral means to rationalize conquest and wholesale conversion to Christianity". But rather than abandon traditional beliefs entirely, most native Hawaiians merged their Indigenous religion with Christianity. Missionaries used their influence to end many traditional practices, including
5916-570: The Pacific Ocean—an area larger than all the national parks in the U.S. combined. Hawaiʻi has a tropical climate . Temperatures and humidity tend to be less extreme because of near-constant trade winds from the east. Summer highs reach around 88 °F (31 °C) during the day, with lows of 75 °F (24 °C) at night. Winter day temperatures are usually around 83 °F (28 °C); at low elevation they seldom dip below 65 °F (18 °C) at night. Snow, not usually associated with
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#17330944153756032-649: The Pacific. Despite such contested claims, Cook is generally considered the first European to land at Hawaiʻi, having visited the Hawaiian Islands twice. As he prepared for departure after his second visit in 1779, a quarrel ensued as he took temple idols and fencing as "firewood", and a minor chief and his group stole a boat from his ship. Cook abducted the King of Hawaiʻi Island , Kalaniʻōpuʻu , and held him for ransom aboard his ship to gain return of Cook's boat, as this tactic had previously worked in Tahiti and other islands. Instead,
6148-490: The Pacific. That night, Stevens and American-Hawaiian businessmen Sanford Dole and Lorrin Thurston met to hatch "an audacious plot to overthrow Hawaii's Queen and bring her country into the United States," writes New York Times reporter Stephen Kinzer in his book Overthrow . The immediate event which precipitated the meeting was Queen Lili'uokalani's attempt to promulgate a new constitution which would have restored many of
6264-504: The Provisional Government to restore the Queen. The threat failed to restore the monarchy, but did prolong annexation. In 1895, a counter-rebellion led by Colonel Samuel Nowlein , Minister Joseph Nawahi , members of the Royal Household Guards, and later Robert Wilcox attempted to overthrow the Republic of Hawaii and restore the monarchy, and led to the conviction and imprisonment of the former Queen Liliuokalani and dissolution of
6380-582: The Queen's nationalist sympathies. He asked that a United States warship, the USS ; Boston be stationed indefinitely in Honolulu harbor . In March 1892 envoy Stevens wrote to United States Secretary of State James G. Blaine , his old newspaper partner, asking how far he might deviate from standard State Department rules if a native revolutionary movement emerged. "The golden hour is near at hand," Stevens later wrote his old partner and friend Blaine. "So long as
6496-617: The State Department. Soon after his installation in Hawaii, Stevens began writing about the islands, in a steady stream of pamphlets and speeches, including his December 19, 1891, speech delivered at Founder's Day celebrations of the Kamehameha School, entitled Advice to Young Hawaiians , and his later The Hawaiian Situation tract, written with Eugene Chamberlain and William Springer. Envoy Stevens had gone on-the-record about his Manifest Destiny views concerning close allies of
6612-522: The U.S. Its economy has gradually diversified since the mid-20th century, with tourism and military defense becoming the two largest sectors. The state attracts visitors, surfers, and scientists with its diverse natural scenery, warm tropical climate, abundant public beaches, oceanic surroundings, active volcanoes, and clear skies on the Big Island. Hawaii hosts the United States Pacific Fleet ,
6728-496: The US Navy to have a permanent naval base at Pearl Harbor in O'ahu, and the king's foreign policy. According to bills submitted by the King to the Hawaiian parliament, the King's foreign policy included an alliance with Japan and supporting other Malay countries suffering from colonialism. Native Hawaiians were deeply opposed to a permanent US military presence in their country. At the time of
6844-456: The United States. On February 9, 1893, Stevens acted preemptively, establishing a protectorate pending negotiations for annexation. On February 16, President Harrison sent a message to the Senate, formally requesting annexation of the Hawaiian kingdom. But President Cleveland, immediately following his inauguration, sent a message to the Senate, canceling all further talk of annexation. He then sent
6960-437: The United States. Presumably his views reflected those of his former partner, friend, sponsor and now boss at the State Department. In 1881, James G. Blaine had written of the necessity of "drawing the ties of intimate relationship between us and the Hawaiian Islands so as to make them practically a part of the American system without derogation of their absolute independence." Constitutional reforms in Hawaii in 1887 had widened
7076-559: The archipelago are around 130 small rocks and islets, such as Molokini , which are made up of either volcanic or marine sedimentary rock. Hawaiʻi's tallest mountain Mauna Kea is 13,796 ft (4,205 m) above mean sea level; it is taller than Mount Everest if measured from the base of the mountain, which lies on the floor of the Pacific Ocean and rises about 33,500 feet (10,200 m). The Hawaiian islands were formed by volcanic activity initiated at an undersea magma source called
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#17330944153757192-420: The authority which I claim as the constitutional sovereign of the Hawaiian Islands. The treason trials of 1892 brought together the main players in the 1893 overthrow. American Minister John L. Stevens voiced support for Native Hawaiian revolutionaries; William R. Castle, a Committee of Safety member, served as a defense counsel in the treason trials; Alfred Stedman Hartwell, the 1893 annexation commissioner, led
7308-489: The change in government." Minister Stevens was recalled, and the military commander of forces in Hawaii was forced to resign his commission. President Cleveland stated "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 the monarchy." Cleveland further stated in his 1893 State of the Union Address and that, "Upon
7424-498: The conspiracy to overthrow Hawaii's Queen. Answering the charges from his Augusta, Maine , home, Stevens supplied his rationale: the Queen was immoral, and so needed to be dethroned. The later Morgan investigation conducted by the U.S. Congress , which led to the Morgan Report on February 26, 1894, found Stevens and other U.S. agents not guilty, after which Cleveland abandoned the matter because of lack of Congressional support. Both
7540-723: The cultural and political identification of many native Hawaiians. Following his forced retirement in 1893 because of the overthrow of Hawaii, Stevens spent his time lecturing and writing and working in Republican Party circles. He died two years later. During his retirement, Stevens worked to rehabilitate his image following his humiliating firing by the new President. In 1894, the former preacher and newspaper editor published Picturesque Hawaii: A Charming Description of Her Unique History, Strange People, Exquisite Climate, Wondrous Volcanoes, Luxurious Productions, Beautiful Cities, Corrupt Monarchy, Recent Revolution and Provisional Government ,
7656-500: The defense effort; and Sanford B. Dole ruled as a supreme court justice against acts of conspiracy and treason. On January 17, 1893, a small group of sugar and pineapple-growing businessmen, aided by the American minister to Hawaii and backed by heavily armed U.S. soldiers and marines, deposed Queen Liliʻuokalani and installed a provisional government composed of members of the Committee of Safety. According to scholar Lydia Kualapai and Hawaii State Representative Roy Takumi, this committee
7772-474: The document, drafted in 1949, predates the use of the ʻokina ⟨ʻ⟩ and the kahakō in modern Hawaiian orthography. The exact spelling of the state's name in the Hawaiian language is Hawaiʻi . In the Hawaii Admission Act that granted Hawaiian statehood, the federal government used Hawaii as the state name. Official government publications, department and office titles, and
7888-426: The early 21st century as Roman Catholic saints . The death of the bachelor King Kamehameha V —who did not name an heir—resulted in the popular election of Lunalilo over Kalākaua . Lunalilo died the next year, also without naming an heir. In 1874, the election was contested within the legislature between Kalākaua and Emma, Queen Consort of Kamehameha IV . After riots broke out, the U.S. and Britain landed troops on
8004-413: The exiled royal government. According to A History of Hawaiʻi by Professor Ralph Kuykendall , the 1895 counter-rebellion was also heavily financed by Chinese and Japanese immigrants, who had felt some loyalty to Queen Liliʻuokalani. Hawaii Hawaii ( / h ə ˈ w aɪ . i / hə- WY -ee ; Hawaiian : Hawaiʻi [həˈvɐjʔi, həˈwɐjʔi] ) is an island state of
8120-566: The facts developed it seemed to me the only honorable course for our Government to pursue was to undo the wrong that had been done by those representing us and to restore as far as practicable the status existing at the time of our forcible intervention." Submitting the matter to Congress on December 18, 1893, after President Sanford Dole refused to reinstate the Queen on Cleveland's command, the Senate Foreign Relations Committee under Chairman Morgan, continued investigation into
8236-587: The first Americans attempting to overthrow a foreign government under the auspices of a United States government officer. Apart from his work as a politician and diplomat, he was also a journalist, author, minister and newspaper publisher. He founded the Republican Party in Maine and served as Maine State Senator . John Leavitt Stevens was born in 1820 in the town of Mount Vernon , Kennebec County, Maine , to Capt. John Stevens and Charlotte (Lyford) Stevens. He
8352-512: The gulf between foreign businessmen and native Hawaiian nationalists. In January 1891 the Hawaiian King, who had been sympathetic to the interests of the foreign businessmen, died while on a visit to the United States. He was succeeded by his sister, the Princess, who was crowned Queen Lili'uokalani . The new Queen was known to dislike the restrictive constitution of 1887, and envoy Stevens suspected
8468-491: The higher mountains. Windward sides face cloud cover. Hawaii has a decades-long history of hosting more military space for the United States than any other territory or state. This record of military activity has taken a sharp toll on the environmental health of the Hawaiian archipelago, degrading its beaches and soil, and making some places entirely unsafe due to unexploded ordnance . According to scholar Winona LaDuke : "The vast militarization of Hawaii has profoundly damaged
8584-476: The islands retain their own independent government there remains the possibility that England or the Canadian Dominion might secure one of the Hawaiian harbors for a coaling station." Added Stevens: "Annexation excludes all dangers of this kind." The Hawaiian pear is now fully ripe, and this is the golden hour for the United States to pluck it. The question had taken on significance after the completion of
8700-463: The islands to restore order. The Legislative Assembly chose King Kalākaua as monarch by a vote of 39 to 6 on February 12, 1874. In 1887, Kalākaua was forced to sign the 1887 Constitution of the Kingdom of Hawaiʻi . Drafted by white businessmen and lawyers, the document stripped the king of much of his authority. It established a property qualification for voting that effectively disenfranchised most Hawaiians and immigrant laborers and favored
8816-536: The king to promulgate what is known by its critics as the " Bayonet Constitution ". The impetus behind the imposition of the 1887 constitution was the frustration amongst members of the Reform Party (also known as the Missionary Party) with the growing debt of the Kingdom, the spending habits of the King, and general governance of the Kingdom. It was specifically triggered by an ill-fated attempt by Kalakaua to create
8932-503: The kingdom, initially converting a minority of the Native Hawaiian population, but later becoming the first and second largest religious denominations on the islands, respectively. Missionaries from each major group administered to the leper colony at Kalaupapa on Molokaʻi, which was established in 1866 and operated well into the 20th century. The best known were Father Damien and Mother Marianne Cope , both of whom were canonized in
9048-412: The land in order to access it, primarily by building tunnels to divert water from the mountains to the plantations, constructing reservoirs, and digging wells. These changes have made lasting impacts on the land and continue to contribute to resource scarcity for Native Hawaiians today. According to Stanford scientist and scholar Sibyl Diver, Indigenous Hawaiians engage in a reciprocal relationship with
9164-409: The land, "based on principles of mutual caretaking, reciprocity and sharing". This relationship ensures the longevity, sustainability, and natural cycles of growth and decay, as well as cultivating a sense of respect for the land and humility towards one's place in an ecosystem. The tourism industry's ongoing expansion and its pressure on local systems of ecology, cultural tradition and infrastructure
9280-568: The land. According to the Environmental Protection Agency, there are more federal hazardous waste sites in Hawaii – 31 – than in any other U.S. state." Hawaii State Representative Roy Takumi writes in "Challenging U.S. Militarism in Hawai'i and Okinawa" that these military bases and hazardous waste sites have meant "the confiscation of large tracts of land from native peoples" and quotes late Hawaiian activist George Helm as asking: "What
9396-429: The late 18th century, possibly hundreds of years earlier. In 1790, Kīlauea exploded ; it is the deadliest eruption known to have occurred in the modern era in what is now the United States. Up to 5,405 warriors and their families marching on Kīlauea were killed by the eruption. Volcanic activity and subsequent erosion have created impressive geological features. Hawaii Island has the second-highest point among
9512-520: The legislature to abolish the death penalty). After a decade as an activist Universalist minister, Stevens was persuaded by his lifelong friend Maine Governor Anson P. Morrill to give up the pulpit and become a newspaper publisher and politician. Stevens took his friend Morrill's advice, left the ministry and became a newspaper editor and publisher before becoming a Maine delegate to the 1860 Republican National Convention . Six years prior, in 1854, Stevens and his partner James G. Blaine had purchased
9628-535: The loss of life" for her subjects and after some deliberation, at the urging of advisers and friends, the Queen ordered her forces to surrender. The Honolulu Rifles took over government buildings, disarmed the Royal Guard, and declared a Provisional Government. Minister Stevens recognized the new government, giving his blessing on behalf of the United States Department of State, and commissioners were immediately dispatched to Washington to request that Hawaii be annexed by
9744-447: The matter. On February 26, 1894, the Morgan Report was submitted, contradicting the Blount Report and finding Stevens and the US troops "not guilty" of any involvement in the overthrow. The report asserted that, "The complaint by Liliuokalani in the protest that she sent to the President of the United States and dated the 18th day of January, is not, in the opinion of the committee, well founded in fact or in justice." After submission of
9860-404: The monarchy was unable to protect itself. In Hawaiian Autonomy , Liliʻuokalani states: If we did not by force resist their final outrage, it was because we could not do so without striking at the military force of the United States. Whatever constraint the executive of this great country may be under to recognize the present government at Honolulu has been forced upon it by no act of ours, but by
9976-428: The monarchy. According to Queen Liliʻuokalani in her autobiography, Hawaiʻi's Story by Hawaiʻi's Queen , immediately upon ascending the throne, she received petitions from 2/3 of her subjects and the major Native Hawaiian political party in parliament, Hui Kālaiʻāina, asking her to proclaim a new constitution. Believing her actions were supported by both her cabinet and her Native Hawaiian subjects, Liliʻuokalani drafted
10092-612: The name of Hawaiʻi is that it was named for Hawaiʻiloa , a figure from Hawaiian oral tradition. He is said to have discovered the islands when they were first settled. The Hawaiian language word Hawaiʻi is very similar to Proto-Polynesian Sawaiki , with the reconstructed meaning "homeland." Cognates of Hawaiʻi are found in other Polynesian languages, including Māori ( Hawaiki ), Rarotongan ( ʻAvaiki ) and Samoan ( Savaiʻi ). According to linguists Pukui and Elbert, "elsewhere in Polynesia, Hawaiʻi or
10208-410: The natural world, resulting in widespread biodiversity and intricate social and environmental relationships that persist to this day. On a single island, the climate around the coasts can range from dry tropical (less than 20 inches or 510 millimeters annual rainfall) to wet tropical; on the slopes, environments range from tropical rainforest (more than 200 inches or 5,100 millimeters per year), through
10324-648: The newspaper The Kennebec Journal in Augusta, where the pair collaborated for 14 years on editing their publication and pushing the development of Maine's Republican Party. Stevens also played a large role in the 1876 Presidential campaign when he served as Chairman of the Republican State Committee of Maine. He stumped in the states of Ohio, West Virginia and Pennsylvania for the Republican Presidential ticket that year, which won him an appointment as
10440-471: The once-isolated islands, causing the Hawaiian population to drop precipitously. Native Hawaiians had no resistance to Eurasian diseases, such as influenza , smallpox and measles . By 1820, disease, famine and wars between the chiefs killed more than half of the Native Hawaiian population. During the 1850s, measles killed a fifth of Hawaiʻi's people. Historical records indicate the earliest Chinese immigrants to Hawaiʻi originated from Guangdong Province ;
10556-424: The only Asian American plurality, the largest Buddhist community , and largest proportion of multiracial people in the U.S. Consequently, Hawaii is a unique melting pot of North American and East Asian cultures, in addition to its indigenous Hawaiian heritage. Settled by Polynesians sometime between 1000 and 1200 CE, Hawaii was home to numerous independent chiefdoms. In 1778, British explorer James Cook
10672-465: The powers of the monarchy that existed prior to the forced promulgation of the " Bayonet Constitution " in 1887 that reduced the power of the Hawaiian monarch and rescinded voting rights to much of the population. The Queen's cabinet refused to go along with the planned new constitution, and Queen Liliʻuokalani temporarily yielded. But to the ardent Annexationists the volatile situation provided an opportunity that they seized. The Annexation Club morphed into
10788-400: The reign of law and respect for orderly government in Hawaii." In July 1889, there was a small scale rebellion, and Minister Merrill landed Marines to protect Americans; the State Department explicitly approved his action. Merrill's replacement, minister John L. Stevens , read those official instructions, and followed them in his controversial actions of 1893. A plot by Princess Liliʻuokalani
10904-474: The reign of law and respect for orderly government in Hawaii." In July 1889, there was a small scale rebellion, and Minister Merrill landed Marines to protect Americans; the State Department explicitly approved his action. Merrill's replacement, minister John L. Stevens, read those official instructions, and followed them in his controversial actions of 1893. On January 14, 1893, envoy Stevens met with two other men concerned about American territorial interests in
11020-508: The revolution, or to protect the Queen. Historian William Russ states, "the injunction to prevent fighting of any kind made it impossible for the monarchy to protect itself." A provisional government was set up with the strong support of the Honolulu Rifles, a militia group which had defended the Kingdom against the Wilcox rebellion in 1889. Under this pressure, Liliʻuokalani gave up her throne to
11136-428: The revolutionists. He was one of many who from persecution had succumbed to death." An immediate investigation into the events of the overthrow was commissioned by President Cleveland and conducted by former Congressman James Henderson Blount . The Blount Report was completed on July 17, 1893, and concluded that "United States diplomatic and military representatives had abused their authority and were responsible for
11252-559: The southeast region of Hawaiʻi Island, which includes the active volcano Kīlauea and its rift zones. There are three national historical parks : Kalaupapa National Historical Park in Kalaupapa, Molokaʻi, the site of a former leper colony; Kaloko-Honokōhau National Historical Park in Kailua-Kona on Hawaiʻi Island; and Puʻuhonua o Hōnaunau National Historical Park , an ancient place of refuge on Hawaiʻi Island's west coast. Other areas under
11368-402: The state is named; the latter is often called the "Big Island" or "Hawaii Island" to avoid confusion with the state or archipelago. The uninhabited Northwestern Hawaiian Islands make up most of the Papahānaumokuākea Marine National Monument , the largest protected area in the U.S. and the fourth-largest in the world. Of the 50 U.S. states , Hawaii is the eighth-smallest in land area and
11484-462: The supporters of Kalaniʻōpuʻu attacked, killing Cook and four sailors as Cook's party retreated along the beach to their ship. The ship departed without retrieving the stolen boat. After Cook's visit and the publication of several books relating his voyages, the Hawaiian Islands attracted many European and American explorers, traders, and whalers, who found the islands to be a convenient harbor and source of supplies. These visitors introduced diseases to
11600-477: The surface of the ocean for less than 10 million years, a fraction of the time biological colonization and evolution have occurred there. The islands are well known for the environmental diversity that occurs on high mountains within a trade winds field. Native Hawaiians developed complex horticultural practices to utilize the surrounding ecosystem for agriculture. Cultural practices developed to enshrine values of environmental stewardship and reciprocity with
11716-458: The time of the Bayonet Constitution of 1887 Grover Cleveland was president, and his secretary of state Thomas F. Bayard sent written instructions to the American minister George W. Merrill that in the event of another revolution in Hawaii, it was a priority to protect American commerce, lives and property. Bayard specified, "the assistance of the officers of our Government vessels, if found necessary, will therefore be promptly afforded to promote
11832-478: The troops' march up the street, the Queen was heard to remark that the Marines were finishing what the "missionaries" started. The presence of the Marines served effectively in intimidating royalist defenders. Historian William Russ states, "the injunction to prevent fighting of any kind made it impossible for the monarchy to protect itself." Due to the Queen's desire "to avoid any collision of armed forces, and perhaps
11948-452: The tropics, falls at 13,800 feet (4,200 m) on Mauna Kea and Mauna Loa on Hawaii Island in some winter months. Snow rarely falls on Haleakalā. Mount Waiʻaleʻale on Kauaʻi has the second-highest average annual rainfall on Earth, about 460 inches (12,000 mm) per year. Most of Hawaii experiences only two seasons; the dry season runs from May to October and the wet season is from October to April. Overall with climate change , Hawaiʻi
12064-495: The unlawful acts of its own agents. Attempts to repudiate those acts are vain. In a message to Sanford B. Dole, Liliʻuokalani states: Now to avoid any collision of armed forces and perhaps the loss of life, I do under this protest, and impelled by said force, yield my authority until such time as the Government of the United States shall, upon the facts being presented to it, undo the action of its representatives and reinstate me in
12180-467: The wealthier, white elite. Resident whites were allowed to vote but resident Asians were not. As the 1887 Constitution was signed under threat of violence, it is known as the Bayonet Constitution. King Kalākaua, reduced to a figurehead, reigned until his death in 1891. His sister, Queen Liliʻuokalani , succeeded him; she was the last monarch of Hawaiʻi. In 1893, Liliʻuokalani announced plans for
12296-499: The world's islands. On the volcanoes' flanks, slope instability has generated damaging earthquakes and related tsunamis , particularly in 1868 and 1975 . Catastrophic debris avalanches on the ocean island volcanoes' submerged flanks have created steep cliffs. Kīlauea erupted in May 2018, opening 22 fissure vents on its eastern rift zone . The Leilani Estates and Lanipuna Gardens are within this territory. The eruption destroyed at least 36 buildings and this, coupled with
12412-474: The world's largest naval command, as well as 75,000 employees of the Defense Department. Hawaii's isolation results in one of the highest costs of living in the U.S. However, Hawaii is the third-wealthiest state, and residents have the longest life expectancy of any U.S. state, at 80.7 years. The State of Hawaii derives its name from the name of its largest island, Hawaiʻi . A common explanation of
12528-408: Was an independent sovereign state , recognized by the United States , United Kingdom , France , and Germany with exchange of ambassadors. However, there were several challenges to the reigning governments of the Kingdom and Republic of Hawaii during the 8 + 1 ⁄ 2 -year (1887–1895) period. In 1887, a group of cabinet officials and advisors to King Kalākaua and an armed militia forced
12644-473: Was a lifelong resident of Augusta in the same county, except for his time away at school and his later diplomatic service. Stevens attended Maine Wesleyan Seminary to prepare for a minister's career in the Universalist church, which he served as pastor for a decade, becoming a leader in the anti-slavery movement. (Stevens later became a firm opponent of capital punishment, and as a Maine State Senator urged
12760-415: Was a near-war event directly related to the Hawaiian rebellions. United States Minister to Hawaii John L. Stevens was forced to retire after supporting the overthrow of the monarchy. He was replaced by James Henderson Blount . After completing the Blount Report, Blount was replaced by Albert S. Willis . Willis, against America's present neutrality toward Hawaii, threatened an amphibious invasion to force
12876-617: Was awarded an Honorary Doctorate of Laws by Tufts College in 1882. American author and orientalist William Elliot Griffis dedicated his book America in the East to Stevens, who, Griffis wrote, "believing that the lives and property of American citizens abroad ought to be as well protected as if they were at home, acting according to his faith." John L. Stevens was married to the former Mary Lowell Smith of Hallowell, Maine , on May 10, 1845. The couple had one son and three daughters, one of whom drowned on January 20, 1893 – three days after
12992-469: Was exposed to overthrow King Kalākaua in a military coup. In 1889, a rebellion of Native Hawaiians led by Colonel Robert Wilcox and Robert Boyd attempted to replace the hated Bayonet Constitution and stormed 'Iolani Palace. The rebellion was later crushed. The United States landed Marines to protect American interests, an action later officially endorsed by the State Department. A plot by Native Hawaiians led by Colonel Robert Wilcox attempted to overthrow
13108-492: Was formed against the will of Indigenous Hawaiian voters, who constituted the majority of voters at the time, and consisted of "thirteen white men" according to scholar J Kehaulani Kauanui. The United States Minister to the Kingdom of Hawaii ( John L. Stevens ) conspired with U.S. citizens to overthrow the monarchy. After the overthrow, Sanford B. Dole , a citizen of Hawaii and cousin to James Dole, owner of Hawaiian Fruit Company,
13224-473: Was probably by Polynesian settlers from the Marquesas Islands , and a second wave of migration from Raiatea and Bora Bora took place in the 11th century. The date of the human discovery and habitation of the Hawaiian Islands is the subject of academic debate. Some archaeologists and historians think it was a later wave of immigrants from Tahiti around 1000 CE who introduced a new line of high chiefs,
13340-437: Was sovereign from 1810 until 1893, when resident American and European capitalists and landholders overthrew the monarchy . Hawaiʻi was an independent republic from 1894 until August 12, 1898, when it officially became a U.S. territory. Hawaiʻi was admitted as a U.S. state on August 21, 1959. Based on archaeological evidence, the earliest habitation of the Hawaiian Islands appears to date between 1000 and 1200 CE. The first wave
13456-514: Was the first known non-Polynesian to arrive at the archipelago; early British influence is reflected in the state flag , which bears a Union Jack . An influx of European and American explorers, traders, and whalers soon arrived, leading to the decimation of the once-isolated indigenous community through the introduction of diseases such as syphilis, tuberculosis, smallpox, and measles; the native Hawaiian population declined from between 300,000 and one million to less than 40,000 by 1890. Hawaii became
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