Hawaii is one of four U.S. states that were independent prior to becoming part of the United States, along with the Vermont Republic (1791), the Republic of Texas (1845), and the California Republic (1846), and one of two (Texas was the other) with formal diplomatic recognition internationally. The Kingdom of Hawaii existed from 1810 until 1893 when the monarchy was overthrown by resident American (and some European) businessmen. It was an independent republic from 1894 until 1898, when it was annexed by the United States as a territory, until becoming a state in 1959.
Hawaii’s greatest historic significance is as the target of surprise attack on Pearl Harbor by Imperial Japan on December 7, 1941. The attack on Pearl Harbor and other military and naval installations on Oʻahu, carried out by aircraft and by midget submarine brought the United States into World War II.
Pre-European contact – Ancient Hawaii (800-1778)
The earliest habitation supported by archaeological evidence dates to as early as 300 BCE, probably by Polynesian settlers from the Marquesas, followed by a second wave of migration from Raiatea and Bora Bora in the 11th century. The first recorded European contact with the islands was in 1778 by British explorer James Cook.
Polynesians from the Marquesas and possibly the Society Islands may have first populated the Hawaiian Islands between 300 and 500 CE. There is a great deal of debate regarding these dates.
Some archaeologists and historians believe that there had been an early settlement from the Marquesas and a later wave of immigrants from Tahiti, circa 1000, who were said to have introduced a new line of high chiefs, the Kapu system, the practice of human sacrifice and the building of heiaus. This later immigration is detailed in folk tales about Paʻao. Other authors have argued that there is no archaeological or linguistic evidence for a later influx of Tahitian settlers, and that Paʻao must be regarded as a myth. However, this seems very unlikely due to the fact that the Kapu system and the practice of human sacrifice were only common in Tahitian culture.
Regardless of the question of Paʻao and the history of the Royal Hawaiian lineage, historians agree that the history of the islands was marked by a slow but steady growth in population and the size of the Kapu chiefdoms, which grew to encompass whole islands. Local chiefs, called aliʻi, ruled their settlements and fought to extend their sway and defend their communities from predatory rivals. This was conducted in a system of allies of various ranks similar to the tribal systems before Feudalism.
James Cook – European arrival and the Kingdom of Hawaii (1778-1893)
The 1778 arrival of British explorer James Cook is usually taken to be Hawaii’s first contact with European explorers. Cook named the islands the Sandwich Islands in honor of one of his sponsors, John Montagu, 4th Earl of Sandwich. He published the geographical coordinates of the islands and reported the native name as Owyhee. This erroneous translation lives on in Owyhee County, Idaho, which was named after three Hawaiian members of a trapping party who were killed in that area.
Cook visited the Hawaiian islands twice. During his second visit in 1779, he attempted to abduct a Hawaiian chief and hold him as ransom for return of a ship’s boat that was stolen by a different minor chief; the chief’s supporters fought back, and Cook was killed.
After Cook’s visit and the publication of several books relating his voyages, the Hawaiian islands received many European visitors: explorers, traders, and eventually whalers who found the islands a convenient harbor and source of fresh food. Early British influence can still be seen from the design of the local Flag of Hawaii which has the British Union Flag in the corner.
Christian missionaries began to arrive in the early 1800s eventually converted many of the population to Christianity. Their influence led Kamehameha II to end the human sacrifice and the Kapu system, and Kamehameha III was the first Christian king.
The most famous and beloved of the missionaries was Father Damien, a Catholic priest who helped bring order and hope to the colony of lepers which had been raised on an isolated part of the island of Molokai. Other well-remembered missionaries who served in the Kingdom of Hawaii included Protestant Hiram Bingham I and Joseph F. Smith of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
Other missionaries, however, are not remembered as fondly. A number who came to Hawaii during this period took a more earthly view of the islands and their people, and over the years began to exert influence on politics and society. A number abandoned their callings to seek commercial fortune, and to this day, when a person of any race who was born in Hawaii calls someone a "missionary," it is considered an insult. It is said that "The Protestants came to the islands to do good, and they did right well" (a colloquialism meaning that they had prospered).
In 1893, Queen Liliʻuokalani announced plans to establish a new constitution that would have replaced the 1887 Constitution of the Kingdom of Hawaii. On January 14, 1893, a group of mostly Euro-American business leaders and residents who opposed the Queen’s plans formed a Committee of Safety to overthrow the Queen and seek annexation by the United States. United States Government Minister John L. Stevens, responding to a request from the Committee of Safety, summoned a company of uniformed U.S. Marines to come ashore. As one historian noted, the presence of these troops effectively made it impossible for the monarchy to protect itself.
Revolution of 1893 – the Republic of Hawaii (1893-1898)
In January 1893, Queen Liliʻuokalani was replaced by a Provisional Government composed of members of the Committee of Safety. There was much controversy in the following years as the queen tried to re-establish her throne. The administration of President Grover Cleveland commissioned the Blount Report, which concluded that the removal of Liliʻuokalani was illegal. The U.S. Government first demanded that Queen Liliʻuokalani be reinstated, but the Provisional Government refused. Congress responded to Cleveland’s referral with another investigation, and submitted the Morgan Report by the U.S. Senate on February 26, 1894, which found all parties (including Minister Stevens) with the exception of the queen "not guilty" from any responsibility for the overthrow. The accuracy and impartiality of both the Blount and Morgan reports has been questioned by partisans on both sides of the historical debate over the events of 1893.
In 1993, a joint Apology Resolution regarding the overthrow was passed by Congress and signed by President Clinton, apologizing for the overthrow of the Hawaiian Kingdom. It is the first time in American history that the United States government has apologized for overthrowing the legitimate government of a sovereign nation.
The Provisional Government of Hawaii ended on July 4, 1894, replaced by the Republic of Hawaii.
Annexation – the Territory of Hawaii (1898-1959)
After William McKinley won the presidential election in 1896, Hawaii’s annexation to the U.S. was again discussed. The previous president, Grover Cleveland, was a friend of Queen Liliʻuokalani. He remained opposed to annexation, but McKinley was open to persuasion by U.S. expansionists and by annexationists from Hawaii. He met with a committee of annexationists from Hawaii, Lorrin Thurston, Francis Hatch and William Kinney. After negotiations, in June 1897, McKinley agreed to a treaty of annexation with these representatives of the Republic of Hawaii. The president then submitted the treaty to the U.S. Senate for approval.
The Newlands Resolution in Congress annexed the Republic to the United States and it became the Territory of Hawaii . Despite some opposition in the islands, the Newlands Resolution was passed by the House June 15, 1898, by a vote of 209 to 91, and by the Senate on July 6, 1898, by a vote of 42 to 21. Its legality continues to be questioned because it was a United States Government resolution, not a treaty of cession or conquest as is required by international law. Both houses of the American Congress carried the measure with two-thirds majorities.
In 1900, Hawaii was granted self-governance and retained ʻIolani Palace as the territorial capitol building. Despite several attempts at statehood, Hawaii remained a territory for sixty years. Plantation owners and key capitalists, who maintained control through financial institutions, or "factors," known as the Big Five, found territorial status convenient, enabling them to continue importing cheap foreign labor; such immigration was prohibited in various states.
Revolution of 1954 – the State of Hawaii (1959-present)
In the 1950s the power of the plantation owners was finally broken in a non-violent revolution by descendants of immigrant laborers. Because they were born in a U.S. territory, they were legal U.S. citizens. The Hawaii Republican Party, which was strongly supported by the plantation owners, was voted out of office. The Democratic Party of Hawaii dominated state politics for 40 years. Expecting to gain full voting rights, Hawaii’s residents actively campaigned for statehood.
In March 1959, both houses of Congress passed the Hawaii Admission Act and U.S. President Dwight D. Eisenhower signed it into law. (The act excluded Palmyra Atoll, part of the Kingdom and Territory of Hawaii, from the new state.) On June 27 of that year, a referendum was held asking residents of Hawaii to vote on accepting the statehood bill. Hawaii voted 17 to 1 to accept. There has been criticism, however, of the Statehood plebiscite, because the only choices were to accept the Act or to remain a territory, without the option of independence or addressing the legality surrounding the overthrow. Despite the criticism, the United Nations Special Committee on Decolonization later removed Hawaii from the United Nations list of Non-Self-Governing Territories.
After statehood, Hawaii quickly modernized with a construction boom and rapidly growing economy. Later, state programs promoted Hawaiian culture. The Hawaii State Constitutional Convention of 1978 incorporated as state constitutional law programs such as the Office of Hawaiian Affairs to promote the indigenous Hawaiian language and culture.
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