Okla-homey
1/29/2008, 09:16 AM
January 29, 1891: Lili'uokalani proclaimed queen of Hawai'i
http://aycu03.webshots.com/image/42082/2001498931131121484_rs.jpg (http://allyoucanupload.webshots.com/v/2001498931131121484)
117 years ago on this day in 1891, following the death of her brother, King Kalakaua, Lili'uokalani becomes the last monarch of the Hawai'ian Islands.
Hawai'i, first settled by Polynesian voyagers sometime in the eighth century, saw a massive influx of American settlers during the 19th century, most coming to exploit Hawaii's burgeoning sugar industry.
In 1887, under pressure from U.S. investors and American sugar planters, King Kalakaua agreed to a new constitution that stripped him of much of his power. However, in 1891, Lili'uokalani ascended to the throne and refused to recognize the constitution of 1887, replacing it instead with a constitution that restored the monarchy's traditional authority.
http://aycu27.webshots.com/image/41466/2001428407077750191_rs.jpg (http://allyoucanupload.webshots.com/v/2001428407077750191)
The Queen was brought down and replaced by the Pineapple Empire
Two years later, a revolutionary "Committee of Safety," organized by Sanford B. Dole, a Hawai'ian-born American pineapple and sugar tycoon, staged a coup against Queen Lili'uokalani with the support of U.S. Minister to Hawai'i John Stevens and a battalion of U.S. Marines.
http://aycu33.webshots.com/image/40672/2001449970826046497_rs.jpg (http://allyoucanupload.webshots.com/v/2001449970826046497)
John Stevens
Stevens recognized Dole's new government on his own authority and proclaimed Hawai'i a U.S. protectorate. Dole submitted a treaty of annexation to the U.S. Senate, but most Democrats opposed it, especially after it was revealed that most Hawai'ians did not want annexation.
http://aycu37.webshots.com/image/41916/2001483325611434136_rs.jpg (http://allyoucanupload.webshots.com/v/2001483325611434136)
Cartoon of the period depicting the "shotgun wedding" of Hawai'i and Uncle Sam
President Grover Cleveland sent a new U.S. minister to Hawai'i to restore Queen Lili'uokalani to the throne under the 1887 constitution, but Dole refused to step aside and instead proclaimed the independent Republic of Hawai'i, which was organized into a U.S. territory in 1900. Queen Lili'uokalani stepped aside to help avoid bloodshed.
“I, Lili’uokalani, by the grace of God and under the constitution of the Hawai’ian Kingdom, Queen, do hereby solemnly protest against any and all acts done against myself and the constitutional government of the Hawai’ian Kingdom by certain persons claiming to have established a Provisional Government of and for this Kingdom….to avoid any collision of armed forces and perhaps loss of life, I do, under this protest, and impelled by said forces, 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 representative and reinstate me in the authority which I claim as the constitutional sovereign of the Hawai’ian Islands.“
http://aycu30.webshots.com/image/42109/2001466768045338606_rs.jpg (http://allyoucanupload.webshots.com/v/2001466768045338606)
http://aycu32.webshots.com/image/42831/2001428360603421173_rs.jpg (http://allyoucanupload.webshots.com/v/2001428360603421173)
Sanford B. Dole, on the left, continued as Governor of the new Territory of Hawaiʻi until the Hawaiian Organic Act of 1900 established a permanent territorial government led by a governor.
Lili'uokalani herself spent much of the remainder of her life in the United States, where she unsuccessfully petitioned the federal government for compensation for seized property and other losses.
The territorial legislature of Hawai'i finally voted her an annual pension of $4,000 and permitted her to receive the income from a small sugar plantation. In additional to her political fame, Lili'uokalani is also known for composing many Hawai'ian songs, including the popular "Aloha Oe," which translates to "Farewell to Thee."
Hawai'i became the fiftieth state in 1960.
Postscript:
The indigenous people of Hawai'i are not legally recognized by the US government on par with American Indians. They have been repeatedly denied the rights and benefits Indians have under US law. I have never read a an acceptable reason why that is so. IMHO, Native Hawai'ians meet every criteria required for federal recognition under Title 25 U.S.C.
http://aycu34.webshots.com/image/40193/2001400617376081028_rs.jpg (http://allyoucanupload.webshots.com/v/2001400617376081028)
Senator Daniel Akaka
In the early 2000s, the Congressional delegation of the State of Hawaiʻi introduced the Native Hawai'ian Federal Recognition Bill named after U.S. Senator Daniel K. Akaka (D-HI). The Akaka Bill would be the first step in the process of recognizing and forming a native Hawai'ian government entity to negotiate with state and federal governments.
The significance of the bill is that it would establish, for the first time in the history of the islands, a new political and legal relationship between a native Hawai'ian entity and the federal government. This native Hawai'ian entity would be a newly created one without any historical precedent in the islands or direct institutional continuity with previous political entities (unlike many American Indian groups). It's controversial to say the least. Nativists don't like it because it stops short of immediatley enabling an indigenous people's government like those enjoyed by American Indian tribes. Others oppose it because it helps creates a new class of folks to whom federal entitlements might attach.
http://aycu27.webshots.com/image/43706/2001430284168191908_rs.jpg (http://allyoucanupload.webshots.com/v/2001430284168191908)
http://aycu03.webshots.com/image/42082/2001498931131121484_rs.jpg (http://allyoucanupload.webshots.com/v/2001498931131121484)
117 years ago on this day in 1891, following the death of her brother, King Kalakaua, Lili'uokalani becomes the last monarch of the Hawai'ian Islands.
Hawai'i, first settled by Polynesian voyagers sometime in the eighth century, saw a massive influx of American settlers during the 19th century, most coming to exploit Hawaii's burgeoning sugar industry.
In 1887, under pressure from U.S. investors and American sugar planters, King Kalakaua agreed to a new constitution that stripped him of much of his power. However, in 1891, Lili'uokalani ascended to the throne and refused to recognize the constitution of 1887, replacing it instead with a constitution that restored the monarchy's traditional authority.
http://aycu27.webshots.com/image/41466/2001428407077750191_rs.jpg (http://allyoucanupload.webshots.com/v/2001428407077750191)
The Queen was brought down and replaced by the Pineapple Empire
Two years later, a revolutionary "Committee of Safety," organized by Sanford B. Dole, a Hawai'ian-born American pineapple and sugar tycoon, staged a coup against Queen Lili'uokalani with the support of U.S. Minister to Hawai'i John Stevens and a battalion of U.S. Marines.
http://aycu33.webshots.com/image/40672/2001449970826046497_rs.jpg (http://allyoucanupload.webshots.com/v/2001449970826046497)
John Stevens
Stevens recognized Dole's new government on his own authority and proclaimed Hawai'i a U.S. protectorate. Dole submitted a treaty of annexation to the U.S. Senate, but most Democrats opposed it, especially after it was revealed that most Hawai'ians did not want annexation.
http://aycu37.webshots.com/image/41916/2001483325611434136_rs.jpg (http://allyoucanupload.webshots.com/v/2001483325611434136)
Cartoon of the period depicting the "shotgun wedding" of Hawai'i and Uncle Sam
President Grover Cleveland sent a new U.S. minister to Hawai'i to restore Queen Lili'uokalani to the throne under the 1887 constitution, but Dole refused to step aside and instead proclaimed the independent Republic of Hawai'i, which was organized into a U.S. territory in 1900. Queen Lili'uokalani stepped aside to help avoid bloodshed.
“I, Lili’uokalani, by the grace of God and under the constitution of the Hawai’ian Kingdom, Queen, do hereby solemnly protest against any and all acts done against myself and the constitutional government of the Hawai’ian Kingdom by certain persons claiming to have established a Provisional Government of and for this Kingdom….to avoid any collision of armed forces and perhaps loss of life, I do, under this protest, and impelled by said forces, 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 representative and reinstate me in the authority which I claim as the constitutional sovereign of the Hawai’ian Islands.“
http://aycu30.webshots.com/image/42109/2001466768045338606_rs.jpg (http://allyoucanupload.webshots.com/v/2001466768045338606)
http://aycu32.webshots.com/image/42831/2001428360603421173_rs.jpg (http://allyoucanupload.webshots.com/v/2001428360603421173)
Sanford B. Dole, on the left, continued as Governor of the new Territory of Hawaiʻi until the Hawaiian Organic Act of 1900 established a permanent territorial government led by a governor.
Lili'uokalani herself spent much of the remainder of her life in the United States, where she unsuccessfully petitioned the federal government for compensation for seized property and other losses.
The territorial legislature of Hawai'i finally voted her an annual pension of $4,000 and permitted her to receive the income from a small sugar plantation. In additional to her political fame, Lili'uokalani is also known for composing many Hawai'ian songs, including the popular "Aloha Oe," which translates to "Farewell to Thee."
Hawai'i became the fiftieth state in 1960.
Postscript:
The indigenous people of Hawai'i are not legally recognized by the US government on par with American Indians. They have been repeatedly denied the rights and benefits Indians have under US law. I have never read a an acceptable reason why that is so. IMHO, Native Hawai'ians meet every criteria required for federal recognition under Title 25 U.S.C.
http://aycu34.webshots.com/image/40193/2001400617376081028_rs.jpg (http://allyoucanupload.webshots.com/v/2001400617376081028)
Senator Daniel Akaka
In the early 2000s, the Congressional delegation of the State of Hawaiʻi introduced the Native Hawai'ian Federal Recognition Bill named after U.S. Senator Daniel K. Akaka (D-HI). The Akaka Bill would be the first step in the process of recognizing and forming a native Hawai'ian government entity to negotiate with state and federal governments.
The significance of the bill is that it would establish, for the first time in the history of the islands, a new political and legal relationship between a native Hawai'ian entity and the federal government. This native Hawai'ian entity would be a newly created one without any historical precedent in the islands or direct institutional continuity with previous political entities (unlike many American Indian groups). It's controversial to say the least. Nativists don't like it because it stops short of immediatley enabling an indigenous people's government like those enjoyed by American Indian tribes. Others oppose it because it helps creates a new class of folks to whom federal entitlements might attach.
http://aycu27.webshots.com/image/43706/2001430284168191908_rs.jpg (http://allyoucanupload.webshots.com/v/2001430284168191908)