How Jon Van Dyke Analyzed the Hawaiian Constitutions of 1840-1893

Summaries of the documents on the Hawaiian Constitutions

The Constitution of 1840

This document summarizes the history behind the Constitution of 1840, created by Kamehameha III, Kauikeaouli. Samuel Kamakau, an elected legislator from Maui, described Kamehameha III's creation as "an example of a ruler agreeing to share power without ʻwar and bloodshed" (p. 2).

Kamehameha I was the first to unite the islands under a single ruler. During his leadership, there was a belief that the land was not private property but that "it belonged to the chiefs and people in common," which was a "trust relationship between Aliʻi (chiefs) and makaʻainana (people who lived on the land)" (p. 1). Kamehameha I was considered the "head and manager of landed property" (p. 1).

Kamehameha III was the first to change "the form of government to a constitutional monarchy and to a kingdom based upon law" (p. 2). The 1840 Constitution established a "legislative body with House of Nobles, 16 high aliʻi members elected by voters from Hawaii, Maui, Oʻahu and Kauaʻi" (p. 1). Voters could be male (native or naturalized), denizens (foreigners given rights as subjects, at least 20 years old, resident of the Kingdom for 1 year, not "insane or unpardoned felons") (p. 1). There was a supreme court with 6 positions, the King, Kuhina-Nui, and 4 people appointed by the "representative body" (p. 1).

This history shows Kamehameha IIIʻs intent to update the government of the Hawaiian Kingdom and maintain political participation across the islands.

Constitution of 1852

Constitution of 1852

This document discussed how the Constitution of 1852 was written mostly by Chief Justice William Little Lee, who originated from the American South.  In his re-interpretation of the Hawaiian monarchy constitution, he would “further reduce the power of the moʻi through distributing the power between the King and the people through implementing a legislative, executive and judicial branches of the government.”  Mōʻi is the Indigenous Hawaiian name for sovereign, monarch or King over all of the islands.  Within the culture of the Hawaiian Kingdom, the moʻi had a mutual relationship with other chiefs and peoples across the islands, to ensure that the Kingʻs leadership would ensure the interests of the people across the different islands.  The 1852 Constitution allowed the king to appoint a Kuhina Nui, a ranking chief, to “perform the King’s duties and assume all powers vested in the King by the Constitution.”

However, the passage of the 1852 Constitution began to isolate the Kingʻs power from other organs of the government by placing  “important checks on the arbitrary powers of the king.”   The legislative, executive cabinet and judicial branches could now have a say in how the Indigenous King ruled the kingdom according to this Constitutional view.  In addition, there was a gendered component to the Constitution as “all male subjects and denizens were allowed to vote.”  

1864 Constitution

1864 Constitution

Succeeding Kings Kamehameha IV and V sought to restore the Kingʻs position as an Indigenous leader of the kingdom. Kamehameha V tried to draft a new constitution, but the Convention to deliberate this was unable to successfully congeal.  Consequently, the 1864 Constitution was drafted, which increased the economic power of the King, but disenfranchising citizens through the imposition of specific literacy, property and income qualifications to vote. Consequently the Executive and the Legislative branches became positions for those with wealth and who had English, Hawaiian and European literacy.  In addition, the Kuhina Nui position was abolished.  When Kamehameha V died in 1872, the 1864 Constitution appointed the Cabinet Council and the Legislative Assembly to vote for successor. In 1873, there was an election between candidates Queen Emma and David Kalakaua.  Kalakaua became the successor King of the Hawaiian Monarchy.   

The 1887 Constitution

Constitution of 1887

But, the power of King Kalakaua was tempered when he was subjected to the “Bayonet Constitution of 1887,” which was imposed upon him by Lorrin A. Thurston, descendant of missionary and sugar planter families.  This Constitution came to further the monarch’s political power as a sovereign over the entire kingdom through removing certain words in the Constitution, such as “The Kingdom is His from Article 34 of the 1864 Constitution; Article 31 of the 1864 Constitution stated that '-the King and the Cabinet belongs the Executive power'; Article 41 of 1887 Constitution required the King to 'gain approval of the legislature' to remove a Cabinet Minister;  Article 41 provided that the 'no act of the King would have any effect unless it was countersigned by a member of the Cabinet'; Article 78 stated that every action taken by the King must be ʻwith the advice and consent of the Cabinet;’ Article 48 of the 1887 Constitution authorized the King to veto legislation, but that veto could be ‘overridden by a two-thirds vote of the Legislature;’ the 1887 Constitution eliminated the status of the King as ‘commander-in-chief and gave control of the military to the Legislature’” (p. 1).  

Furthermore, the House of Nobles became an elected body, no longer appointed by the Monarch. The House of Nobles could only be tax paying male residents 20 years of age, of Hawaiian, American or European birth or descent. They must be able to read and comprehend ordinary newspaper in Hawaiian, English or European language, and resided in the kingdom for three years or more.  By 1864, westerners had completed control of House of Nobles.

The House of Nobles needed to have property qualification of at least $3,000 in taxable property or having annual income of $600 a year. But Hawaiian free laborer annual income was $248 a year (p. 2).  This affected how Native Hawaiians could vote for their political representatives.  In addition, voting could be done by those who speak Hawaiian, English, European, Portuguese and Puerto Rican. There was already a sizeable Chinese and Japanese population residing in the islands, contributing to the kingdom society: "In 1884, 18,254 Chinese were in the Kingdom, qualified to vote under the 1864 Constitution by being born or naturalized.  400 had become naturalized between 1850-1887.  But after 1887, none could, even if they had been naturalized" (p. 2-3).  Meanwhile, Chief Justice Albert Francis Judd told Commissioner James Blount that ʻthe reason that the Portuguese were allowed to vote was to balance the native vote” (p. 3).  Therefore, the racialized and classed voting qualifications in the Constitution began to actualize ethnic hierarchy in the Hawaiian Kingdom.  The 1887 Constitution decreased the power of the King, and put the leadership of the Hawaiian Kingdom to landed, English, Hawaiian and European, male class interests, rather than that of the working, Indigenous and Asian immigrant people of the Islands.

 

Queen Lili'uokalani's Proposed 1893 Constitution

1893 Proposed Constitution by Queen Liliuʻokalani


There was much protest about the stipulations of the 1887 Constitution.  Queen Liliʻuokalani proposed the 1893 Constitution to address the restraint on Native Hawaiian political power in the governing of the Hawaiian Kingdom.  She proposed an 1893 Constitution to “change the House of Nobles to become a body of 24 individuals appointed by Monarch for life, rather than group elected for 3-year terms by those with property; to increase the House of Representatives from 24-48; to allow the Queen to remove members of the Cabinet; to eliminate the requirement for Monarch actions to be confirmed by Cabinet; to limit voting to subjects of Kingdom, exercise suffrage to those who owed allegiance to no other country” (p. 1). However, the members of her Cabinet refused to sign her proposed Constitution. Instead, the Queen actions were among the reasons why the businessmen and sugar planters justified their move to overthrow the Monarchy and push for the annexation of Hawaii by the U.S., which over the years, was deemed an illegal violation of international law (p.2).  

1894 Constitution of the Republic of Hawaii

1894 Constitution

When the January 1893 overthrow would not lead to immediate annexation, the Legislature created a Provisional Government.  A Constitutional Convention was organized in 1894 for the Constitution of the Republic of Hawaii. Sanford Dole established an Executive Council that would “swear allegiance to the Provisional government.” The 1894 Constitution became the Supreme Law of the Republic, nullifying previous Constitutions (p. 1). The Republic’s territory assumed control over the Crown Lands, free and clear of any trust, which in 1894 was 971,463 acres and were valued at that time as $2,314,250 (p. 2). It confirmed confiscation of Queen Liliʻuokalani’s annual Crown Land revenue of approximately $50,000 and prevented the Queen any recourse through the courts of the new government. Voting was limited to male citizens of the Republic, who paid taxes, who had personal property worth $3000, had an income of $600 the previous year, and who were literate in English or Hawaiian (p. 3). Justice AF Judd stated that “suffrage for women would be appropriate for a ʻcivilized and enlightened constituency,ʻ but would be ‘unsafe’ in Hawaiʻi’s “heterogenous” and “polyglot” communities (p. 3).  Those naturalized prior to Jan 17, 1893 were denied the right to vote unless they were native to countries already having had treaty relations with Hawaii, excluding the Japanese and Chinese. Naturalization process required the the explanation of the articles of the 1894 Constitution in English.  Lastly, naturalization entitled that they must support the Constitution, laws, and government of the Republic of Hawaiʻi, and not directly or indirectly encourage or assist the restoration or establishment of Monarchial form of government in the Hawaiian islands. Then, four years into the establishment of the Republic of Hawaiʻi, President William McKinley signed the Joint Resolution of Annexation of Hawaiʻi to the United States on July 7, 1898 (p. 3).

How Jon Van Dyke Analyzed the Hawaiian Constitutions of 1840-1893