Hawaiian Occupation
by Ryan B.
Some day soon, the U.S. flag will have to be redesigned.
In 1959, the Hawaiian Islands became the fiftieth state of the union. This was the end result of about sixty years of abuse and mistreatment of the local government by the United States, and a provisional government that American settlers had established on the islands by force.
In early 1842, the Hawaiian government sent a delegation to the United States and England to secure recognition as an Independent State. On December 19th, 1842, they "secured assurance of the United States," and England followed suit in 1843.
In 1893, the government of Hawai'i was first overthrown by a group of American settlers. Their primary interest in such a coup was to gain control of the islands' lucrative sugar industry. There was some back and forth fighting that you can read about on http://www.hawaiiankingdom.org/ website.
In the 50s, the US was probably more concerned with protecting itself from Communist powers in Asia than Hawaiian independence, and the strategic defensive position of the "Unsinkable Battleship Hawaii" was something the U.S. Navy was more than a little interested in. Eisenhower was still a military general at heart. It is also interesting to note that these facts weren't public knowledge when annexation happened. Were the islands just too far away for most Americans to care?
In 1950, the Hawaii Constitutional Convention signed and the voters of Hawaii later ratified a constitution. The U.S. Un-American Activities decided 2 weeks later to come conduct hearings on Communist influence in the Hawaiian Labor organizations.
The original citizens of Hawaii were Chinese and Japanese immigrants. They remained the majority of the residents even in the 50s, and during the plebiscite for Hawaiian statehood under the U.S. government. A plebiscite is a special vote, required by United Nations for the annexation of any territory, on which there are three options: Remain a territory, Annexation, and Independence. In 1959, the plebiscite of the Hawaiian Islands had only two options: Territory status, or Annexation.
This coming at the same time as the Civil Rights Act, and after the Japanese Internment in 1942, shows the continued neglect of the US Government that had plagued it for so long. Eisenhower was a military president, and his priorities did not lay along human rights issues. The annexation of Hawaii was rushed in the 1950s due to fears of Communist aggression from Asia. It is also interesting to note that martial law was imposed at the beginning of World War II, and ended in 1944.
Annexation of Hawaii was one of the early outcomes of the Cold War, and in my opinion much cruder than McCarthy scares or the immense amount of radio spam from the Voice of America or the Communist radio blocs.
"On July 5, 2001, the Hawaiian Kingdom filed with the Security Council at the United Nations headquarters in New York a complaint against the USA concerning prolonged occupation of the Hawaiian Islands (103 years)." If everything goes according to plan, our flag will have 7 rows of 7 stars again.
Sources:
The Hawaiian Kingdom National Website
The Hawaiian Historical Society
Some day soon, the U.S. flag will have to be redesigned.
In 1959, the Hawaiian Islands became the fiftieth state of the union. This was the end result of about sixty years of abuse and mistreatment of the local government by the United States, and a provisional government that American settlers had established on the islands by force.
In early 1842, the Hawaiian government sent a delegation to the United States and England to secure recognition as an Independent State. On December 19th, 1842, they "secured assurance of the United States," and England followed suit in 1843.
In 1893, the government of Hawai'i was first overthrown by a group of American settlers. Their primary interest in such a coup was to gain control of the islands' lucrative sugar industry. There was some back and forth fighting that you can read about on http://www.hawaiiankingdom.org/ website.
In the 50s, the US was probably more concerned with protecting itself from Communist powers in Asia than Hawaiian independence, and the strategic defensive position of the "Unsinkable Battleship Hawaii" was something the U.S. Navy was more than a little interested in. Eisenhower was still a military general at heart. It is also interesting to note that these facts weren't public knowledge when annexation happened. Were the islands just too far away for most Americans to care?
In 1950, the Hawaii Constitutional Convention signed and the voters of Hawaii later ratified a constitution. The U.S. Un-American Activities decided 2 weeks later to come conduct hearings on Communist influence in the Hawaiian Labor organizations.
The original citizens of Hawaii were Chinese and Japanese immigrants. They remained the majority of the residents even in the 50s, and during the plebiscite for Hawaiian statehood under the U.S. government. A plebiscite is a special vote, required by United Nations for the annexation of any territory, on which there are three options: Remain a territory, Annexation, and Independence. In 1959, the plebiscite of the Hawaiian Islands had only two options: Territory status, or Annexation.
This coming at the same time as the Civil Rights Act, and after the Japanese Internment in 1942, shows the continued neglect of the US Government that had plagued it for so long. Eisenhower was a military president, and his priorities did not lay along human rights issues. The annexation of Hawaii was rushed in the 1950s due to fears of Communist aggression from Asia. It is also interesting to note that martial law was imposed at the beginning of World War II, and ended in 1944.
Annexation of Hawaii was one of the early outcomes of the Cold War, and in my opinion much cruder than McCarthy scares or the immense amount of radio spam from the Voice of America or the Communist radio blocs.
"On July 5, 2001, the Hawaiian Kingdom filed with the Security Council at the United Nations headquarters in New York a complaint against the USA concerning prolonged occupation of the Hawaiian Islands (103 years)." If everything goes according to plan, our flag will have 7 rows of 7 stars again.
Sources:
The Hawaiian Kingdom National Website
The Hawaiian Historical Society
posted by Leslie Madsen-Brooks at 12/05/2006 08:46:00 PM
2 Comments:
Will Hawaii allow the US to keep its military bases their on the island if they are once again declared a soveriegn state? And how will that effect our military strategy, values and motivations? If the US did keep a base their would it be similar to the one in Cuba with not outside contact of be a part of the state?
Ben Reynolds
I wonder what people of the fifties would think if they knew Hawaii would be come the ideal vacation place it is today. It is also interesting going there that this history is not apparent, and that consumerism has made the islands into a travel destination. Just as consumerism has changed all other aspects of the american daily life.
helen
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