The Dominion of Hawaii
With Grover Cleveland’s adamant refusal to accept the overthrow of the Hawaiian government in 1893 by planters, the new regime in the island archipelago had nowhere else to turn but to London. The government of the Marquess of Salisbury was more than amendable to achieving dominance over the Hawaiian sugar trade, and accepted the offers from the new Hawaiian regime to bring the islands into the fold of the British Empire.
There was trouble in paradise from the start. The government in London asked Hallam Tennyson, the governor general of the colony of South Australia, to serve as the first Governor of Hawaii. But rule from London was not the autonomy that the planter aristocracy sought; by 1901, just eight years into their status as a British colony, the calls for independence grew. A committee gathered by the planters successfully pushed for independence in 1900, with the British Parliament adopting the Hawaii Constitution Act of 1900, which granted both independence and the right to hold a constitutional convention.
The Hawaiian Constitutional Convention was specifically designed by colonial authorities to lock the native population out of the decision making process. What resulted was a British based constitution that created a unicameral parliament, the population based House of Delegates, and a commonwealth based system of government. The first elections for the newly minted Dominion of Hawaii were scheduled for May of 1900. Two parties emerged-the Liberals, who sought greater rights for the Hawaiian natives and perhaps even a restoration of the Hawaiian monarchy, and the Reform Party, which represented the business interests of the island. The Hawaii Constitution Act limited voting rights for the first election to the white population, despite the Hawaiian Constitution that was set to be ratified guaranteeing suffrage for all males. None the less, while unable to vote for themselves, numerous native Hawaiians found their way on the ballot as Liberal candidates. Only one, Jonah Kuhio Kalanianaʻole, would be elected however.
1900 Hawaiian General Election: 15 Seats.Reform (Sanford Dole): 50.62%-8 seats.Liberal (Charles Wilson): 49.38%-7 seats.1900 Hawaiian Constitution ReferendumYes: 69.33%No: 30.67%Constituency Results Of the 1900 General Election.
The success of the referendum and Reform Party in the 1900 General Election saw the first era in Hawaii political history open up. Dole’s one seat majority meant that as long as the small Reform caucus could stay together, they could dominate Hawaii politics. When the first Parliament gathered at Iolani Palace, the tradition of electing a nonpartisan and nonmember Speaker of the House was created. In an act of tribute to the former Hawaiian Royal Family, which had tolerated British rule and made no efforts to seize back the throne, John ʻAimoku Dominis, the stepson of Queen Liliuokalani was named Speaker of the House by a unanimous vote. At 18, he was the youngest person ever elected to the position.
Prime Minister Dole took up residence in Washington Place, which was vacated by Queen Liliuokalani in exchange for an apartment in Iolani Palace, her former royal residence. Dole worked to create a cabinet immediately; the offices of Ministers of Foreign Affairs, Finance, Defense, Justice, and Agriculture were created immediately.
First Hawaiian CabinetPrime Minister:
Sanford Dole (RF)Foreign Minister:
Samuel Parker (RF)Minister of Finance:
Lorrin Thurston (RF)Minister of War:
James Boyd (RF)Minister of Justice:
William Hyde Rice (RF)Minister of Agriculture:
Claus Spreckels (RF)
First Meeting of the Hawaiian Parliament.
The choice of Spreckels was the confirmation that the liberals, lead by Charles Wilson, needed to declare the new government “for the sugar planters, by the sugar planters.” The Trade Act of 1901 was passed shortly after independence, which placed tariffs on sugar imports and allowed the “Big Five” companies to form a near monopoly on the trade in Hawaii. It was passed by a vote of 8-7. Likewise, the Tax and Revenue Act of 1900 established a tax code that critics derided as regressive. It taxed the sugar industry at a mere 10%, a reward for their “economic contributions to Hawaii’s vitality as a Dominion” while small farmers were taxed at 15%, a higher rate.
The Hawaiian Heritage and Citizenship Act passed 8-7. The bill banned immigrants from East Asian nations and colonies from achieving citizenship but did open up immigration for the purposes of migrant labor. The Liberal Party, adopting “Hawaii First” as their motto for the year, attempted in vain to halt the program and began to play on native nationalistic sentiments in order to build support for the next general election. Yet, their motto was somewhat of a paradox as they also advocated free trade with the United States and Britain.
In 1903, the Reform Party began to rally support among all segments of the population by advocating the construction of two railroads on the islands of Hawaii and Oahu to ease the burden faced by farmers of transporting crops to the port in Honolulu. The Communications and Transportations Act of 1903 set aside money for the railroad projects as well as the creation of an undersea telegraph connection from Hawaii to San Francisco. The costly ventures were funded in part by Britain, who had their eyes on making Hawaii into a crucial naval base for the Pacific fleet.
Within the first four years of independence, an influx of oriental and white immigrants arrived. Canadians in particular flocked to the new Dominion to open pineapple plantations, which rapidly rose as Hawaii’s second leading industry behind sugar. The new arrivals were the weary of both the Liberals and Reform Party. They opposed the tariffs on all imports, which made canning the pineapples much more expensive than they believed necessary, yet they also opposed the Liberal Party’s appeals to native Hawaiians through populist proposals such as bans on importing migrant workers.
By 1904, the deadline for another round of general elections was fast approaching. In May, Prime Minister Dole went to the Governor General to seek the dissolution of Parliament. A general election was scheduled for early July, and the campaign began.
The Reform Party Platform*Allow the influx of migrant workers from China, India, Japan, and Samoa to continue.
*Continue the restrictions on citizenship.
*Promote infrastructure development to spur economic growth.
*Raise tariffs on agricultural imports to promote Hawaiian agriculture.
*Implement alcohol and gambling prohibition.
The Liberal Party Platform*Sign a free trade treaty with the United States.
*Create a National Bank to handle national finances and the debt.
*Implement income taxes to pay the national debt.
*Ban immigration from oriental countries.
*Lower taxes on shipping countries.
*Pass “Trust Busting” legislation.
The similarities between the two party’s platforms were the cause of much consternation among the voters. None the less, they had to make a choice. On July 1st, the people of Hawaii went to the polls. Would they return Sanford Dole’s government, or would Charles Wilson get a chance to form a government? The fate of the young dominion was in the hands of the voters.
Sanford Dole, Prime Minister of the Dominion of Hawaii.
Charles B. Wilson, Leader of the Opposition.
Poll
