by Kenneth R. Conklin, Ph.D., Thanksgiving 2021
Giving thanks that the Hawaiian monarchy was overthrown and the successor Republic of Hawaii was internationally recognized as the rightful government (therefore authorized under international law to speak for the nation of Hawaii and to offer the Treaty of Annexation to the United States).
Once again this year Hawaiian secessionists are celebrating Ka La Ku’oko’a, the Independence Day holiday of the bygone Kingdom of Hawaii. It’s their way to claim that Hawaii remains an independent nation, and to seek to restore actual independence through political action in Hawaii, in the U.S., and in the United Nations.
Let’s see what all the fuss is about.
November 28 was an annual holiday of the Kingdom of Hawaii called La Ku’oko’a, which means Independence Day. It commemorated the date in 1843 when a diplomat from France and a diplomat from Britain signed a document pledging to each other that neither France nor Britain would take possession of the Hawaiian islands, because the islands had their own government capable of handling their own relations with other nations. Two identical copies of the agreement were written in side-by-side English and French; and each diplomat took one of them.
The agreement happened because a team of three men were authorized by King Kauikeaouli Kamehameha III to speak on behalf of Hawaii to government officials in France and Britain to seek recognition of Hawaii’s sovereign independence. The three men were the American missionary William Richards, age 50, one of the King’s closest advisors who composed the Kingdom’s first Constitution which the King had signed earlier in 1843; Sir George Simpson, age 56, Scottish/Quebec businessman and colonial Governor of the Hudson Bay Company of fur traders; and Timoteo Ha’alilio, a 35-year-old native Hawaiian ali’i who served as the King’s secretary.
The agreement says, in its entirety: “Her Majesty the Queen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, and His Majesty the King of the French, taking into consideration the existence in the Sandwich Islands of a government capable of providing for the regularity of its relations with foreign nations, have thought it right to engage, reciprocally, to consider the Sandwich Islands as an Independent State, and never to take possession, neither directly or under the title of Protectorate, or under any other form, of any part of the territory of which they are composed.”
This agreement was a mutual non-aggression pact between Britain and France where they promised to each other that neither one of them would try to take over Hawaii. It was not a treaty with Hawaii, was not addressed to Hawaii, was not signed by Hawaii, and was written only in English and French but not in Hawaiian. It was only Britain and France talking with each other ABOUT Hawaii, and was signed only by one low-level diplomat from France and one from Britain.
In 1893, after the monarchy had been overthrown, the temporary revolutionary Provisional Government of Hawaii was given de facto (temporary) recognition within two days by the local consuls of all the nations which had consulates in Honolulu, until such time as a permanent government of Hawaii could be created and could then receive de jure (full-fledged) recognition from their home governments. When the permanent Republic of Hawaii was created through a Constitutional Convention and election of President and Legislature, then during the next several months letters in 11 languages were received in Honolulu, directly addressed to President Sanford Dole, personally signed by Emperors, Kings, Queens, and Presidents of at least 19 nations on 4 continents officially recognizing the Republic as the rightful successor government of the still-independent nation of Hawaii. Photos of those letters, and some accompanying English translations of them and accompanying diplomatic letters and envelopes, are at
https://tinyurl.com/gmdtgmy
As always happens when a nation’s government changes, whether by monarchial inheritance or by election or by revolution, the successor government’s legitimacy and right to speak for the nation replaces the authority of the previous government; and is confirmed under international law by the formal diplomatic recognition given to it by the heads of the other nations in the family of nations. Thus the Republic of Hawaii had the right to offer the Treaty of Annexation to the United States, including the provisions that ceded Hawaii’s public lands to be held in trust for Hawaii’s people by the U.S. and provisions that nullified previous treaties that had been made by the Kingdom with other nations.
Hawaiian sovereignty activists like to imagine that the Kingdom of Hawaii remains alive today as the rightful government, ignoring the revolution of 1893. They revive the celebration of the independence day holiday of the Kingdom period as a way of asserting their imaginary continuing independence and demanding future secession and reparations from the United States. They tout the signatures of two low-level diplomats from Britain and France, talking only in their own languages and only to each other while not addressed to anyone in Hawaii, as though that non-aggression pact is somehow as powerful as the letters of formal diplomatic recognition in eleven languages addressed directly to Republic of Hawaii President Sanford Dole by Emperors, Kings, Queens and Presidents of at least 19 nations on four continents.
If you see news reports about Hawaiian Independence Day, and you want to write a comment in a place that does not allow internet links, include these two lines:
Copy/paste the following line into Google:
letters recognize Republic Hawaii
Hawaii Statehood Day Holiday: Reaffirming the Four Principles of Equality and Unity
Aug 17
Posted by Ken Conklin in Commentary, Hawaiian history | Comments off
by Kenneth R. Conklin, Ph.D.
Statehood Day is celebrated on the third Friday of August every year, following Hawaii’s elevation from Territory to the 50th State of the United States in August 1959. We patriots do not celebrate this holiday with parades and fireworks. We celebrate by reminding ourselves of the fundamental beliefs we affirm that inspire our current strivings and guide us toward future achievements.
These four civil rights principles are widely accepted but need stronger application. Good people should stand up publicly to proclaim them, and defend them against radical activists noisily demanding special rights based on race or religion.
The Four Principles stated simply in one sentence apiece
1. Equality before God: All humans are equal in the eyes of God regardless of race.
2. Equality under the law: Government should treat all people equally under the law regardless of race.
3. Unity with America: Hawaii is the 50th State of the USA, whose laws rightfully have jurisdiction here.
4. Unity of Hawaii: The people and lands of Hawaii should remain unified under the single sovereignty of the State of Hawaii, not divided along racial lines.
The Four Principles further described
1. Those who don’t believe in God, or believe in 400,000 gods, have other ways to say it, as in the U.S. Declaration of Independence: “All men [people] are created equal.” Don’t believe in creationism? Natural Law, as espoused by the Founders in the Declaration, gives every human equal worth and self-evident inalienable rights. The U.S. has a long history of struggle to overcome slavery, Jim Crow laws, and more subtle forms of racial discrimination; but we who affirm the principle of equality take pride in the progress we have made and pride in our work toward achieving full equality. Among all 50 States, Hawaii is the most in need of such work, and has the strongest entrenchment of race-supremacist institutions and attitudes.
A beautiful Hawaiian creation legend says the gods mated and gave birth to these islands as living beings. Later the gods mated and gave birth to the first human from whom we all are descended. Thus humans are children of the gods and brothers/sisters to the ‘aina (land, sea, and air). Unfortunately, some activists twist this legend to say only people with Hawaiian blood have this genealogy; therefore ethnic Hawaiians have a god-given right to rule Hawaii and especially to decide land-use policy. Using religion or race as a basis to demand political power in Hawaii is just as unacceptable as jihad in the Middle East, fascism in Europe, or White nationalism in South Carolina. [note#1]
2. Equal treatment under the law means there should be no special rights or government entitlement programs for one race preferentially or exclusively. Hawaii has many hundreds of such programs. They are illegal under the 14th Amendment equal protection clause, and morally repugnant as “institutional racism” comparable to Jim Crow laws in the old South. For each program, either open it so all races have equitable access or shut it down. If Native Hawaiians are truly the most needy, then they will receive most of the help when help is given based on need alone. There is no need for racial set-asides to ensure “diversity, equity, and inclusiveness.”
Article 12 Section 7 of the Hawaii Constitution grants special rights to Native Hawaiians for “traditional and customary practices” interpreted to include trespassing for shoreline access, religious practices, or gathering certain materials. The pono [righteous] way to honor that provision while also honoring equality under the law is to extend the traditional and customary rights of Native Hawaiians to all citizens. In the Constitutions and statute laws of the Kingdom of Hawaii, those rights were for everyone regardless of race (“hoaaina” meant “tenant” not “native tenant”; “kanaka” meant race-neutral “person”).
3. The Hawaiian revolution of 1893 was done entirely by local men while 162 U.S. peacekeepers, present for fear of rioting or arson, were never needed. Hawaii remained an independent nation until 1898. [note#2]
This Republic was given full-fledged international recognition as the rightful successor government through letters of recognition in 11 languages addressed to President Sanford Dole personally signed by emperors, kings, queens, and presidents of at least 19 nations, including Queen Victoria who had strong and lengthy personal relationships with Hawaii’s overthrown royal family. [Victoria was godmother to Hawaii’s presumed future king Prince Albert, named after Victoria’s King consort with their permission; baby Albert was son of King Alexander Liholiho Kamehameha IV and Queen Emma; Victoria sent a christening cup and baby crib to them in 1862; Queen Kapiolani and Princess (later Queen) Lili’uokalani had attended Victoria’s Golden Jubilee in London in 1887. Queen Victoria’s embrace of the Republic as the rightful successor government and of President Dole as rightful head of state was not only required under international law but was also an important moral judgment — repudiation by the world’s most respected and senior reigning monarch against another formerly-reigning monarch with whom she had close personal relations. [note #3 for photos and analyses of the letters]
In 1897, the Republic of Hawaii as the internationally recognized government offered a Treaty of Annexation [note #4] to the U.S., which the U.S. then formally accepted in 1898. Losing Senators complained that ratification by both House and Senate was not correct procedure for a treaty. But neither Hawaiian secessionists nor U.N. has standing to overrule the method chosen by the sovereign U.S. to make its internal decision to ratify what the Republic of Hawaii offered. Yes, we are Americans. [note #5]
4. What Kamehameha hath joined together, let no politicians rip asunder. The people and lands of Hawaii should remain unified under the single sovereignty of the State of Hawaii, not divided along racial lines — no race-based government federally recognized as an Indian tribe.
About the author: Ken Conklin has lived in Kaneohe since 1992. He is a retired professor of Philosophy, Mathematics, and Teacher Education who held full-time positions at Boston University, Emory University, Oakland University [Michigan State], and Norwood High School [Massachusetts]; and part-time at University of Michigan [Ann Arbor], University of Illinois, and University of Hawaii [Windward]. He speaks Hawaiian with moderate fluency. His book “Hawaiian Apartheid: Racial Separatism and Ethnic Nationalism in the Aloha State” has multiple copies in library branches and is also available from his website “Hawaiian Sovereignty: Thinking Carefully About It.”
Website: http://tinyurl.com/6gkzk
Book: http://tinyurl.com/2a9fqa
* Useful references Regarding Principle#3, especially relevant to the celebration of Statehood Day in Hawaii:
[note #1] Webpage: “Hawaiian religious fascism. A twisted version of a beautiful creation legend provides the theological basis for a claim that ethnic Hawaiians are entitled to racial supremacy in the governance and cultural life of the Hawaiian islands”
https://www.angelfire.com/big11a/HawnReligFascism.html
[note #2] Senate Report 227 of the 53rd Congress, second session, known today as the “Morgan Report”, was dated February 26, 1894. It was an investigation into the events surrounding the Hawaiian Revolution of 1893, and the alleged role of U.S. peacekeepers in the overthrow of Queen Liliuokalani. 808 pages of official transcript of the hearings, plus summaries and commentaries.
https://morganreport.org
[note #3] Photos and analyses of letters of formal diplomatic recognition (de jure) of the Republic of Hawaii, received from August 1894 through January 1895. These letters, addressed to His Excellency Sanford B. Dole, President of the Republic of Hawai, were signed by Emperors, Kings, Queens, Princes, and Presidents of 19 nations who had previously had diplomatic relations with the Kingdom of Hawaii. Therefore the Republic had the right, under “international law”, to speak of behalf of Hawaii to offer a Treaty of Annexation which eventually led to Statehood.
https://historymystery.kenconklin.org/recognition-of-the-republic-of-hawaii/
[note #4] Webpage: “Treaty of Annexation between the Republic of Hawaii and the United States of America (1898). Full text of the treaty, and of the resolutions whereby the Republic of Hawaii legislature and the U.S. Congress ratified it. The politics surrounding the treaty, then and now. https://www.angelfire.com/big09a/TreatyOfAnnexationHawaiiUS.html
[note #5] Webpage: Hawaii Statehood — A Brief History of the Struggle to Achieve Statehood, and Current Challenges
https://www.angelfire.com/hi2/hawaiiansovereignty/statehoodhistandcurr.html
Tags: Equality under God, Equality under law, Four Principles of Equality and Unity, Hawaiian revolution of 1893, Native Hawaiian, Queen Victoria, Sanford Dole, Statehood Day, Unity of Hawaii, Unity with USA