In recognition of the historic occasion of January 17th, 1893 and the Hawaiian Revolution which ended the monarchy of the Hawaiian Kingdom, I’d like to offer thanks to the heroes of that day. Although tensions during that time were high enough to entice the landing of peacekeepers from the U.S.S. Boston, no violence occurred the entire time, save the shooting of one police officer trying to stop a wagon of weapons for the Honolulu Rifles.

We can thank the Committee of Safety for their perseverance, and of course the leaders of the revolution, including Lorrin Thurston, Sanford Dole, Peter Cushman Jones and others. Without their determination to reform the government of the Hawaiian Kingdom, the path to full democracy and statehood may have been delayed or subverted. We can also thank the common members of the Hawaiian Kingdom government, including every official, judge, legislator and other government employee, who maintained order during the transition to the Republic of Hawaii (the only people removed from office were the queen, her marshal, and her cabinet). Of course without the eventual support of the vast majority of the people of Hawaii, the path towards statehood would have been thwarted as well – despite some minor and momentary discontent, both sides found in the end common ground in the best interests of placing power in the hands of the people. Last but not least, let us also thank Hawaii’s last queen, Liliuokalani.

Our queen instigated the Hawaiian Revolution by following her heart, and hoping that by taking more power to the monarchy, all the people of Hawaii could prosper. As misguided as this may seem in hindsight, there is no doubt that she saw herself as a benign elite, and concerned herself greatly with the condition of the people of the land. Her heroism that day of January 17th, 1893, in avoiding bloodshed and relinquishing power, cannot be understated. Although she did not come to terms with her surrender easily (evidenced by her role in the 1895 counter-revolution attempt), as the years passed she transformed herself from a noble royalist with aspirations of power, to a true American patriot, celebrating the rich multi-cultural heritage and commitment to freedom as outlined by our founding fathers. Once a foe of annexation, she later saw it as the best thing that could have happened for Hawaii. In her diary, she wrote, “Tho’ for a moment it [the Hawaiian Revolution] cost me a pang of pain for my people it was only momentary, for the present has a hope for the future of my people.” During World War I, she went so far as to raise the U.S. flag above her residence at Washington Place, in honor of Hawaiian-American sailors who had lost their lives defending the values of liberty and freedom.

So let us give thanks, and remember that on this day, over a hundred years ago, our Kingdom took its most determined step towards the dream of democracy, equality and freedom. Although it took over 60 more years of struggle to attain our rightful place as the 50th state of the union, we as a people persevered and honored our predecessors with an overwhelming 94% vote in favor of statehood in 1959. Let us also honor them with grateful thanks today.

(Jere Krischel is a Senior Fellow with the Grassroot Institute of Hawaii, born and raised in Hawaii and currently living in California with his wife and two young children.)