1887 Constitution of the Kingdom of Hawaii
Encyclopedia
Kingdom of Hawaii
The Kingdom of Hawaii was established during the years 1795 to 1810 with the subjugation of the smaller independent chiefdoms of Oahu, Maui, Molokai, Lānai, Kauai and Niihau by the chiefdom of Hawaii into one unified government...
of much of its authority, initiating a transfer of power to American, European and native Hawaiian elites. It became known as the Bayonet Constitution for the use of intimidation by the armed militia which forced King Kalākaua
Kalakaua
Kalākaua, born David Laamea Kamanakapuu Mahinulani Nalaiaehuokalani Lumialani Kalākaua and sometimes called The Merrie Monarch , was the last reigning king of the Kingdom of Hawaii...
to sign it or be deposed.
The document created a constitutional monarchy like that of the United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
, stripping the King of most of his personal authority, empowering the legislature and cabinet of the government.
Rebellion of 1887
On June 30, 1887 a meeting of residents including the armed militia of the Honolulu RiflesHonolulu Rifles
The Honolulu Rifle Company was a paramilitary force loyal to the Missionary Party and the later Reform Party. It was created in 1854 as a militia to deal with internal conflict, 24 Rifles were deployed during the [[ʻIolani Barracks#1873 Barracks Revolt|1873 Barracks Revolt]]...
and politicians who later formed the Reform Party of the Hawaiian Kingdom demanded King Kalākaua
Kalakaua
Kalākaua, born David Laamea Kamanakapuu Mahinulani Nalaiaehuokalani Lumialani Kalākaua and sometimes called The Merrie Monarch , was the last reigning king of the Kingdom of Hawaii...
dismiss his cabinet headed by the controversial Walter M. Gibson
Walter M. Gibson
Walter Murray Gibson was an American adventurer and a government minister in the Kingdom of Hawaii prior to the kingdom's 1887 constitution.-Life:...
.
The meeting was called to order by Sanford B. Dole
Sanford B. Dole
Sanford Ballard Dole was a lawyer and jurist in the Hawaiian Islands as a kingdom, protectorate, republic and territory...
, and chaired by Peter Cushman Jones
Peter Cushman Jones
Peter Cushman Jones was a businessman and politician during the Kingdom of Hawaii, Provisional Government of Hawaii, Republic of Hawaii and Territory of Hawaii.He founded the second bank in the Hawaiian Islands.-Early life:...
. Lorrin A. Thurston
Lorrin A. Thurston
Lorrin Andrews Thurston was a lawyer, politician, and businessman born and raised in the Kingdom of Hawaii. The grandson of two of the first Christian missionaries to Hawaii, Thurston played a prominent role in the overthrow of the Hawaiian Kingdom that replaced Queen Liliuokalani with the...
prepared a list of demands to the king. The meeting also insisted a new constitution be written.
On the next morning, July 1, 1887, a shipment of arms was discovered (although later found to be smooth-bore hunting guns used to scare bird from farmers' fields). The Honolulu Rifles took control and arrested Gibson. Kalākaua called in US Minister
United States Minister to Hawaii
The Minister to Hawaii was an office of the United States Department of State to the Kingdom of Hawaii during the period of 1810 to 1898. Appointed by the President of the United States with the consent of Congress, the Minister to Hawaii was equivalent in rank to the present-day ambassador of the...
George W. Merrill
George W. Merrill
George W. Merrill was and American politician of the 19th century.Merrill was District Attorney of Nye County, Nevada from 1864 to 1868....
, and the British, French, Portugese and Japanese representatives and requested help. They all suggested he comply with any demands, which he did.
Thurston then became the powerful interior minister, although Englishman William Lowthian Green
William Lowthian Green
William Lowthian Green was an English adventurer and merchant, who later became cabinet minister in the Kingdom of Hawaii. As an amateur geologist, he published a theory of the formation of the earth called the tetrahedral hypothesis.-Life:...
was nominally head of the cabinet as minister of finance.
Over less than a week, the new constitution was drafted by a group of lawyers including Thurston, Dole, William Ansel Kinney
William Ansel Kinney
William Ansel Kinney was a lawyer and politician in the Kingdom of Hawaii, through the Republic of Hawaii and into the Territory of Hawaii.-Family:William Ansel Kinney was born October 16, 1860 in Honolulu, Hawaii....
, William Owen Smith
William Owen Smith
William Owen Smith was a lawyer from a family of American missionaries who participated in the overthrow of the Kingdom of Hawaii. He served as attorney general for the entire duration of the provisional Government of Hawaii and the Republic of Hawaii.-Life:Smith was born August 4, 1848 in Kōloa...
, George Norton Wilcox
George Norton Wilcox
George Norton Wilcox was a businessman and politician in the Kingdom of Hawaii and Territory of Hawaii.-Life:George Norton Wilcox was born in Hilo August 15, 1839.His father was Abner Wilcox and mother was Lucy Eliza Hart...
, and Edward Griffin Hitchcock
Edward Griffin Hitchcock
Edward Griffin "Holy Terror" Hitchcock was a law enforcement officer in the Kingdom of Hawaii, who rose to the position of Marshal of the Republic of Hawaii.-Life:...
. Most were also associated with the Hawaiian League
Committee of Safety (Hawaii)
The Committee of Safety, formally the Citizen's Committee of Public Safety, was a 13-member group of the Hawaiian League also known as the Annexation Club...
, which was actually in favor of ending the Kingdom and annexation by the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
.
Kalākaua signed the document July 6, 1887, despite arguments over the scope of the changes.
It created a constitutional monarchy
Constitutional monarchy
Constitutional monarchy is a form of government in which a monarch acts as head of state within the parameters of a constitution, whether it be a written, uncodified or blended constitution...
like that of the United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
, stripping the King of most of his personal authority, empowering the legislature and cabinet of the government.
It has since become widely known as the "Bayonet Constitution" because of the threat of force used to gain Kalākaua's cooperation.
At the time Kalākaua had been forced to sign the constitution under threat of arms, military rifles were commonly fixed with bayonet
Bayonet
A bayonet is a knife, dagger, sword, or spike-shaped weapon designed to fit in, on, over or underneath the muzzle of a rifle, musket or similar weapon, effectively turning the gun into a spear...
s.
Provisions
The 1887 constitution replaced the previous absolute veto allowed to the king to one that two-thirds of the legislature of the Hawaiian KingdomLegislature of the Hawaiian Kingdom
The Legislature of the Hawaiian Kingdom was the bicameral legislature of the Kingdom of Hawaii. A royal legislature was first provided by the 1840 Constitution and the 1852 Constitution was the first to use the term "Legislature of the Hawaiian Kingdom", and the first to subject the monarch to...
could override.
It took away the power of the king to act without consent of his cabinet, and gave the legislature the power to dismiss the cabinet instead of the king (although this was amended later to allow Queen Liliuokalani to select new ministers). Language from the 1864 constitution
1864 Constitution of the Kingdom of Hawaii
The Constitution of 1864 of the Kingdom of Hawaii was a rewrite of the 1852 constitution issued by King Kamehameha III. It dramatically changed the way Hawaii's government worked by increasing the power of the king and changing the way the kingdom's legislature worked...
that implied the king was above the law was removed.
The cabinet was now allowed to vote in the legislature, but to reduce the king's influence, he was not allowed to appoint legislators to any other government post.
The constitution also removed the monarch's power to appoint members of the House of Nobles (the upper house of the legislature), instead making it a body elected by the wealthy landowners to six-year terms and enlarging it to 40 members.
The 1887 constitution made significant changes to voting requirements. It allowed foreign resident alien
Resident Alien
Resident Alien is the debut album from the British glam rock band Spacehog. Released by Elektra Records on 24 October 1995, the album was certified as gold on 29 July 1996 and included the hit single "In the Meantime", which reached the top of the Mainstream Rock Tracks chart in the United States,...
s to vote, not just naturalized citizens.
Asians, including subjects who previously enjoyed the right to vote, were specifically denied suffrage. Only Hawaiian, American, and European males were granted full voting rights if they met the economic and literacy thresholds.
The 1864 constitution required that voters generate annual income of at least US$75, or own private property worth at least US$150. The wealth requirements were removed during the short reign of Lunalilo
Lunalilo
Lunalilo, born William Charles Lunalilo , was king of the Kingdom of Hawaii from January 8, 1873 until February 3, 1874...
in 1874.
This change extended voter eligibility to many more Hawaiians, and was kept for the lower house of representatives. By 1889, ethnic Hawaiians amounted to about two-thirds of the electorate for representatives and about one-third of the electorate for Nobles.
However, to vote for the upper house (or serve in it) the 1887 constitution required an income of $600 or taxable property of $3000.
External links
- 1887 Constitution of the Kingdom of Hawaii (scanned images)
- 1887 Constitution of the Kingdom of Hawaii (Full text, with access to the English translation, and other resources)