The Hawaiian-U.S. Treaty of Annexation

After Queen Liliuokalani had been deposed by foreigners in a carefully plotted revolution, the pirates and rogues established a "Provisional Government". This government was naturally composed of people who represented the most prominent American commercial interests, Yankee Traders and American merchants.

By 1898, Hawaii had a very diverse population. About 55 percent of the population was native, 20 percent was of mixed Asian origin, and the remaining 25 percent was composed of European foreigners from the United States, France, England, Germany and other European countries.

In complete defiance of the Hawaiian Constitution, this provisional government proceeded to "request" American annexation of Hawaii. They drafted a treaty just for this purpose.

The nature of the treaty itself was grossly humiliating to Hawaiians. It gave away everything and asking a foreign power to assume absolute control of all matters related to the Hawaiian state. From a non-American-commercial perspective, it was an utterly repellent and repulsive document.

While reading the text, I noticed many subtleties that marked this treaty as particularly degrading, and showed the men responsible for this action as the contemptible opportunists and rogues they were.

General Commentary

• Capitalization:
  Note that throughout the text, all references to the American businessmens' newly-established "republic of Hawaii" do not capitalize the "r", despite the fact that this is supposedly an official name. By comparison, all references to official or semi-official American political bodies are capitalized. In official and diplomatic writing, this subtle omission implies that the "republic of Hawaii" is unofficial or undeserving of respect. In a stark contrast, the name "Territory of Hawaii", the proposed status under American rule, is capitalized.
  This reflects poorly on the "reformers". They obviously have no respect and loyalty to their supposed country, their new "republic of Hawaii". In fact, their loyalties were to their own pocketbooks and, when convenient, the United States. Legally they had no right to speak for the Hawaiian nation at all, though the document can hardly say this openly.
• Choice of Names:
  Hawaii is frequently referred to as "the Hawaiian Islands", a geographical rather than a political designation, whereas the United States is always named in political terms.
  This is a deliberate attempt to de-emphasize the legitimacy of an independent Hawaiian polity or state. By changing the the wording, the text sounds less morally repugnant, because the Hawaii being handed to the U.S. appears less like an organized nation and more as a simple geographical territory free of political organization.

  The Treaty

  Article I

  The United States and the republic of Hawaii, in view of the natural dependence of the Hawaiian Islands upon the United States, of their geographical proximity thereto, of the preponderant share acquired by the United States and its citizens in the industries and trade of said islands, and of the expressed desire of the government of the republic of Hawaii that those islands should be incorporated into the United States as an integral part thereof and under its sovereignty, have determined to accomplish by treaty an object so important to their mutual and permanent welfare.

  To this end, the high contracting parties have conferred full powers and authority upon the irrespectively appointed plenipotentiaries, to wit:--
  The President of the United States, John Sherman, Secretary of State of the United States; the President of the republic of Hawaii, Francis March Hatch, Lorrin A. Thurston and William A. Kinney.

  Commentary: This section states the already obvious, that the interests of Hawaii's foreign business class is utterly reliant on American trade. The "mutual and permanent welfare" referred to here is the welfare of the foreign merchants' bank accounts and investments, not the interests of the Hawaiian people. The Hawaiian people had already been excluded from the burgeoning economic growth. The first paragraph clearly sets out this fact: that Americans had already disposessed the local native population, and were claiming the territory because they dominated foreign trade, mostly with the United States. This idea of "sovereignty from property" is patently ridiculous. The rights of a nation and people have nothing whatsoever to do with personal property. The sovereignty of the people (or their representatives) over-rides any concept of personal property in almost all societies, and rightly so, except under the conservative American constitution. If the treaty's terms were applied to nations today, wealthy foreign-born minorities in many countries could stage revolutions and hand over these nations to their home states, to their own selfish profit. Few freedom-loving people would accept this as reasonable, and the emptiness of this concept even in 1897 was clear, excepting Anglo-American arrogance and racism. Note that the people in Hawaii who were meant to have direct power were representatives of this business class, not any form of local democracy. The previous attacks on the Hawaiian monarchy that used democracy as a pretext are here abandoned as the lies they were.

  Article II

  The republic of Hawaii hereby cedes absolutely and without reserve to the United States of America all rights of sovereignty of whatsoever kind in and over the Hawaiian Islands and their dependencies; and it is agreed that all territory of and appertaining to the republic of Hawaii is hereby annexed to the United States of America under the name of the Territory of Hawaii.

  The republic of Hawaii also cedes and hereby transfers to the United States the absolute fee and ownership of all public government, crown lands, public buildings or edifices, ports, harbors, military equipments, and all other public property of every kind and description belonging to the government of the Hawaiian Islands, together with every right and appurtenance thereunto appertaining.

  The existing laws of the United States relative to public lands shall not apply to such lands in the Hawaiian Islands; but the Congress of the United States shall enact special laws for their management and disposition; provided, that all revenue from or proceeds of the same, except as regards such parts thereof as may be used or occupied for the civil, military, or naval purposes of the United States, or may be assigned for the use of the local government, shall be used solely for the benefit of the inhabitants of the Hawaiian Islands for educational and other purposes.

  Commentary: This is the most deeply humiliating section of the text. It transfers all authority over the Hawaiian nation to the United States. In effect, an unelected body of wealthy, foreign pirates is selling the Hawaiian people into virtual servitude. They are sacrificing all independence. Note that there is considerable attention paid to what's to be done with the sizeable Crown lands and investments, the property of the Hawaiian Government and, by extension, the Hawaiian People. If the text is read carefully, we see that the interim territorial authorities-- "local government" clearly means the rich usurpers-- could finally get their hands on the last of the best public lands. They had been fighting with the Hawaiian crown for some time over access to these resources, and now they finally had their chance to get it on the cheap. Business classes around the world regularly manipulate and cheat public governments into giving up public property, property or resources owned by the entire population. This is then handed over for free or for reduced prices to private interests who couldn't care less about the public interest.

  Article III

  Until Congress shall provide for the government of such islands, all the civil, judicial, and military powers exercised by the officers of the existing government in said islands shall be vested in such person or persons and shall be exercised in such a manner as the President of the United States shall direct, and the President shall have power to remove said officers and fill the vacancies so occasioned.

  The existing treaties of the Hawaiian Islands with foreign nations shall forthwith cease and determine, being replaced by such treaties as may exist, or as may be hereafter concluded between the United States and such foreign nations. The municipal legislation of the Hawaiian Islands, not enacted for the fulfilment of the treaties so extinguished, and not inconsistent with this treaty nor contrary to the Constitution of the United States, nor to any existing treaty of the United States, shall remain in force until the Congress of the United States shall otherwise determine.

  Until legislation shall be enacted extending the United States customs, laws, and regulations to the Hawaiian Islands, the existing customs relations of the Hawaiian Islands with the United States and other countries shall remain unchanged.

  Commentary: Instead of ensuring local democratic government, the wealthy foreign oligarchy hands power directly to the American president. In the case of Hawaii, he would essentially be a dictator, unaccountable to the Hawaiian people. No self-respecting leader would normally hand over absolute power to a foreigner, except as terms for surrender in wartime-- unless, of course, the "leadership" in question was actually a cabal of foreign conspirators who were citizens of the foreign country. In practical effect, the President could not rule Hawaii. He would be obliged to send a representative, who would surely be well- connected to the local business community. As the port of Honolulu already had laws that were engineered to serve the foreign elite under the Hawaiian Monarchy, these of course had to be left in place. All others, which native Hawaiians may have needed, could of course be discarded. The last paragraph ensures that there would be no instability or disruption to business during the transition to American rule. This is always of vital importance to the rich and powerful.

  Article IV

  The public debt of the republic of Hawaii, lawfully existing as the date of the exchange of the ratifications of the treaty, including the amounts due to depositors in the Hawaiian Postal Savings Bank, is hereby assumed by the government of the United States; but the liability of the United States in this regard shall in no case exceed $4,000,000. So long, however, as the existing government and the present commercial relations of the Hawaiian Islands are continued, as hereinbefore provided, said government shall continue to pay the interest on said debt.

  Commentary: This is a standard entry in most annexation or state-merger treaties, and is reasonable under the circumstances. The benefitting state assumes the liabilities of the new addition. The same held true for the expansion of Canada. When Prince Edward Island joined Confederation, the Canadian Federal Government took over all responsibilities for the crushing P.E.I. debt resulting from failed railways.

  Article V

  There shall be no further immigration of Chinese into the Hawaiian Islands, except on such conditions as are now or may hereafter be allowed by the laws of the United States, and no Chinese, by reason of anything herein contained, shall be allowed to enter the United States from the Hawaiian Islands.

  Commentary: Here is an excellent example of Euro-North American racism, encoded in an official document of the period, one of the central documents of the American state. The white community of Hawaii is assured that no more Chinese will arrive on the islands. A colour bar is lowered on Asian immigrants, preventing any more arrivals from nations not considered ethnically or racially correct. Mainland Americans also don't have to deal with Hawaii's Chinese population, because these "new Americans" are barred from free travel within their own newfound country. Chinese Hawaiians are given in effect some crude kind of second-class citizenship. They were denied one of the basic rights guaranteed to them under the American constitution as new "citizens" of the Republic: mobility.

  Article VI

  The President shall appoint five commissioners, at least two of whom shall be residents of the Hawaiian Islands, who shall, as soon as reasonably practicable, recommend to Congress such legislation for the Territory of Hawaii as they shall deem necessary or proper.

  Commentary: This clause shows the pathetic "revolutionaries" for the scoundrels they are. They don't even demand a majority of the seats for Hawaii on this arbitrarily appointed "commission", because they know that their own narrow interests will be respected in the new order. And if we thought the two seats they do approve for themselves are meant for native Hawaiians, we'd be conspicuously naive. Even so, this "commission" only has the power to recommend laws, not to enact them-- so that any pretense for real local government or democracy is laid to rest.

  Article VII

  This treaty shall be ratified by the President of the United States, by and with the advice and consent of the Senate, on one part; and by the President of the republic of Hawaii, by and with the advice and consent of the Senate, in accordance with the Constitution of said republic, on the other; and the ratifications hereof shall be exchanged at Washington as soon as possible.

  In witness hereof, the respective Plenipotentiaries have signed the above articles and have hereunto affixed their seals.

  Done in duplicate at the city of Washington, this 16th day of June, 1897.

  JOHN SHERMAN, (Seal)
  FRANCIS MARCH HATCH, (Seal)
  LORRIN A. THURSTON, (Seal)
  WILLIAM A. KINNEY. (Seal)

  Commentary: No refrenda. No public consultations. No votes. No requirement for Hawaiians to approve of the theft of their own nation. And the democratically elected American congress, the original and final arbiter of American democracy, is shut out of the process entirely. The time period for the debate and study of this document is deliberately designed to be short-- "as soon as possible". The need for speedy action in a democracy can only be reasonable if the action is likely to come under fire from unhappy voters who'd be unlikely to approve of the action, or if uncomfortable facts were going to slip out in a prolonged debate. The list of "Hawaiian" officials who approved the document is telling. Each one is a member of the resident American population, with no native Hawaiians, let alone Chinese or other Asian Hawaiians, legitimizing the treaty.

  
  
  
  
  Source for Quoted Text:
  "Hawaii's Story: By Hawaii's Queen", by Liliuokalani, Appendix D. First published 1898 by Lothrop, Lee and Shepard Co., Boston. Reprinted by Charles E. Tuttle Company, Inc., Vermont, 1977.
  Liliuokalani, Last Queen of Hawaii
  Historia