Territory of Hawaii

The Territory of Hawai‘i, abbreviated officially as T.H., was established on 7 July, 1898 and dissolved on 21 August, 1959 when Hawai‘i became a state. The U.S. Congress passed the Newlands Resolution which annexed the former Kingdom of Hawai‘i and later Republic of Hawai‘i to the United States. Hawai‘i's territorial history includes a period from 1941 to 1944 when the islands were placed under martial law. Civilian government was dissolved and a military governor was appointed.

Race relations

One of the most prominent challenges territorial Hawai‘i had to face was race relations. By the time Hawai‘i became a territory, much of Hawai‘i's population was made up of plantation workers from China, Japan, Philippines and Portugal. There was a substantially large native Hawaiian population that also shared in the work. Their plantation experiences molded Hawai‘i to become a plantation culture. The Hawaiian Pidgin language was developed on the plantations so they all could understand each other. They shared each others' food and traditions. Buddhism and Shintoism grew to become some of Hawai‘i's largest religions. Catholicism became Hawai‘i's largest Christian denomination. Hawai‘i was diverse and the many ethnicities lived more or less harmoniously.

Related Topics:
China - Japan - Philippines - Portugal - Hawaiian Pidgin - Buddhism - Shintoism - Catholicism

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Massie Trial

Race relations in Hawai‘i took to the national spotlight on September 12, 1931 when Thalia Massie, a U.S. Navy officer's wife, got drunk and alleged that she was beaten and raped. That same night, the Honolulu Police Department stopped a car and detained five men, all plantation boys. Officers took the men to Massie's hospital bedroom where she identified them. Many analysts today say she was mistaken, pinning the crime on them because they were ethnics. Although evidence couldn't prove that the men were directly involved, national newspapers were quick to run stories about the brute locals on the prowl for white women in Hawai‘i. The jury in the initial trial could not reach a verdict. One of the accused was afterwards severely beaten, while another, Joseph Kahahawai, was forced into a car and shot dead.

Related Topics:
September 12 - 1931 - Thalia Massie - Honolulu Police Department

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Police caught the Kahahawai killers: Massie's husband Thomas, mother Grace Fortescue, and two sailors. Famed criminal lawyer Clarence Darrow defended them. A jury of locals found them guilty and sentenced to hard labor for ten years. Outraged by the court's punishment, the territory's white leaders as well as 103 members of Congress signed a letter threatening to impose martial law over the territory. This pressured Governor Lawrence M. Judd to commute the sentences to an hour each in his executive chambers. Hawai‘i residents were shocked and all of America reconsidered what they thought of Hawai‘i's racial diversity.

Related Topics:
Clarence Darrow - Governor Lawrence M. Judd

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Statehood foiled

In 1935 and 1937, Congress began deliberation over whether or not Hawai‘i should be granted statehood. Southern states were outraged at the notion that Congress would allow for a non-white majority territory to be afforded the rights given to Americans on the mainland. Statehood was postponed indefinitely over the question of race.

Related Topics:
1935 - 1937

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