Book Description

"In this second volume of his study, William Adam Russ, Jr. follows up on the story of the turn-of-the-century revolution that abrogated the monarchy and ended the sovereignty of the Kingdom of the Hawaiian Islands. The Hawaiian Republic (1894-98) chronicles how the Hawaiian government leaders had to establish and preserve a stable nation with themselves in power while representing only a small minority of the citizenry - and at the same time maintain a semblance of democratic principles to convince the United States Congress and the American people that Hawaii was worthy of joining the Union." "In January of 1893 a small group of businessmen primarily of American background launched a revolution in the Hawaiian Kingdom. Their objective was to abrogate monarchy, declare a provisional government, and seek annexation to the United States. They ultimately succeeded in the first two objectives but failed in the third." "In his earlier study, The Hawaiian Revolution (1893-94), Russ made it clear that annexation to the United States, rather than the establishment of an independent state, was the primary aim of the revolutionists. Their failure to achieve annexation from the Cleveland administration forced the leadership to form a permanent government until union could be reached." "In the present study, Russ discusses the problems faced by the revolutionary Hawaiian government leading up to annexation. While most of the native Hawaiians and others refused to support or cooperate with that government, the government had to appear to be a popular institution with the citizenry in order to appeal to the Americans. To make matters worse, the population included a large majority of immigrants who were not allowed to participate in civic affairs - and at the same time Japan was making demands on the government to give rights to Japanese immigrants equal to all other foreigners on the Islands." "This work on the Hawaiian Republic is unique as there are no comparable detailed accounts of the period in Hawaii's political history and in the history of the relations between the Islands and the United States. The author uses sources rich in detailed information on the period as it was viewed from the leading players in Honolulu and Washington and in newspapers in Honolulu, New York, and San Francisco. His use of government documents of the Republic and the United States covers the official approach to policies, giving readers the substance of the attitudes, beliefs, and ideas of the leaders so quoted. For this reason The Hawaiian Republic (1894-98) remains a valuable asset for those who study Hawaiian history."--BOOK JACKET.Title Summary field provided by Blackwell North America, Inc. All Rights Reserved