Bayonet Constitution
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The 1887 Constitution of the Hawaiian Kingdom was a legal document prepared by anti-monarchists to strip the absolute Hawaiian monarchy of much of its authority, initiating a transfer of power to a coalition of American, European and native Hawaiian people. It became known as the Bayonet Constitution for the rising by the armed militia which forced King
Kalākaua Kalākaua (David Laʻamea Kamanakapuʻu Māhinulani Nālaʻiaʻehuokalani Lumialani Kalākaua; November 16, 1836 – January 20, 1891), was the last king and penultimate monarch of the Kingdom of Hawaiʻi, reigning from February 12, 1874, u ...
to sign it or be deposed.


Rebellion of 1887

On June 30, 1887, a meeting of residents including the armed militia of the Honolulu Rifles, a group of soldiers that were secretly the Hawaiian League's military arm, and politicians who were members of the Reform Party of the Hawaiian Kingdom, demanded from
King Kalākaua King is a royal title given to a male monarch. A king is an absolute monarch if he holds unrestricted governmental power or exercises full sovereignty over a nation. Conversely, he is a constitutional monarch if his power is restrained by f ...
the dismissal of his Cabinet, headed by Walter M. Gibson. Their concerns about Gibson stemmed from the fact that he supported the king's authority. The meeting was called to order by Sanford B. Dole (cousin of then 9-year-old
James Dole James Drummond Dole (September 27, 1877 – May 20, 1958), the "Pineapple King", was an American industrialist who developed the pineapple industry in Hawaii. He established the Hawaiian Pineapple Company (HAPCO) which was later reorganized to ...
) and chaired by Peter Cushman Jones, the president of the largest
sugarcane Sugarcane or sugar cane is a species of tall, Perennial plant, perennial grass (in the genus ''Saccharum'', tribe Andropogoneae) that is used for sugar Sugar industry, production. The plants are 2–6 m (6–20 ft) tall with stout, jointed, fib ...
plantation Plantations are farms specializing in cash crops, usually mainly planting a single crop, with perhaps ancillary areas for vegetables for eating and so on. Plantations, centered on a plantation house, grow crops including cotton, cannabis, tob ...
agency in Hawaii. The Hawaiian League and Americans had developed a vast majority of the Hawaiian Kingdom's wealth. Lorrin A. Thurston, the main instigator of the subsequent overthrow of the Hawaiian monarchy, prepared a list of demands to the king. On the next morning, July 1, 1887, a shipment of arms was discovered from a neutral Australian ship (later found to be smooth-bore hunting guns used to scare birds from farmers' fields). The Honolulu Rifles took control and arrested and almost hanged Gibson. Kalākaua called in US Minister George W. Merrill, and the British, French, Portuguese, and Japanese representatives and requested help, but they all suggested that he should comply with any demands, which he did. Thurston then became the powerful interior minister although Englishman William Lowthian Green was nominally head of the Cabinet as Minister of Finance. Gibson was later exiled to San Francisco. Over less than a week, the new constitution was drafted by a group of lawyers, including Thurston, Dole, William Ansel Kinney, William Owen Smith, George Norton Wilcox, and Edward Griffin Hitchcock. All were also associated with the Hawaiian League, which had explicitly wanted the end of the kingdom and its annexation by the
United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...
since its inception. It stripped 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. While Thurston and Dole denied this use of coercion and threats, Queen Liliuokalani asserted that Kalākaua's life was threatened: "He signed that constitution under absolute compulsion." The new constitution was never ratified in the Hawaiian Kingdom's legislature.


Provisions

The 1887 constitution followed modern liberal principles. It replaced the previous absolute veto, allowed to the king, to one that two-thirds of the
legislature of the Hawaiian Kingdom The Legislature of the Hawaiian Kingdom () was the bicameral (later unicameral) legislature of the Hawaiian Kingdom. A royal legislature was first provided by the 1840 Constitution and the 1852 Constitution was the first to use the term Legi ...
could override. It also took away the power of the king to act without the consent of his cabinet and gave the legislature the power to dismiss the cabinet instead of the king. It also removed language from the 1864 constitution implying that the king was above the law, replacing it with language that the king was required to obey his laws to the level of his subjects. 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 legislature also gained the authority to imprison those that disrespected, published false reports or comments about or threatened or assaulted any of its members.Constitution of the Hawaiian Islands, Signed by His Majesty Kalakaua, July 6 and promulgated July 7, 1887. Hawaiian Gazette (Honolulu, HI), 1887. http://hooilina.org/cgi-bin/journal?e=p-0journal--00-0-0-004-Document---0-1--1en-50---20-docoptions-search-issue---001-0110escapewin&a=p&p=frameset&cl=&d=HASH01b8b242efc454f373219e6b.5.1.6 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. Qualifications to serve as a noble or representative now came to include high property and income requirements as well, which stripped almost all of the native population of the ability to serve in the legislature until they met the requirements. The 1887 constitution had also attempted to limit profligate spending, which had become a problem under Kalākaua's reign, namely with the costly construction and maintenance of Iolani Palace. The constitution stipulated that the King was required to appoint a Minister of Finance to oversee government spending and submit an annual budget proposal to the legislature. The 1887 constitution made significant changes to voting requirements. It allowed foreign
resident alien In law, an alien is generally any person (including an organization) who is not a citizen or a national of a specific country, although definitions and terminology differ across legal systems. Lexicology The term "alien" is derived from the L ...
s to vote, not just naturalized citizens. Asians, including subjects who previously enjoyed the right to vote, were specifically denied suffrage. Hawaiian, American, and European men were granted full voting rights only if they met the economic and literacy thresholds. The 1864 constitution required that voters generate annual income of at least
US$ The United States dollar (Currency symbol, symbol: Dollar sign, $; ISO 4217, currency code: USD) is the official currency of the United States and International use of the U.S. dollar, several other countries. The Coinage Act of 1792 introdu ...
75 (equivalent to US$ in ) or own private property worth at least US$150 (equivalent to $ in ). The wealth requirements were removed during the short reign of
Lunalilo Lunalilo (William Charles Lunalilo; January 31, 1835 – February 3, 1874) was the sixth monarch of the Kingdom of Hawaii from his election on January 8, 1873, until his death a year later. Born to Kekāuluohi and High Chief Charles Kanaʻin ...
in 1874. That change extended voter eligibility to many more Hawaiians and was kept for the lower house. The legislature still had little power, however, this being concentrated in the monarch. The 1887 constitution required an income of $600 (equivalent to US$ in ) or taxable property of US$3000 (equivalent to $ in ) to vote for the upper house (or serve in it). That excluded an estimated two-thirds of the Hawaiian population. Disproportionately, it was white male residents, wealthy from the sugar industry, who retained suffrage with the Bayonet Constitution. Allocating the government's power to the Cabinet and then promptly appointing their members to the Cabinet, and securing the disenfranchisement of their opposition, the Hawaiian League seized complete control over the Hawaiian Kingdom. The Bayonet Constitution was the first great implement in the decline of the monarchy. Though it did not depose the King, it did place considerable limitations on his power.James H Blount, Report of U.S. Special Commissioner James H. Blount to U.S. Secretary of State Walter Q. Gresham Concerning the Hawaiian Kingdom Investigation. Honolulu, HI. July 17, 1893. http://www.hawaiiankingdom.org/blounts-report.shtml.


Native Hawaiian response

Immediately after the adoption of the Bayonet Constitution, the Native Hawaiian population of the Hawaiian Kingdom sought to restore King Kalākaua's power and authority. A committee of Hawaiians met with Kalākaua to discuss dismantling the constitution because the king signed it under duress. According to Thurston, Kalākaua even defended the constitution to protesting natives. Queen Liliuokalani affirmed that he was threatened with violence should he attempt to undo the new constitution. She also said there were several petitions from natives that asked for a new constitution to restore her absolute rule. Out of 9,500 registered voters, 6,500 signed the petitions. Based on this Queen Liliuokalani proposed the removal of power from the legislature in January 1893, by a new constitution that would restore absolute monarchy. In response, the Hawaiian League overthrew her monarchy and the legislature took control of the country.


See also

* Junius Kaʻae * Tong Kee


References


Further reading

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External links

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1887 Constitution of the Hawaiian Kingdom
(scanned images)
1887 Constitution of the Hawaiian Kingdom
(Full text, with access to the English translation, and other resources) {{Constitutions of Hawaii Constitution of the Hawaiian Kingdom Constitution of Hawaii Overthrow of the Hawaiian Kingdom 1880s coups d'état and coup attempts 1887 in Hawaii