“The Missionaries have been the fathers, the builders and the supporters of education in these Islands, and (William Lee) thought it proper that their wishes in reference to the appointment of a person to superintend Education should in some degree be consulted”. (William Lee)
“Mr Richards the Minister of Public Instruction is sick and has been given up to die, though he still lives. The Minister of the Interior has been appointed to act for him provisionally”. (Gerrit Judd)
“Mr. Wyllie rose and said a sense of duty to the King induced him to state that the appointment of a Minister of Public Instruction, in the peculiar circumstances of the Islands, was the most important under the Crown.”
“On public instruction was based the Security of His M’s Crown, and the progress of His subjects in civilization and christianity. That, therefore, an appointment so momentous for good or evil, ought not to be precipitately made.” (Two names were discussed, Lorrin Andrews and Richard Armstrong.)
“That the man of greatest talent, most moral worth, most devoted to the King and to His Subjects and best acquainted with the language should be selected and he believed that man to be Mr Armstrong.”
“He gave this opinion as if speaking in presence of his Maker and having to answer for it, at the great day of Judgement. But he
hoped that whoever might be appointed, the appointment should be considered provisional, so as to meet the case of the possible recovery of Mr Richards.” (Richard Wyllie)
Lee “Said it was his mind that this matter is the most important one that can come before the Privy Council. With the Minister of Public Instruction rested the weighty responsibility of moulding the mind and character of this Nation for generations to come.”
“How necessary then, that we select the best man the Kingdom affords. He had looked around him to see who this man was, and his mind and heart were fixed upon Richard Armstrong.”
“He was his first choice, and in his humble opinion the Man of all men best adopted to discharge the high duties of this Post. He gave his preference to Mr Armstrong because he was a good Man, a wise Man and an industrious Man.”
“He would say nothing in disparagement of Mr Andrews of Molokai, for he knew little or nothing about him. But he did know Mr Armstrong, and thought he should certainly have the first offer.”
“He was a tried and devoted to this Nation and one whom we could not mistake – A question of such vast importance required our most sober deliberations, and he trusted that in whatever we did, we might not move with precipitation.”
“He most heartily concurred with Mr Wyllie in his remarks, and would end as he began, in stating it as his firm conviction, that Richard Armstrong was the Man.” (Lee)
“Mr (John Papa) Ii spoke very eloquently in favor of both candidates – said that either of them do well, but that Mr Armstrong was a good fisher of Men and that his loss would be severely felt in the Church.” (Ii)
Richards died – “the oldest, the most devoted, faithful and tried servant of His Majesty. He had given all the best energies of his body, mind & soul to this Nation, and what was more, he had died in poverty”. (William Lee)
“Kekuanaoa states that in his opinion Mr Armstrong be appointed and so notified. In his opinion, Mr Armstrong was the best Man and that he ought to be appointed at once.” (Kekuanaoa)
“Mr Wyllie stated that notwithstanding all that had been said, he could not without violence to his conscience, do otherwise than support the views of Governor Kekuanaoa and John Ii. Their views were r that Mr Armstrong should be appointed subject to the approval of the Missionaries at their next General Meeting.”
“He (Mr Wyllie) supported those views, both because he considered Mr Armstrong the best man, & because the whole Missionary body thought him to be the best Man. …” (Wyllie)
“It was, therefore, due, no less in gratitude than in policy, for the Government, to act so as to cultivate the good opinion & continue the sympathy of the American Board of F. Missions in the U. S. and the good will of the Missionaries here.”
“Nothing would do that more effectually than the appointment of M. Armstrong, whom all the Missionaries considered the fittest Man for the Post, although from the value they attach to him, they did not like to part with him.”
“He believed and Mr Armstrong also believed that by waiting till the next General Meeting, the Missionaries would so far consent to his separation, as to enable him to take office with their approval.” (Wyllie)
“Mr Wyllie moved the following Resolution ‘Resolved that the Reverend Mr Armstrong’s offer to assist the Minister of the Interior until the next General Meeting of his brethren, be accepted; and that if he can then obtain the approval of his brethren, he be appointed to the Office of Minister of Public Instruction.’” (Wyllie)
“The Rev. Mr. Armstrong, having by letter to Judge Lee, dated May 1848, accepted the office of the Minister of Public Instruction, tendered him by Resolution of the 2nd of December 1847 – took the Oath of Allegiance.” (All from Privy Council Minutes)
Armstrong left the mission and became Minister of Public Instruction on June 7, 1848. Armstrong was to serve the government for the remainder of his life. He was a member of the Privy Council and the House of Nobles and acted as the royal chaplain.
He set up the Board of Education under the kingdom in 1855 and was its president until his death. Armstrong is known as the “the father of American education in Hawaiʻi.”
The government-sponsored education system in Hawaiʻi is the longest running public school system west of the Mississippi River. To this day, Hawaiʻi is the only state to have a completely-centralized State public school system.
Armstrong helped bring better textbooks, qualified teachers and better school buildings. Students were taught in Hawaiian how to read, write, math, geography, singing and to be “God-fearing” citizens. (By 1863, three years after Armstrong’s death, the missionaries stopped being a part of Hawaiʻi’s education system.)
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