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July 12, 2015 by Peter T Young Leave a Comment

Kukona

Independent chiefdoms were ruled by a supreme chief, or aliʻi ʻaimoku (chief possessing an island or district); at times referred to as aliʻi-nui (great chief) to distinguish him from lesser chiefs.

Typically this position was attained by inheritance, as holder of highest rank among the nobility; however it could also be gained by force by a relative, lesser chief or outside invader.

The aliʻi-nui had complete control over his lands and production, as well as the lives of his subjects. He derived these rights from his familial relationship with the Hawaiian gods.

Poʻipū, Kauai was a Royal Center for the southern shoreline of Kauaʻi. Here resided high chiefs Kukona (7th aliʻi ʻaimoku) and Manokalanipo (8th) when on the south-side; and they were kept in paramount chiefly control until the last Prince Keliiahonui, son of Kaumualiʻi (23rd) in the 1830s.

Kukona (7th aliʻi ʻaimoku (high chief or king) of Kauaʻi), whose name in Hawaiʻi became a symbol of the very highest ideals of chivalry in battle, was born in Kōloa and fought his defining battle at Po’ipū. His year of birth is estimated at around 1405.

In the first part of the 15th century, Kalaunuiohua, the ambitious chief of Hawaiʻi who had already conquered three other islands, tried to seize Kauaʻi. He was accompanied into battle by the combined armies and chiefs of Maui, Molokai and Oʻahu.

The war is known as the War of Ka-welewele. The much smaller forces defending Kauaʻi, led by Kukona and his son Manokalanipo, soundly defeated the invaders after leading them inland and then surrounding them at the shore.

Kukona captured all four chiefs of Hawaiʻi, Oʻahu, Maui and Molokai.

He had the opportunity to kill them all and assume leadership over the islands. However, he preferred peace and allowed them to return safely home with a promise that they never again make war on Kauaʻi.

As noted by Fornander: “The war with the Hawaiʻi chief, and the terrible defeat and capture of the latter, as well as Kukona’s generous conduct towards the four chiefs who fell into his hands after the battle, brought Kauai back into the family circle of the other islands, and with an éclat and superiority which it maintained to the last of its independence.”

This peace lasted for four hundred years; the peace was called ka lai loa ia Kamaluohua (The Long Peace of Kamaluohua – named for the captured Maui chief who, while Kukona was sleeping, stated to the others, “Let us do no hurt to Kukona, because he has been kind to us. Here we are in his hands, but he has not put us to death. Let us then treat him kindly.” (Malo))

Fast forward a few centuries and King Kamehameha I launched his first invasion attempt on Kaua‘i in April of 1796, having already conquered the other Hawaiian Islands, and having fought his last major battle at Nuʻuanu on O‘ahu in 1795.

Kaua‘i’s opposing factions were extremely vulnerable as they had been weakened by fighting each other.

About one-fourth of the way across the ocean channel between O‘ahu and Kaua‘i, a storm thwarted Kamehameha’s warriors when many of their canoes were swamped in the rough seas and stormy winds, and then were forced to turn back.

Some of the advance troops made it to Kauai and were killed when they reached shore. Kaua‘i remained unconquered.

In 1804, King Kamehameha I moved his capital from Lāhainā, Maui to Honolulu, and continued planning an attack on Kauai. Kamehameha’s forces for this second invasion attempt included about 7,000 Hawaiians along with about 50 foreigners (European.)

Kamehameha’s second attempt was thwarted again when an epidemic, thought to be typhoid or dysentery, swept through the population, killing thousands of native Hawaiians. The sickness delayed for a second time Kamehameha’s goal of conquering Kaua‘i.

In a renewed effort for a large-scale attack on Kaua‘i, Kamehameha began assembling a formidable armada of sailing ships in Waikīkī, using foreigners to construct the vessels.

The invasion never took place.

In the face of the threat of a further invasion, in 1810, Kaumuali‘i decided to peacefully unite with Kamehameha and join the rest of the Kingdom of Hawaiʻi. The agreement with Kaumualiʻi marked the end of war and thoughts of war across the archipelago.

Today, people of Kauai proudly proclaim that their island was never conquered over the centuries, even when larger armies attempted to do so. The image shows a Kauai map by Kalama. (Lahainaluna Engraving)

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Kauai-Samuel_Kalama-1838

Filed Under: Ali'i / Chiefs / Governance Tagged With: Kauai, Kukona, Hawaii, Kamehameha

July 11, 2015 by Peter T Young Leave a Comment

School for the Children of the Missionaries

Over the course of a little over 40-years (1820-1863 – the “Missionary Period”,) about 180-men and women in twelve Companies served in Hawaiʻi to carry out the mission of the ABCFM in the Hawaiian Islands.

One of the first things the first missionaries did was begin to learn the Hawaiian language and create an alphabet for a written format of the language. Their emphasis was on preaching and teaching.

The missionaries established schools associated with their missions across the Islands. This marked the beginning of Hawaiʻi’s phenomenal rise to literacy. The chiefs became proponents for education and edicts were enacted by the King and the council of Chiefs to stimulate the people to reading and writing.

However, the education of their children was a concern of missionaries.

There were two major dilemmas, (1) there were a limited number of missionary children and (2) existing schools (which the missionaries taught) served adult Hawaiians (who were taught from a limited curriculum in the Hawaiian language.)

“During the period from infancy to the age of ten or twelve years, children in the almost isolated family of a missionary could be well provided for and instructed in the rudiments of education without a regular school … But after that period, difficulties in most cases multiplied.” (Hiram Bingham)

Missionaries were torn between preaching the gospel and teaching their kids. “(M)ission parents were busy translating, preaching and teaching. Usually parents only had a couple of hours each day to spare with their children.” (Schultz)

“(I)t was the general opinion of the missionaries there that their children over eight or ten years of age, notwithstanding the trial that might be involved, ought to be sent or carried to the United States, if there were friends who would assume a proper guardianship over them”. (Bingham)

“This was the darkest day in the life history of the mission child. Peculiarly dependent upon the family life, at the age of eight to twelve years, they were suddenly torn from the only intimates they had ever known, and banished, lonely and homesick, to a mythical country on the other side of the world …”

“… where they could receive letters but once or twice a year; where they must remain isolated from friends and relatives for years and from which they might never return.” (Bishop)

During the first 21-years of the missionary period (1820-1863,) no fewer than 33 children were either taken back to the continent by their parents. (Seven-year-old Sophia Bingham, the first Caucasian girl born on Oʻahu, daughter of Hiram and Sybil, was sent to the continent in 1828. She is my great-great-grandmother.)

Resolution 14 of the 1841 General Meeting of the Sandwich Islands Mission changed that; it established a school for the children of the missionaries (May 12, 1841.) Meeting minutes note, “This subject occupied much time in discussion, and excited much interest.”

The following report was adopted: “Whereas it has long been the desire of many members of this mission to have a school established for the instruction of their children, and this object received the deliberate sanction of our last General Meeting; and”

“(W)hereas the Providence of God seems to have opened the way for this undertaking, by providing a good location for the school, suitable teachers to take charge of it, and a sufficiency of other means for making a commencement. Therefore,”

“Resolved 1, That the foundation of this institution be laid with faith in God, relying upon his great and precious promises to believing parents, in behalf of their children, commending it to his care and love from its commencement, and looking unto him to build it up, cherish it, and make it a blessing to the church and the world.”

“Resolved 2, That the location of the school be at Punahou, in the vicinity of Honolulu.”

“Resolved 3, That $2,000 be appropriated from the funds of the mission, to aid in erecting the necessary buildings, and preparing the premises for the accommodation of the school, as soon as possible; but as this sum is inadequate to the wants of the school, even in its commencement, that it be commended to the private patronage of the brethren of the mission.”

“Resolved 4, That a Board of five Trustees be chosen, of whom the teacher shall be one, ex officio, whose duty it shall be to devise a plan for the school, carry it into operation, as soon as possible, watch over its interests, and regulate its affairs generally.” (Resolution of the General Meeting of the Sandwich Islands Mission, 1841)

A subsequent Resolution noted “That Mr (Daniel) Dole be located at Punahou, as teacher for the Children of the Mission.”

On July 11, 1842, fifteen children met for the first time in Punahou’s original E-shaped building. The first Board of Trustees (1841) included Rev. Daniel Dole, Rev. Richard Armstrong, Levi Chamberlain, Rev. John S Emerson and Gerrit P Judd. (Hawaiian Gazette, June 17, 1916)

By the end of that first year, 34-children from Sandwich Islands and Oregon missions were enrolled, only one over 12-years old. Tuition was $12 per term, and the school year covered three terms. (Punahou)

By 1851, Punahou officially opened its doors to all races and religions. (Students from Oregon, California and Tahiti were welcomed from 1841 – 1849.)

December 15 of that year, Old School Hall, “the new spacious school house,” opened officially to receive its first students. The building is still there and in use by the school.

“The founding of Punahou as a school for missionary children not only provided means of instruction for the children, of the Mission, but also gave a trend to the education and history of the Islands.”

“In 1841, at Punahou the Mission established this school and built for it simple halls of adobe. From this unpretentious beginning, the school has grown to its present prosperous condition.” (Report of the Superintendent of Public Education, 1900)

The curriculum at Punahou under Dole combined the elements of a classical education with a strong emphasis on manual labor in the school’s fields for the boys, and in domestic matters for the girls. The school raised much of its own food. (Burlin)

Some of Punahou’s early buildings include, Old School Hall (1852,) music studios; Bingham Hall (1882,) Bishop Hall of Science (1884,) Pauahi Hall (1894,) Charles R. Bishop Hall (1902,) recitation halls; Dole Hall and Rice Hall (1906,) dormitories; Cooke Library (1908) and Castle Hall (1913,) dormitory.

Dole Street, laid out in 1880 and part of the development of the lower Punahou pasture was named after Daniel Dole (other nearby streets were named after other Punahou presidents.)

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Punahou School
Advertisement-Oahu-College-1895
Advertisement-Oahu-College-1895
Bingham Tablet
Bingham Tablet
Bingham Tablet
Bingham Tablet
Punahou School, Photograph attributed to Charles Burgess-1866
Punahou School, Photograph attributed to Charles Burgess-1866
Oahu College scene of driveway to Old School Hall and E Building, c.1881
Oahu College scene of driveway to Old School Hall and E Building, c.1881
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Manual-Arts-Class-James-B-Castle-School-1924
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Punahou-Girls-Court-of-the-E-Building-1877
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Punahou-Gardens-1880
Punahou Street looking toward Round Top-(HSA)-PPWD-17-3-027-1900
Punahou Street looking toward Round Top-(HSA)-PPWD-17-3-027-1900
Oahu_College-Old_School_Hall_at_Punahou_School
Oahu_College-Old_School_Hall_at_Punahou_School

Filed Under: Missionaries / Churches / Religious Buildings, Schools Tagged With: Hawaii, Missionaries, Punahou

July 10, 2015 by Peter T Young 3 Comments

13 Signatories

The Committee of Safety, formally the Citizen’s Committee of Public Safety, was a 13-member group also known as the Annexation Club; they started in 1887 as the Hawaiian League.

The Hawaiian League came into control of the Honolulu Rifles (made of about 200 armed men.) In June 1887, the Hawaiian League used the Rifles to force King Kalākaua to enact a new constitution. (Kukendall)

The opposition used the threat of violence to force Kalākaua to accept a new constitution (1887) that stripped the monarchy of executive powers and replaced the cabinet with members of the businessmen’s party. (archives-gov)

The new constitution, which effectively disenfranchised most native Hawaiian voters, came to be known as the “Bayonet Constitution” because Kalākaua signed it under duress. (archives-gov)

When King Kalākaua died in 1891, his sister Liliʻuokalani succeeded him; she drafted a new constitution in an attempt to restore native rights and powers. The move was countered by the Annexation Club, a small group of white businessmen and politicians who felt that annexation by the United States, the major importer of Hawaiian agricultural products, would be beneficial for the economy of Hawaiʻi. (archives-gov)

“Queen Liliuokalani attempted on Saturday, Jan. 14, to promulgate a new Constitution, depriving foreigners of the right of franchise and abrogating the existing House of Nobles, at the same time giving her the power of appointing a new House.”

“This was resisted by the foreign element of the community, which at once appointed a committee of safety of thirteen members … That meeting unanimously adopted resolutions condemning the action of the Queen and authorizing the committee to take into consideration whatever was necessary for the public safety.” (New York Times, January 28, 1893)

On January 16, 1893, the Committee of Safety wrote a letter to John L Stevens, American Minister, that stated:

“We, the undersigned citizens and residents of Honolulu, respectfully represent that, in view of recent public events in this Kingdom, culminating in the revolutionary acts of Queen Liliʻuokalani on Saturday last, the public safety is menaced and lives and property are in peril, and we appeal to you and the United States forces at your command for assistance.”

“The Queen, with the aid of armed force, and accompanied by threats of violence and bloodshed from those with whom she was acting, attempted to proclaim a new constitution; and, while prevented for the time from accomplishing her object, declared publicly that she would only defer her action.”

“This conduct and action was upon an occasion and under circumstances which have created general alarm and terror. “We are unable to protect ourselves without aid, and therefore pray for the protection of the United States forces.”

On the afternoon of January 16, 1893, 162-sailors and Marines aboard the USS Boston in Honolulu Harbor came ashore under orders of neutrality.

To avoid bloodshed, the Queen yielded her throne on January 17, 1893 and temporarily relinquished her throne to “the superior military forces of the United States”. A provisional government was established.

So, who were in the 13-signatories from the Committee of Safety who sought American intervention and what interests did they have in Hawaiʻi?

The Committee of Safety was made up of 6-Hawaiian citizens (naturalized or by birth (American parentage;)) 5-Americans, 1-Englishman and 1-German.

The Committee selected Henry Ernest Cooper as chair at a meeting on January 14, 1893. Cooper, a lawyer specializing in real estate abstract work, had moved to Honolulu from San Diego with his family on February 3, 1891.

Crister Bolte was a German national who became a naturalized Hawaiian subject. He was a merchant in the corporation of Grinbanm & Co. and was connected with the Planters’ Labor and Supply Association and a sugar shareholder; “There is hardly any person of property in this country who is not an owner of some sugar stocks.”

Andrew Brown, Scottish national, was formerly a coppersmith at the Honolulu Iron Works and later superintendent of the water-works system of Honolulu.

William Richards Castle, son of Samuel Northrup Castle, was born in Honolulu 1849, attorney general for Kalākaua 1876, Hawaiian legislator 1878-1886, the House of Nobles 1887-1888. (His brothers were executives at Castle & Cooke – a Big 5 company formed by his father.)

John Emmeluth was an American citizen who emigrated to Hawaiʻi in 1879; he was owner of John Emmeluth and Company, Honolulu’s principal plumbing and household furnishings business. He was also a pineapple grower and experimented with pineapple canning and later was shareholder and officer in the Hawaiian Fruit & Packing Company. He later joined forces with Robert Wilcox in the Home Rule Party.

Theodore F Lansing was an American citizen (from New York;) he was an insurance agent and commission agent. He later became Treasurer of the Territory.

John Andrew McCandless was an American (Pennsylvania) and later naturalized Hawaiian subject. He was a well-driller and cattleman. He was the first superintendent of public works under the territorial government, and while holding this office built the first road around Diamond Head on the sea side of the crater, and the lighthouse there.

Frederick W McChesney is grandson of Matthew Watson McChesney (who came to the Islands from New York in 1879.) His father was a tanner by trade and established a small tannery in connection with a grocery store and later formed MW McChesney & Sons. They later added Honolulu Soap Works; Frederick also worked in the fruit trade, with Woodlawn Fruit.

William Owen Smith was born on Kauaʻi August 4, 1848 of American missionaries; he was an attorney. He served as Sheriff on Kauaʻi and Maui. On April 24, 1873, while serving as Sheriff on Maui, he planted the banyan tree on Front Street in Lāhainā (to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the American Protestant Mission there.) He was later law partner with Lorrin Thurston and served as Attorney General in the Provisional Government.

Lorrin A Thurston, was born on July 31, 1858 in Honolulu, grandson of Asa and Lucy Goodale Thurston, who were in the Pioneer Company of American Protestant Missionaries (1820.) He was a lawyer and publisher (Pacific Commercial Advertiser – later, Honolulu Advertiser.) He was member House of Representatives, Hawaiian Legislature, 1886; Minister Interior, 1887-1890 and House of Nobles, 1892. He worked with George Lycurgus and others for ten years, starting in 1906, to have the volcano area made into Hawaiʻi Volcanoes National Park.

Edward Suhr, a German citizen, worked for H Hackfeld & Company. Hackfeld developed a business of importing machinery and supplies for the spreading sugar plantations and exported raw sugar. H Hackfeld & Co became a prominent factor – business agent and shipper – for the plantations.

Henry Waterhouse was born in Tasmanian in 1845; at age 5, his family moved to Hawaiʻi. He was a businessman, operating Henry Waterhouse Trust Company, real estate and investment firm; he was also managing partner of John T Waterhouse, a general mercantile business. He served in the House of Representatives (1876) and House of Nobles (1887-1888.) In addition, he occasionally filled in as pastor for the Sabbath services at Kaumakapili Church.

William Chauncey Wilder, born in Canada in 1835, spent his early years in the US and Europe. In 1861, Wilder was the first man to enlist in the first company that was organized in Kane Co., in the State of Illinois; he eventually was made Captain. His brother (Samuel G Wilder of the Wilder Steamship Company) sent for him to come work with him in the Islands. He was active in the transportation business and was elected to public office on several occasions (serving as presiding officer of the Hawaiian Senate.)

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Citizen's Committee of Public Safety

Filed Under: Prominent People, General, Ali'i / Chiefs / Governance Tagged With: Hawaii, Committee of Safety

July 9, 2015 by Peter T Young 1 Comment

Hawaiian Homes

Hawaiians had consistently advocated for homesteading by Hawaiians since the Land Act of 1895 set up five methods of homesteading upon the former government and Crown lands by the general public. Hawaiians had applied for and received homestead lands, individually and through homestead associations.

Then, a homestead resolution was drafted and debated in Congress; The U.S. House of Representatives passed this measure on May 22, 1920. With disagreement in the Senate, Hawaiʻi’s delegate, Prince Kūhiō provided amendments and on July 9, 1921 SR 1881 passed both houses (and was signed into law. (McGregor)

“The Congress of the United States and the State of Hawaii declare that the policy of this Act is to enable native Hawaiians to return to their lands in order to fully support self-sufficiency for native Hawaiians and the self-determination of native Hawaiians in the administration of this Act, and the preservation of the values, traditions, and culture of native Hawaiians.”

“Native Hawaiian” means any descendant of not less than one-half part of the blood of the races inhabiting the Hawaiian Islands previous to 1778.

The principal purposes are:

  1. Establishing a permanent land base for the benefit and use of native Hawaiians (upon which they may live, farm, ranch, and commercial/industrial or other activities;
  2. Placing native Hawaiians on the lands set aside in a prompt and efficient manner and assuring long-term tenancy to beneficiaries;
  3. Preventing alienation of the fee title to the lands set aside so that these lands will always be held in trust for continued use by native Hawaiians in perpetuity;
  4. Providing adequate amounts of water and supporting infrastructure, so that homestead lands will always be usable and accessible; and
  5. Providing financial support and technical assistance to native Hawaiian beneficiaries to enhance economic self-sufficiency and promote community-based development, the traditions, culture and quality of life of native Hawaiians

Approximately 200,000‐acres of land was set aside to the Hawaiian Homes Commission as a land trust for homesteading by native Hawaiians. The property and its program are administered by the Department of Hawaiian Home Lands.

Pursuant to provisions of the Hawaiian Homes Commission Act (HHCA), the Department provides direct benefits to native Hawaiians in the form of ninety‐nine‐year homestead leases at an annual rental of $1.

In 1990, the Legislature authorized the Department to extend leases for an aggregate term not to exceed 199 years (Act 305, Session Laws of Hawaiʻi 1990; section 208, HHCA).

Homestead leases are for residential, agricultural, or pastoral purposes. Aquacultural leases are also authorized, but none has been awarded to date. The intent of the homesteading program is to provide for economic self‐sufficiency of native Hawaiians through the provision of land.

Other benefits provided by the HHCA include financial assistance through direct loans or loan guarantees for home construction, replacement, or repair, and for the development of farms and ranches; technical assistance to farmers and ranchers; and the operation of water systems.

To be eligible to apply for a Hawaiian home lands homestead lease, you must meet two requirements:

  • You must be at least 18 years of age; and
  • You must be a native Hawaiian, defined as “any descendant of not less than one‐half part of the blood of the races inhabiting the Hawaiian Islands previous to 1778.” This means, you must have a blood quantum of at least 50 percent Hawaiian. This requirement remains unchanged since the HHCA’s passage in 1921.

There are three kinds of homestead leases: residential, agricultural, and pastoral.  Eligible beneficiaries may apply for one of the following:

  • One residential lot;
  • One agricultural lot;
  • One pastoral lot;
  • One residential lot and one agricultural lot; or
  • One residential lot and one pastoral lot.

Eligible beneficiaries may not apply for all three types of homestead leases. Nor may they apply for both an agricultural lot and a pastoral lot.

The advantages of being a Hawaiian homestead lessee include, among the many benefits:

  • Annual lease rent of $1.00 per year;
  • 99‐year lease;
  • Lease term which can be extended for an additional 100 years, allowing lessees to pass their homestead from generation to generation;
  • Seven‐year exemption from real property tax;
  • Complete exemption of tax on land;
  • Minimal real property tax after the first seven years (applies only to County of Kauaʻi and City and County of Honolulu, Oʻahu);
  • Taxing of assessed value of improvements on property (Hawaiʻi and Maui counties only);
  • Homeowner’s exemption (to be filed with respective county’s real property tax office);
  • Low interest government loans (contact DHHL for more information); and
  • Ability to use the equity in your property to obtain loans

We prepared the ʻĀina Mauna Legacy Program (long‐range planning document,) its Implementation Work Plan and Environmental Assessment for approximately 56,000‐acres (about ¼-of all the DHHL lands in the Islands) of Hawaiian Homes Commission property on the Island of Hawaiʻi.

To put the property’s size and shape in perspective, it is equivalent to an area on Oʻahu from Hawaiʻi Kai to Aloha Stadium (19-miles) and Aloha Tower to the Pali Lookout (6-miles).

The ‘Āina Mauna Legacy Program is DHHL’s long‐range planning document geared to restore and protect approximately 56,000‐acres of native Hawaiian forest on Mauna Kea that is ecologically, culturally and economically self‐sustaining for the Hawaiian Home Lands Trust, its beneficiaries and the community.

We were honored and proud when our planning document, the ‘Āina Mauna Legacy Program, received awards: the “Environment/Preservation Award” from the American Planning Association‐Hawai‘i Chapter and the “Koa: Standing the Test of Time Award” by the Hawai‘i Forest Industry Association.

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Aina_Mauna_Legacy_Program-Map

Filed Under: General, Ali'i / Chiefs / Governance Tagged With: Hawaii, Department of Hawaiian Home Lands

July 4, 2015 by Peter T Young 1 Comment

Independence Day

Independence Day celebrates the adoption of the Declaration of Independence on July 4, 1776, declaring independence from the Kingdom of Great Britain.

Drafted by Thomas Jefferson between June 11 and June 28, 1776, the Declaration of Independence is the nation’s most cherished symbol of liberty and Jefferson’s most enduring monument.

What Jefferson did was to summarize this philosophy in “self-evident truths” and set forth a list of grievances against the King in order to justify before the world the breaking of ties between the colonies and the mother country.

Fifty-six men from each of the original 13 colonies signed the Declaration of Independence – they mutually pledged “to each other our lives, our fortunes and our sacred honor.”

Nine of the signers were immigrants, two were brothers and two were cousins. Eighteen of the signers were merchants or businessmen, 14 were farmers and four were doctors. Twenty-two were lawyers and nine were judges.

The average age of a signer was 45. Benjamin Franklin was the oldest delegate at 70. The youngest was Thomas Lynch Jr. of South Carolina at 27.

At the time of the signing, the American Revolutionary War was already underway (1775-1783.)

The British captured five signers during the war. Edward Rutledge, Thomas Heyward and Arthur Middleton were captured at the Battle of Charleston in 1780. George Walton was wounded and captured at the Battle of Savannah; Richard Stockton was incarcerated at the hands of British Loyalists.

Eleven signers had their homes and property destroyed. Francis Lewis’s New York home was razed and his wife taken prisoner. John Hart’s farm and mills were destroyed when the British invaded New Jersey, and he died while fleeing capture.

Fifteen of the signers participated in their states’ constitutional conventions, and six – Roger Sherman, Robert Morris, Benjamin Franklin, George Clymer, James Wilson and George Reed – signed the US Constitution.

Here are some other brief Revolutionary War highlights (and some Hawaiʻi July 4 events:)

1775
March 23 – Patrick Henry’s “Give me liberty or give me death” speech
April 18 – The rides of Paul Revere and William Dawes
April 19 – Minutemen and redcoats clash at Lexington and Concord “The shot heard round the world”
June 17 – Battle of Bunker Hill (Boston) – the British drive the Americans
Throughout the year, skirmishes occurred from Canada to South Carolina

Initially, fighting was through local militias; then, the Continental Congress established (on paper) a regular army on June 14, 1775, and appointed George Washington as commander-in-chief.

The development of the Continental Army was a work in progress, and Washington used both his regulars and state militia throughout the war.

1776
January 15 – Thomas Paine’s ‘Common Sense’ challenged the authority of the British government and the royal monarchy
March 17 – the British evacuate Boston

Ultimately, on September 3, 1783, the war ended with the signing of the Treaty of Paris. The treaty document was signed by John Adams, Benjamin Franklin and John Jay (representing the United States) and David Hartley (a member of the British Parliament representing the British Monarch, King George III).

On June 21, 1788, the US Constitution was adopted (with all states ratifying it by that time.)

John Adams, Thomas Jefferson and Charles Carroll were the longest surviving signers of the Declaration of Independence. Adams and Jefferson both died on July 4, 1826, the 50th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence; Carroll was the last signer to die – in 1832 at the age of 95.

On July 4, 1894, the Republic of Hawai‘i was established at Aliʻiolani Hale; Sanford B Dole became its first president.

On July 4, 1913, Duke Kahanamoku established three new West Coast records in swimming, winning the 50-yard, 440-yard and 220-yard races in a San Francisco regatta.

Following statehood of Hawaiʻi, the new flag of the United States of America, containing a union of 50 stars, flew for the first time at 12:01 am, July 4, 1960, when it was raised at the Fort McHenry National Monument in Baltimore, Maryland.

Attached is an image of the Declaration of Independence.

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Declaration of Independence
Declaration of Independence

Filed Under: Ali'i / Chiefs / Governance Tagged With: Hawaii, Declaration of Independence

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Images of Old Hawaiʻi

People, places, and events in Hawaiʻi’s past come alive through text and media in “Images of Old Hawaiʻi.” These posts are informal historic summaries presented for personal, non-commercial, and educational purposes.

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