COALITION POLITICS IN HAWAI'I· 1887.90: Hill KALAl'A.lNA AND THE MECHANICS AND WORKINGMEN'S POLITICAL PROTECTIVE UNION A THESIS SUBMITTED TO THE GRADUATE DIVISION OF THE UNIVERSITY OF HAWAI'I IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE DEGREE OF MASTER OF ARTS IN PACIFIC ISLANDS STUDIES DECEMBER 1993 By David William Earle Thesis Committee: Terence Wesley-Smith. Chairperson Davianna P<5maika'i McGregor David Hanlon We certify that we have read this thesis and that, in our opinion, it is satisfactory in scope and quality as a thesis for the degree of Master of Arts in Pacific Islands Studies. THESIS COMMITTEE ~ \r\l~~ ""f Ch' on ii © Copyright 1993 by David Earle iii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS The author acknowledges the support provided by the East-West Center, Honolulu to undertake a Master's degree at the University of Hawai'i. The author also acknowledges the assistance received from Katie Boyle, for proof-reading, Marion Kelly, for assistance with the initial research, and the Pacific History Association IX Annual Conference and the University of Hawai'i Graduate Student Organization 1993 Spring Symposium, where he was able to present parts of the research and receive invaluable feedback on it. iv ABSTRACT In 1889, Hoi KiUai' aina (The Hawaiian Political Association) and the Mechanics and Workingmens' Political Protective Union united to fonn the National Refonn Party in order to win the 1890 election in Hawai'i. They stood against the Refonn Party, which represented the interests of the American and European elite in the islands. The National Refonn Party's policies were to maintain the independence of the islands and improve the situation ofNative Hawaiians and the American and European lower and middle classes. Their coalition provides an interesting example of political cooperation between native people and settlers. It highlights the ambiguities and tensions of race, class and national identity in nineteenth century Hawai'i. This thesis traces the origin and development ofthe coalition from 1887, when the American and European elite forced the adoption of a new constitution for the kingdom, to the legislative session of 1890, when the National Refonn Party held the balance of power. It concludes by assessing the success of the coalition and some of the problems that it faced. v TABLE OF CONTENTS ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS. ..................................... .. iv ABSTRACT v LIST OF TABLES x PREFACE xi Approaching History in Hawai'i from a Plkehll Perspective xi Theoretical Approach xiii The Incorporation of Hawai'i into the World-Capitalist System xxii The Kingdom of Hawai'i in the 1880s xxxi Sources ................................................ .. xxxiii Usage of Hawaiian Words xxxvi The Structure of the Thesis xxxvii PART I: NA.NA. I KE KUMU (LOOK TO THE SOURCE) CHAPTER 1: FROM RUNNYMEDE TO KA HALE ALI'I '0 'IOLANI: THE ANGLO-SAXON HERITAGE 2 Monday, June 15, 1215 2 Thursday, June 30, 1887 4 Discussion: The Anglo-Saxon Heritage in Hawai'i 7 The Creation of a Constitutional Monarchy 12 vi CHAPTER 2: "HO'OULU LAHUl": HAWAI'I UNDER KING KALA.KAUA I 16 The Election of Kings 16 Reciprocity Established with the United States 20 Claus Spreckels and Celso Caesar Moreno ........................ .. 22 A Trip Around the World 25 The Gibson Ministry 25 The Increase of the Nation .................................... .. 29 The Continuation of the Reciprocity Treaty 33 Discussion: The Maintenance of Hawaiian Independence .............. .. 34 PART II: KA HO'ALA 'ANA (THE AWAKENING) CHAPTER 3: REACTION AND RESISTANCE: 1887-8 ........... .. 37 The Provisions of the 1887 Constitution 37 The 1887 Election Campaign 42 The Reciprocity Treaty 55 Conspiracies against Kalikaua ................................. .. 56 The 1888 Special Election 57 Discussion: Towards a Mass Organization 60 CHAPTER 4: HUI KALAl'AINA AWAKENED .................. .. 64 The Establishment of the Hoi .................................. .. 64 IIHihi a paakiki ke hana akuII ••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••• 72 Discussion: Will the True Hawaiians Please Stand Up? ............... .. 81 vii CHAPTER 5: OTHER EVENTS OF 1889 84 The Two Hoi Kalai'llina 84 The Wilcox Rebellion. ....................................... .. 86 The Factions Struggle On 89 The Rumored Treaty of Reciprocity ............................. .. 90 Discussion: By the Gun or by the Ballot? " 94 CHAPTER 6: THE MECHANICS' AND WORKINGMEN'S POLITICAL PROTECTIVE UNION 98 The Situation of Mechanics and Workingmen in Hawai'i in the 1880s .... .. 98 Early Labor Organizations in Hawai'i 106 The Establishment of the Union 109 Discussion: Nineteenth Century Labor Politics Comes to Hawai'i 111 PART III: KA HOPENA (THE RESULT) CHAPTER 7: THE 1890 ELECTIONS 117 The Organization of the Parties : ....................... 117 Cabinet Policy Announced ...................................... 123 The Coalition Debate Continues 126 The Reform Party Ward Meetings ................................ 127 National Reform Party Launched ................................. 130 The Meetings Continue 135 The Election Results 139 Discussion: The Campaign Issues and Strategies 140 viii CHAPTER 8: NATIONAL REFORM PARTY IN GOVERNMENT, 1890 , 148 Events Between the Election and the 1890 Legislative Session 148 National Reform Party Versus the Cabinet 152 The Proposed Constitutional Convention 160 Other Matters Considered in the Legislature 169 CHAPTER 9: CONCLUSION 173 BffiLIOGRAPHY 180 ix LIST OF TABLES Table 3.1. Analysis of Voters for the Houses of Representatives and Nobles, 1888 39 Table 6.1. Distribution of Work: Force by Islands and Occupation, 1878 and 1884 " 102 Table 6.2.1890 Work: Force for all Islands, by Occupation, Nationality and Gender 104 Table 6.3. Swvey of Daily Wages of Mechanics and Laborers in Honolulu, 1890. .......... .. 106 x PREFACE Approaching History in Hawai'i from a PAkeh!! Perspective I arrived in Hawai'i from Aotearoa (New Zealand) in fall 1991 to undertake an M.A. in Pacific Islands Studies. I brought with me a commitment to the furthering of Mllori2 sovereignty, which by extension I found to be a commitment to supporting Native Hawaiian sovereignty. In Aotearoa, it is becoming accepted that the role of Pilkehll in supporting Mllori sovereignty is first to work with our own people to clear the way for and to remove obstacles to the achievement ofMaori sovereignty. An important part of this task is to understand who our ancestors were and what they did, who we are now and what we can become in a future where Maori sovereignty is fully recognized. As a Pilkehll, an historian and a Maori studies graduate, I find myselfin an unusual and sometimes difficult position. I do not wish to waste the gifts of understanding that I have received through Mllori studies, but I also do not wish to trample on those areas of Maori history which at this time are best left for those ofMllori ancestry to deal with. Therefore, my interest lies in the histories ofthe cultural, political and spatial borders between Maori and Pilkehll and of the interactions that took place across these borders. lP~ehll are New Zealanders of European ancestry. ~ori are the indigenous people of Aotearoa. xi The topic of this thesis is one that I stumbled upon while reading Kuykendall's history of the 3 Hawaiian kingdom • It concerns the interracial politics ofthe period before the overthrow ofthe Hawaiian monarchy in 1893, which was a pivotal event in the history ofthe islands and marked the begiooiog of the end of Hawaiian independence. The political history of this period is usually represented as a struggle between the Haole4 sugar planters and the Hawaiian monarchy. It is assumed that other Haole supported the actions of the sugar planters, while the Hawaiians supported their monarchs. My discovery was that there was in fact a significant group of Haole who sided with Native Hawaiians against the ambitions of the sugar planters. Working and middle class Haole became a group whose loyalty was sought by both sides. A significant number sided with Native Hawaiian politicians rather than with the sugar planters. In doing so they also chose to transcend their various national identities and act as citizens of Hawai'i. Their actions challenge the oppositional paradigm of Native Hawaiians versus foreigners, which has tended to dominate the historical accounts of that period. They also demonstrate the flexibility and negotiability of concepts such as race, class and national identity in the practice of culture and politics. In doing so, it opens to examination the potential for action that arises through the recognition of a variety of possible alliances. This is a topic which is as relevant today as it was then. 3Ralph S. Kuykendall, The Hawaiian Kingdom, Volume Ill: 1874·1893, The Kalakaua dynasty (Honolulu: University of Hawaii Press, 1967). 4Haole are residents of Hawai'i of predominantly European or European-American descent. xii Theoretical Approach This thesis utilizes an approach to history that Fernand Braudel described as histoire-probIeme, that is, to approach the study of history as an analytical exercise, rather than just the recounting ofevents.s The probleme analyzed in this work is how a non-indigenous class based movement works, or doesn't work, alongside an indigenous nationalist movement. As a framework for histoire-probleme, Braudel identified three principal categories ofsocial time, which he defined both in terms oftheir length of time-span and the object of their measurement. The first is l'histoire evenementielle, or "episodic history",