Hawaii became a U.S. Territory July 7, 1898
American Minute with Bill Federer
Hawaii became a U.S. Territory JULY 7, 1898, as President McKinley signed the Treaty of Annexation.
In 1778, British Captain James Cook discovered the islands, and in 1779, he was killed there.
When Captain Cook’s voyages were read in England they raised awareness of new lands and inspired a missionary movement, led by William Carey, who took the Gospel to India in 1793.
The Hawaiian Islands were united by King Kamehameha I in 1810.
In 1819, King Kamehameha I died. His wife, Kaʻahumanu, and his son, Liholiho (King Kamehameha II), abolished the pagan religion with its kapu rules and human sacrifice.
The next year the first missionaries, led by Hiram Bingham and Yale graduate Asa Thurston, with his wife, Lucy, arrived from New England on the brig Thaddeus.
Bingham helped create a written language and a spelling system, then translated the Bible into the Hawaiian Language.
In 1823, Queen Kaʻahumanu and six high chiefs requested to be baptized. The government then banned prostitution and drunkenness, resulting in sailors resenting the missionaries influence.
In 1824, Chiefess Kapiolani, the cousin of Kamehameha I, defied the volcano goddess Pele by saying a Christian prayer, climbing down into the lava crater and returning unharmed, then eating the forbidden Ōhelo berries.
In 1825, Queen Ke’opuolani first spoke Hawaii’s Motto, “The Life of the Land is Perpetuated in Righteousness,” as she was baptized into the Christian faith.
When Liholiho (King Kamehameha II) died, his brother, King Kamehameha III, ascended to the throne, having the longest reign in Hawaii’s history, 1825-1854. He signed both the 1840 and 1852 Constitutions.
“Kingdom of Hawai`i Constitution of 1840, Declaration of Rights of People and Chiefs:
‘God hath made of one blood all nations of men to dwell on the earth,’ in unity and blessedness. God has also bestowed certain rights alike on all men and all chiefs, and all people of all lands…
God has also established government, and rule for the purpose of peace…We are aware that we cannot ourselves alone accomplish such an object–God must be our aid, for it is His province alone to give perfect protection and prosperity.–Wherefore we first present our supplication to HIM, that he will guide us to right measures and sustain us in our work.
It is therefore our fixed decree,
I. That no law shall be enacted which is at variance with the word of the Lord Jehovah, or at variance with the general spirit of His word. All laws of the Islands shall be in consistency with the general spirit of God’s law.
II. All men of every religion shall be protected in worshiping Jehovah, and serving Him, according to their own understanding, but no man shall ever be punished for neglect of God unless he injures his neighbor, of bring evil on the kingdom…
The above constitution has been agreed to by the Nobles, and we have hereunto subscribed our names, this eighth day of October, in the year of our Lord 1840, at Honolulu, Oahu. (Signed) Kamehameha III. Kekauluohi”
King Kamehameha granted the freshwater springs, called “Ka Wai,” where High Chiefess Ha‘o frequented, for the building of the Kawaiaha‘o Church.
Located on the Island of O’ahu, the Kawaiaha‘o Church is listed on the state and national registers of historic sites, as it is one of the first Christian churches in Hawaii.
Built between 1836-1842 in New England style architecture, it was called the “Westminster Abbey of Hawaii,” constructed with 14,000 coral slabs, quarried by hand from reefs 10 to 20 feet under water – each slab weighed more than 1,000 pounds.
Within its walls the kingdom’s royalty prayed, sang hymns, were married, christened their children, and finally laid in state. On the grounds surrounding the church are buried some of the original missionaries.
When Hawaii became the 50th U.S. State in 1959, the historic occasion was marked by ceremonies within the sanctuary walls of the Kawaiaha‘o Church.
On April 19, 1970, President Richard Nixon spoke at the church, saying:
“Reverend Akaka…I wanted to attend…this great church, with all of its history that is here…having in mind the fact that today…you will be commemorating the 150th anniversary of Christianity in…these islands.”
---30---
The Moral Liberal contributing editor, William J. Federer, is the bestselling author of “Backfired: A Nation Born for Religious Tolerance no Longer Tolerates Religion,” and numerous other books. A frequent radio and television guest, his daily American Minute is broadcast nationally via radio, television, and Internet. Check out all of Bill’s books here.