Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
to the U.S. Congress, although after witnessing the stiff resistance of the Hawaiian people
to formal annexation (a petition of over 30,000 signatures known as the Ku'e Petition op-
posed joining the union), the movement failed in Congress three times.
Circumstances changed, however, when the United States was drawn into the Spanish-
American War in 1898. Recognizing that Hawai'i was strategically situated for fighting
the Spanish in the Philippines and that Pearl Harbor would make the perfect naval port, a
joint resolution of Congress was signed which deemed it acceptable to annex Hawai'i as a
circumstance of the impending war known as the Newlands Resolution.
There remains great debate today over the legality of the situation. In many ways it ap-
pears that since no formal annexation treaty was signed—particularly one pertaining to in-
ternational lands which are extraterritorial of immediate borders—that Hawai'i technically
may never have been annexed through proper and constitutional channels. Furthermore,
whatever documents were in fact signed were done so as an agreement with the Republic
of Hawai'i, and at no point was an agreement made with the original Hawaiian kingdom
representing more than 90 percent of the population. Even now, over 120 years later, it
remains a hotly contested issue (President Clinton signed an Apology Resolution in 1993
stating that the overthrow was illegal), and as time marches on, there is growing support
for the kingdom which may have never ceased to exist.
Nevertheless, as Hawai'i entered the 20th century it became largely Americanized.
Hawaiian language, religion, and culture were nearly gone. Everyone dressed like west-
erners and was Christian, and Asians made up 75 percent of plantation workers. By 1900
everyone was encouraged to attend school, and almost 90 percent of all Hawaiians were
literate. Interracial marriage was accepted, and Hawai'i became a true melting pot.
Pearl Harbor Attack
On December 7, 1941, the Japanese carrier
Akagi
received a broadcast over its PA system
of island music from Honolulu station KGMB. Yet the crew were secretly listening for a
different message of code coming from the Japanese mainland. When they heard the mes-
sage “east wind rain,” the attack on O'ahu was launched. At the end of the day, 2,325 U.S.
military members and 57 civilians were dead, 188 planes were destroyed, 18 major war-
ships were sunk or heavily damaged, and the United States was in World War II. It roared
on for four years through the Nagasaki and Hiroshima bombings, and when it was over, in
the hearts of a nation, Hawai'i was an integral part of the United States.
