Jere Krischel at 06:17, 13 March 2006

2006-03-13T06:17:51Z

Don Newman at 21:59, 16 February 2006

2006-02-16T21:59:43Z

New page

The second section of this chapter
addresses the fall of the monarchy and
the annexation of Hawaii to the United
States. Because of the sensitivity of
this period of history, this section
was prepared by a professional
historian. It sets forth relationships
within Hawaii and between Hawaii
and the United States, providing background
for the fall of the monarchy.
It also details the events of the days
and weeks leading up to the establishment
of a provisional government and
the queen's resignation in January
1893. Further, the section outlines
the unsuccessful steps that the queen
took in an effort to regain her kingdom.
Finally, the section describes
the United States' response to the
developments in Hawaii, and the
resulting efforts to annex Hawaii,
first by treaty, and eventually, by
joint resolution of both houses of
Congress in 1898. Formal transfer of
sovereignty occurred on August 12,
1898, when the Hawaiian Islands became
a territory of the United States.

The third section of this chapter
analyzes a number of specific
questions regarding the process of
annexation. These include a review of
Hawaii's annexation by joint resolution
rather than by treaty. The
primary reason for the use of the
joint resolution was expediency: the
United States was concerned about
protection of its strategic position
in the Pacific; waiting to obtain the
required two-thirds majority in the
Senate for annexation by treaty could
have been too slow to guarantee that
protection. This section also describes
the Congressional debate
surrounding annexation. It then
compares the procedures for annexation
of Hawaii to the procedures used
to annex other territories of the
United States, including Florida,
Louisiana, and Texas. The final
portion of the analysis reviews
whether any native Hawaiians signed
annexation documents in Hawaii, noting
the difficulties of making such an
assessment with the genealogical data
now available.

The fourth section of the chapter
describes the history of Hawaii's
admission to statehood, and compares
Hawaii's admission to that of
Louisiana, Florida, Texas, Oregon and
Alaska.

===="Existing Law, Native Hawaiians, and Compensation"====

The question addressed in this
chapter is "whether native Hawaiians
are entitled to compensation for loss
of land or sovereignty." In liyht of
the history of landholding laws in
Hawaii and the history of the fall of
the monarchy and annexation, the
Commission has examined whether native
Hawaiians have any claims under
present law for compensation from the
United States for loss of land or
sovereignty. The chapter first
describes the background of law on
these matters, and states that much o:f
the law has developed in relation to
American Indians. Second, the chapter
analyzes whether native Hawaiians meet
the legal requirements for holding
"aboriginal title" to Crown and
Government lands and whether they are
entitled to compensation for loss of
any such title. It reviews each of
the factors that must be met to
establish aboriginal title, in light
of the history and sociological facts
about native Hawaiians. The requirements
that must be met are: the group
must be a single landowning entity;
there must be actual and exclusive use
and occupancy of the lands; the use
and occupancy must be of a defined
area; and the land must be used and
occupied for a long time before
aboriginal title was extinguished.
While the native Hawaiians may meet
some of these requirements, they do
not meet all of them.
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@@ Line 68: / Line 68: @@
 chapter is "whether native Hawaiians
 are entitled to compensation for loss
-of land or sovereignty." In liyht of
+of land or sovereignty." In light of
 the history of landholding laws in
 Hawaii and the history of the fall of
@@ Line 78: / Line 78: @@
 sovereignty. The chapter first
 describes the background of law on
-these matters, and states that much o:f
+these matters, and states that much of
 the law has developed in relation to
 American Indians. Second, the chapter

Template:Nhsc-v1-17 - Revision history

Jere Krischel at 06:17, 13 March 2006

Don Newman at 21:59, 16 February 2006