Buildup of U.S. military in Hawaii

Myles Fukunaga Case

Scottsboro Boys

The possibility of the imposition of martial law existed was always close at hand from the time of the overthrow of the Kingdom of Hawaii.

In 1921, following the crippling Oahu Sugar Strike of 1920, the FBI and Office of Naval Intelligence began to compile a list of potentially dangerous or outspoken Japanese Americans.

Creating a List

On January 17, 1893, a group of thirteen haole businessmen, calling themselves the Committee of Safety and with the backing of U.S. Marines, proclaims a provisional government, overthrowing Queen Lili'uokalani and the Kingdom of Hawaii. The businessmen establish an oligarchy controlled by haole business interests. All power is transferred to the provisional government and government workers are forced to swear allegiance.

The Overthrow of the Kingdom of Hawaii

In July of 1894, after failing to succeed in immediate annexation by the U.S., the Provisional government transitions to the Republic of Hawaii government featuring the same leaders. Efforts continue to secure annexation by the U.S.

Republic of Hawaii is established.

Before the retrial of the five young local men for assaulting Thalia Massie began, one of the men, a native Hawaiian named Joseph Kahahawai, was kidnapped as he was reporting to the courthouse in Honolulu by Thalia's mother, husband, and two sailors. Kahahawai was taken to a home in Manoa, where the kidnappers attempted to force a confession out of him. They eventually killed him and attempted to dispose of his body on the East side of the island. The four were apprehended and placed on trial for murder. The most famous lawyer in America at the time, Clarence Darrow, came out of retirement to represent the four accused, and the U.S. press pushed a justified homicide narrative.

A jury of local working-class people did not succumb to pressure to acquit the four, and they were found guilty. Within hours of the verdict and facing pressure from the military with threats of the imposition of martial law, the territorial governor commuted the mandatory minimum ten-year sentence for each of the four to an hour with him for tea at Iolani Palace.

The two trials heightened tensions between the local people of color, the U.S. military, and the white ruling class in Hawaii.

Second Massie Case

The FBI opens a field office in Hawaii mostly to handle immigration and fugitive matters and address Japanese militarism in the Pacific theater.

A Field Office is created.

In July of 1897, failing to secure the required number of votes to enact a treaty of annexation, the U.S. Congress used a joint resolution to annex a foreign country.

Joint Resolution to Annex Hawaii

In April of 1900, President McKinley signs the organic act necessary for Hawaii to become a territory of the U.S. The act contains a provision for the imposition of martial law and names Sanford Dole as the territorial governor.

Territory of Hawaii

In November of 1931, Thalia Massie, the wife of a white naval officer, accused five non-white "local" young men of assaulting her on her way home from drinking one night in Waikiki. The five men were tried before a jury of working-class people in Honolulu. Based on the dubious claims and outrageous behavior of Thalia, the jury could not reach a decision, and a retrial was set. The case sparked outrage in the U.S. press with claims of brown-skinned people assaulting white women.

First Massie Case

In September of 1897, in protest of the push for annexation, a majority of the native Hawaiian population of Hawaii sign on to a petition effort to keep the U.S. from annexing the islands. They seek the restoration of the Kingdom government.

Petition Against Annexation

Japanese and Filipino plantation workers strike for nearly six months to secure better working conditions in opposition to haole-controlled business interests.

Standards for The Path to Martial Law in Hawaii

College, Career, and Civic Life (C3) Framework