Sanford B. Dole

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Former advisor to Queen Liliʻuokalani and justice of the Hawaiʻi judiciary, Sanford B. Dole assumed the role of President of the Republic of Hawaiʻi. He later became Governor of the new Territory of Hawaiʻi.

Sanford Ballard Dole (April 23, 1844 – June 9, 1926) was a politician and jurist of Hawaiʻi as a kingdom, protectorate, republic and territory.

[edit] Early years

Dole was born in Honolulu to a family of white Protestant Christian missionaries from Norridgewock, Maine in the United States. His cousin was the pineapple magnate James Dole who followed the elder Dole to Hawaiʻi in later years. Dole was part of a wealthy, elite immigrant community in the Hawaiian Islands that established a dominant presence in the local political climate. Serving as a successful attorney and friend of King David Kalākaua and Queen Liliʻuokalani, Dole pursued and advocated the westernization of Hawaiian society and culture.

[edit] Bayonet Constitution

Dole participated in a revolution in 1887 in which local businessmen, sugar planters and politicians backed by the Honolulu Rifles forced adoption of the 1887 Constitution of the Kingdom of Hawaii written by Interior Minister Lorrin A. Thurston. It stripped voting rights from all Asians outright, and disenfranchised poor Native Hawaiians, Americans and Europeans due to income and wealth requirements, effectively consolidating power with the elite Native Hawaiian, European and American subjects of the kingdom. In addition, it minimized the power of the monarch in favor of more influential governance by the Privy Council, the royal cabinet. Kalākaua later appointed Dole a justice of the Kingdom of Hawaiʻi Supreme Court.

[edit] End of the monarchy

Sanford B. Dole, on the left, continued as President of the new Territory of Hawaiʻi until the Hawaiian Organic Act of 1900 established a permanent territorial government led by a governor.

The Blount Report of July 17, 1893, commissioned by President Cleveland, alleged that the Committee of Safety conspired with U.S. ambassador John L. Stevens to land the United States Marine Corps, to forcibly remove Queen Liliʻuokalani from power, and declare a Provisional Government of Hawaiʻi consisting of members from the Committee of Safety. The Morgan Report of February 26, 1894, commissioned by the U.S. Senate after Cleveland referred the matter to Congress, investigated further and concluded that the insurgency was locally based, motivated by a history of corruption of the monarchy, and that American troops only served to protect American property and citizens and had no role in the end of the Hawaiian Monarchy.^[1]

Regardless, the monarchy ended in January 1893, and the Provisional Government, led reluctantly by President Dole, was recognized by all nations with diplomatic ties to the Kingdom of Hawaii as the legitimate government of the islands within 48 hours of the overthrow. After an unsuccessful attempt at armed rebellion some years later, the Queen officially abdicated in 1896.^[2]

With Grover Cleveland's election as President of the United States, the Provisional Government's hopes of annexation were derailed for a time. Indeed, Cleveland tried to directly help reinstate the monarchy, after an investigation led by James Henderson Blount. On November 16, 1893, Albert Willis presented the Queen with Cleveland's request that she grant amnesty to the Revolutionists in return for reinstatement. Initially, the Queen refused, demanding capital punishment for those involved. On December 18, 1893, the queen changed her mind with regards to the punishment of Dole and Thurston, but by that time Cleveland had already turned the matter over to Congress which commissioned the Morgan Report. On December 23, 1893, unaware that Cleveland had referred the matter to Congress, Willis presented the Provisional Government with Cleveland's demand to restore the queen to the throne - the Provisional Government refused. The next year, the Provisional Government held a constitutional convention and on July 4, 1894, established the Republic of Hawaiʻi.^[3]

[edit] President of a republic

Lorrin A. Thurston declined the presidency and Dole was chosen to lead the government instead; Dole would serve as the first and only president from 1894 to 1900. Dole in turn appointed Thurston to lead a lobbying effort in Washington, DC and secure Hawaiʻi's annexation.

Dole's government weathered several attempts to restore the monarchy, including an attempted armed rebellion in which Robert William Wilcox participated; Wilcox and the other conspirators had their sentences reduced or commuted by Dole after being sentenced to death. Dole was successful as a diplomat - every nation that recognized the Kingdom of Hawaii also recognized the Republic of Hawaii.

[edit] Governor and judge

President William McKinley appointed Dole to become the first territorial governor after U.S. annexation of Hawaiʻi had been procured. Dole assumed the office in 1900 but resigned in 1903 to accept an appointment as U.S. District Court judge. He served in the latter post until 1915 and died after a series of strokes in 1926. His ashes are interred in the cemetery of Kawaiahaʻo Church. Dole Middle School which is located in Kalihi Valley on the island of Oʻahu as named after him in 1956.

[edit] References

Governors of Hawaii
Territorial: Dole • Carter • Frear • Pinkham • McCarthy • Farrington • Judd • Poindexter • Stainback • Long • King • Quinn Quinn • Burns • Ariyoshi • Waihee • Cayetano • Lingle