Land and Power in Hawaii: The Democratic Years

by George Cooper, Gavan Daws

Land and Power in Hawaii describes a pervasive way of conducting private and public affairs in which state and local office holders throughout Hawaii took their personal financial interests into account in their actions as public officials.

528 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1985

Reviews

[Karen · Rating 4 out of 5]

Land & Power in Hawaii by George Cooper and Gavan Daws. I first tried reading this in college but deemed it too boring. I don’t blame myself. In fact, I think many folks would be turned off by the dry, academic style of writing--and that's too bad because this book is packed with valuable and interesting information.. The authors rely heavily on public records, so much so that this book reads like one long government document. Still, as someone who grew up in Hawaii about a generation after everything described in the book took place, it went a long way to filling in the gaps.

In a nutshell: Land has always equaled power in Hawaii. King Kamehameha I had it when he united the islands under one kingdom. Then the rich haole (white, Republican) business owners had it when they turned the land into sugar and pineapple plantations and refused to sell because, hey, why should they, things were going great for them. Then the sons of the Asian plantation workers (mostly Japanese, Democrats) seized it when, back from fighting for America in World War II and with law degrees in hand courtesy of the GI Bill, they took control and set out to reform land use by promoting development and making it possible for the average family to own a home (up until that point, most working class families lived as tenants on plantation property).

These young, Democratic, Asian men started out as idealists with plans of spreading the wealth and creating a more equal society for Hawaii and they came into office with a mandate to do so. Many of them had roots in the rural districts of the outer islands, some of them even had ties to the Communist Party. But as they rose to power–almost exclusively through rezoning and development, i.e. LAND–they amassed wealth and ultimately lost touch with a significant portion of their base. Power begets power and once you have it it’s hard to let go. That’s the human story captured within these pages, and it does come through, however hindered by the flat delivery.

On a side note, my great-uncle was mentioned a handful of times. He was one of those young Japanese-American men who fought in World War II, returned home with a law degree, set out to make Hawaii a better place and made a lot of money for himself in the process. And there are those in his family who came after him and chose very different paths. But that’s for another post. So I’ll sum it up by saying this book is long overdue for an update. A lot has happened regarding land and power in Hawaii since the 1980s.

[George · Rating 5 out of 5]

En expose that covers the period from the 1954 "Democratic Revolution" in Hawai'i when Democrats gained political power power in Hawai'i mainly via Japanese Americans to the mid 1980's when the book was written and describes the pervasive way these mainly Japanese Americans conducted private and public affairs in which state and local office holders throughout Hawaii took their personal financial interests into account in their actions as public officials.

Land has always equaled power in Hawaii through out it's history starting Hawaiian royalty then whites in the second the late 19th century and consolidated even more into the hands of whites after annexation who controlled nearly all aspects of Hawai'i's economy and politics through the Republican Party. It was this control that was ended in 1954 with Democrats gaining political dominance thus opening the door for members to use this new found power to gain access to land thus diminishing the role of whites and Republicans.

[Bonnie Robb · Rating 3 out of 5]

Anyone who is aware of the land grabs made in hawaii will appreciate this book --- given that so much of the land belongs to Peli herself - it's no wonder that much has been claimed back by her in this last huge lava flow

[Philip · Rating 5 out of 5]

Completely fascinating... but points must be docked for presentation.

[Asia Becerra · Rating 5 out of 5]

Just an interesting read that delves into Hawaii’s complex history when it comes to Real Estate and power.

[Nick Lee · Rating 4 out of 5]

This tome serves as an excellent reference to real estate history in Hawaii. It should be considered a go-to reference book.

The short chapter on the speculation of 'organized crime syndicate' in Hawaii makes for a nice hypothesis (as well as a departure from the research) into the possibility of the existence of an underworld in Hawaii. All conjecture, but a fascinating detour.

[Darisann Metzler stout · Rating 3 out of 5]

Essential background to Hawaii Real Estate, difficult to read as it's an academic research volume.