Nation Within: The History of the American Occupation of Hawai'i

by Tom Coffman

In 1893 a small group of white planters and missionary descendants backed by the United States overthrew the Kingdom of Hawai'i and established a government modeled on the Jim Crow South. In Nation Within Tom Coffman tells the complex history of the unsuccessful efforts of deposed Hawaiian queen Lili'uokalani and her subjects to resist annexation, which eventually came in 1898. Coffman describes native Hawaiian political activism, the queen's visits to Washington, D.C., to lobby for independence, and her imprisonment, along with hundreds of others, after their aborted armed insurrection. Exposing the myths that fueled the narrative that native Hawaiians willingly relinquished their nation, Coffman shows how Americans such as Theodore Roosevelt conspired to extinguish Hawai'i's sovereignty in the service of expanding the United States' growing empire.

Genres: History, Audiobook, Nonfiction, Historical

Audible Audio

First published August 5, 2016

About the author

Tom Coffman is an independent researcher, writer, and producer. He graduated from the William Allen White School, Kansas University, with a Bachelor in Journalism, and became a reporter for United Press International in New Mexico in 1965. Within a year, the managing editor of the Honolulu Advertiser loaned Coffman plane fare to come to Hawaii, where he became state government reporter for the Advertiser. He moved to the Honolulu Star-Bulletin two years later and became political reporter and bureau chief. In 1972, he wrote Catch a Wave, a widely read chronicle of the 1970 gubernatorial campaign and the social and political turmoil of that period. A year later, he left newspaper reporting to work as an independent writer and media producer.

Expanding on research for Catch a Wave, his productions increasingly incorporated historic themes. Under the guidance of the legendary Hawaiian writer John Dominis Holt, he began to integrate a chronology of the development of Hawaii, which led to the television documentaries O Hawaii: From Settlement to Kingdom and Nation Within.

Tom Coffmans work has won national awards for production of video, film, interactive media, and multi-image. Ganbare, about the early wartime experiences of Japanese Americans, was selected Best Film by a Hawaii Filmmaker at the 1995 Hawaii International Film Festival. Two of his booksthe first edition of Nation Within and The Island Edge of America: A Political History of Americareceived Ka Palapala Pookela Awards for Excellence in Nonfiction from the Hawaii Book Publishers Association. After publication of Nation Within, Coffman also received the Hawaii Award for Literature, the highest recognition given by the state of Hawaii for outstanding literary achievement. He is currently working on a film about the assassination of Benigno Aquino, Jr., in the Philippines."

Reviews

[David Odum · Rating 4 out of 5]

A book that digs into the details of the American takeover of the nation of Hawaii.

Some takeaways:

One of the ways the U.S. government has avoided widespread censure for its dealings with Hawaii is by truthfully claiming that the Republic of Hawaii willingly ceded control of its territory. The problem is that the government in power had recently overthrown the previous government, and at one point only represented about 2% of the people in Hawaii--the whites, including the sugar plantations. The rest weren't allowed to vote. It was called a nation without a citizenry. It was widely known even to annexationists that if put to a general vote, annexation would overwhelmingly fail.

The overthrow of Hawaii's pre-republic government was supported by U.S. troops from a U.S. warship. Afterward the U.S. government may have distanced itself from the actions of that ship's captain, but never did anything to rectify them.

A political leader, in celebrating annexation, said that while other nations would have jumped at the chance to use Hawaii as a military base, they recognized that the U.S. had a "preemption" because of our pioneering missionaries. Yet another way political powers, including some of the missionaries' children, warp the efforts of the church to their own ends. On the other hand, perhaps missionaries ought to better teach their children that they are not there for political purposes, and certainly shouldn't cast dirt on the reputation of God's kingdom by helping to rule by force the people they came to bring good news to.

[Momilani Awana · Rating 4 out of 5]

For the most part, it's a very accurate and sympathetic account, especially given the author's background. I realize "this white guy isn't super racist!" is weak praise, but if you're familiar with other work by members of his demographic, you know how rare and wonderful this is. He makes no excuses for the Americans. His account of the arguments in Congress is actually the most detailed I've come across.

However, in attempting to draw parallels between the lives of EVERYONE within a 120 year period, he jumps all over the place temporally. There's no real need to draw parallels between the lives of so many monarchs and politicians.

[Talia Smith · Rating 3 out of 5]

Very informative, but I would prefer to read from an indigenous point of view.

[Mary · Rating 4 out of 5]

A small group of Mainers overthrew the nation of Hawaii in the 19th century with help from the US! Just a wild story. This is a dense read, but after about 75-100 pages it really picks up and I couldn't put it down. The story of annexation is a link to so many other stories, like the US' history with Japan and the contradictions of American democracy and its imperial tendencies. There's a lot in here about how the Hawaiians resisted too. They were so organized, holding protests regularly, traveling to Washington DC to lobby the US government, and creating petitions against the actions of the illegitimate government the Mainers formed in the late 1800s. Definitely recommend reading this one!

[Claire Epperson · Rating 4 out of 5]

Starting out the year with this somewhat tough read in preparation for an upcoming trip to Hawai'i. This book is nothing if not comprehensive and didn't leave a single stone unturned. However, I wish the author had decided if it was going to be strictly non-fiction, or non-fiction with storytelling/fictionalized dialogue elements, as it was sometimes difficult to tell if conversations between prominent characters were based on primary documents or dramatized. Still, I learned a lot about the history of Hawai'i that I simply never knew before, and some really striking and uncomfortable things about the history of this country ruining other people's lives time and time again.

[Clint Foster · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great book. Covers all the attempts to colonize Hawaii and how the U.S., eventually, took control. Which was done "without permission" from the government. But still accepted with little pushback. Also, believe it or not, in a very racist way. Absolutely worth a read or a listen. Especially if you can find it for free.

[Leeann Pule · Rating 5 out of 5]

I had to read this book to help my daughter with her history course. I found it to be very useful information. I am not quite sure I agreed with everything written within the book, due to bias on my part and the author, but it was informative.

[IndyInAsiaPacific · Rating 5 out of 5]

What Everyone Should Know

One might think it possible that knowledge of this history could turn the tide American Opinion against American Military Imperialism.

[Justin Westmoreland · Rating 3 out of 5]

Very informative

[R · Rating 4 out of 5]

Hawaiian History overlaid with US History.

[Taylor · Rating 5 out of 5]

https://www.loc.gov/item/2012647459