Hawaii’s “Blue” Laws

Hawaii’s “Blue” Laws

Hawaii
19th Century
Molokai
Monarchy
Constitution

A newspaper article which examines the ‘constitution and laws’ of Hawaii as suggested by missionaries after they arrived in Hawaii. Amongst these laws were those that were focused upon the Ten Commandments. However, this article deals with laws designed to regulate Hawaiian nobility and law making. It goes on to explain that these laws had not changed for around fifty years after they were established. The newspaper frames the piece with patriotic language, labelling the laws as ‘American principles as they were taught the Hawaiians fifty years ago’, with the former part in bold. This emphasis on the ideas being American and thus somehow “better” than the Hawaiian’s own values, shows that the source could be used when studying attitudes towards or against Hawaiians. It is also a good example of what contemporaries may have considered “progress” in the context of civilizing indigenous peoples.

Hawaii Holomua = Progress

Library of Congress, Chronicling America provided by University of Hawaii at Manoa

http://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/lccn/sn82016410/1894-06-19/ed-1/seq-4/

1894

Hannah Oliver

Library of Congress

English

Textual - printed newspaper

19th century Hawai'i