The Legislature of the Hawaiian Kingdom () was the

bicameral Bicameralism is a type of legislature, one divided into two separate assemblies, chambers, or houses, known as a bicameral legislature. Bicameralism is distinguished from unicameralism, in which all members deliberate and vote as a single grou ...

(later

unicameral Unicameralism (from ''uni''- "one" + Latin ''camera'' "chamber") is a type of legislature, which consists of one house or assembly, that legislates and votes as one. Unicameral legislatures exist when there is no widely perceived need for multic ...

)

legislature A legislature is an assembly with the authority to make law Law is a set of rules that are created and are enforceable by social or governmental institutions to regulate behavior,Robertson, ''Crimes against humanity'', 90. with its p ...

of the

Hawaiian Kingdom The Hawaiian Kingdom, or Kingdom of Hawaiʻi (Hawaiian language, Hawaiian: ''Ko Hawaiʻi Pae ʻĀina''), was a sovereign state located in the Hawaiian Islands. The country was formed in 1795, when the warrior chief Kamehameha the Great, of the ...

. A royal legislature was first provided by the 1840 Constitution and the 1852 Constitution was the first to use the term Legislature of the Hawaiian Islands, and the first to subject the

monarch A monarch is a head of stateWebster's II New College DictionarMonarch Houghton Mifflin. Boston. 2001. p. 707. Life tenure, for life or until abdication, and therefore the head of state of a monarchy. A monarch may exercise the highest authority ...

to certain

democratic principles Democracy (From grc, δημοκρατία, dēmokratía, ''dēmos'' 'people' and ''kratos'' 'rule') is a form of government in which the people have the authority to deliberate and decide legislation (" direct democracy"), or to choose gov ...

. Prior to this the monarchs ruled under a Council of Chiefs (ʻAha Aliʻi).

Structure

The Legislature from 1840 to 1864 was

and originally consisted of a lower House of Representatives and an upper House of Nobles as provided for under the Constitutions of the Kingdom of 1840 and 1852, until abolished by the 1864 Constitution which then provided for a

Legislature.

House of Nobles

The members of the upper House of Nobles (Hale ʻAhaʻōlelo Aliʻi) were appointed by the Monarch with the advice of his Privy Council. It also served as the court of impeachment for any royal official. Members were usually Hawaiian aliʻis, nobles, and royal or wealthy individuals. The position had no salary. It originally consisted of the

King King is the title given to a male monarch in a variety of contexts. The female equivalent is queen, which title is also given to the consort of a king. *In the context of prehistory, antiquity and contemporary indigenous peoples, the tit ...

Queen Queen or QUEEN may refer to: Monarchy * Queen regnant, a female monarch of a Kingdom ** List of queens regnant * Queen consort, the wife of a reigning king * Queen dowager, the widow of a king * Queen mother, a queen dowager who is the mother ...

plus five women and ten men. After the overthrow of the Kingdom and the subsequent

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

annexation in 1898, this body was reconstituted as a

Senate A senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or chamber of a bicameral legislature. The name comes from the ancient Roman Senate (Latin: ''Senatus''), so-called as an assembly of the senior (Latin: ''senex'' meaning "the el ...

under the territorial constitution of the

Territory of Hawaii The Territory of Hawaii or Hawaii Territory ( Hawaiian: ''Panalāʻau o Hawaiʻi'') was an organized incorporated territory of the United States that existed from April 30, 1900, until August 21, 1959, when most of its territory, excluding ...

House of Representatives

The members of the lower House of Representatives (Hale ʻAhaʻōlelo Makaʻāinana) were elected by popular vote from several districts in the Kingdom. Revenue-oriented bills were issued through the House of Representatives, and it also served as the "

grand inquest A grand jury is a jury—a group of citizens—empowered by law to conduct legal proceedings, investigate potential criminal conduct, and determine whether criminal charges should be brought. A grand jury may subpoena physical evidence or a pe ...

" of the Kingdom.

History

From 1840 to 1864, it existed as a bicameral parliament. However, with the 1864 Constitution, the Legislature was temporarily unified into a single-house (

) legislature. This Constitution also created property and literacy requirements for both Legislature members and voters; these requirements were later repealed by the Legislature in 1874 during the reign of King

Lunalilo Lunalilo (William Charles Lunalilo; January 31, 1835 – February 3, 1874) was the sixth monarch of the Kingdom of Hawaii from his election on January 8, 1873, until his death a year later. Born to Kekāuluohi and High Chief Charles Kanaʻina, ...

. The subsequent 1887 Constitution restored the two chambers as a bicameral legislature and made the revived upper House of Nobles elected to six-year terms, with higher property ownership requirements. After 1893, and the

Overthrow of the Hawaiian Kingdom The overthrow of the Hawaiian Kingdom was a ''coup d'état'' against Queen Liliʻuokalani, which took place on January 17, 1893, on the island of Oahu and led by the Committee of Safety, composed of seven foreign residents and six non-aborig ...

, it became the Legislature of the brief Republic of Hawaii, followed in 1898 by the

after the American annexation. This was followed 61 years later by the present Hawaii State Legislature in 1959 after the admission to the Union of the Territory as the 50th State. It now consists of the lower

Hawaii House of Representatives The Hawaii House of Representatives is the lower house of the Hawaii State Legislature. Pursuant to Article III, Section 3 of the Constitution of Hawaii, amended during the 1978 constitutional convention, the House of Representatives consis ...

and upper house of the

Hawaii Senate The Hawaii Senate is the upper house of the Hawaii State Legislature. It consists of twenty-five members elected from an equal number of constituent districts across the islands and is led by the President of the Senate, elected from the membe ...

as the

legislative body of the State of Hawaii under the 1959

Hawaii Admission Act The Admission Act, formally An Act to Provide for the Admission of the State of Hawaii into the Union () is a statute enacted by the United States Congress and signed into law by President Dwight D. Eisenhower which dissolved the Territory of Ha ...

and

Constitution A constitution is the aggregate of fundamental principles or established precedents that constitute the legal basis of a polity, organisation or other type of Legal entity, entity and commonly determine how that entity is to be governed. When ...

Presidents of the House of Nobles

* King

Kamehameha III Kamehameha III (born Kauikeaouli) (March 17, 1814 – December 15, 1854) was the third king of the Kingdom of Hawaii from 1825 to 1854. His full Hawaiian name is Keaweaweula Kīwalaō Kauikeaouli Kaleiopapa and then lengthened to Keaweaweula K� ...

(1840–1851) *

Keoni Ana Keoni Ana, full name John Kalaipaihala Young II (March 12, 1810 – July 18, 1857), was a politician in the Kingdom of Hawaii, serving as Kuhina Nui of the Hawaiian Islands and Minister of Interior. Early life Keoni Ana was born on March 12, ...

(1852–1854) * Lot Kamehameha (1855) *

(1856) * Legislature did not meet in 1857 * Mataio Kekūanāoʻa (1858–1860) * Legislature did not meet in 1861 * Lot Kamehameha (1862) * Legislature didn't meet in 1863

Speaker of the House of Representatives

William Little Lee William Little Lee (February 25, 1821 – May 28, 1857) was an American lawyer who became the first chief justice of the Supreme Court for the Kingdom of Hawaii. Life William Little Lee was born February 25, 1821 in Sandy Hill, New York. His fa ...

(1851) *

George Morison Robertson George Morison Robertson (February 26, 1821 – March 12, 1867) was an early politician and judge in the Kingdom of Hawaii. Born in Scotland, he settled in Hawaii in 1844 during the whaling era. During his career in Hawaii, he served in many pol ...

(1852–1853) * Asa Goodale Tyerman Thurston (1854) *

(1855–1856) * Legislature did not meet in 1857 *

(1858–1859) * James W. Austin (1859) *

Lawrence McCully Lawrence McCully (May 28, 1831- April 10, 1892) was a justice of the Hawaii Supreme Court and Speaker of the Hawaii House of Representatives. McCully, son of Charles McCully, was born in New York City on May 28, 1831. About two years later his f ...

(1860) * Legislature did not meet in 1861 * William Webster (1862) * Legislature did not meet in 1863

Presidents of the Legislature

* Mataio Kekūanāoʻa (1864–1868) * Paul Nahaolelua (1870–1874) *

Charles Reed Bishop Charles Reed Bishop (January 25, 1822 – June 7, 1915) was an American businessman, politician, and philanthropist in Hawaii. Born in Glens Falls, New York, he sailed to Hawaii in 1846 at the age of 24, and made his home there, marrying into the ...

(1874) *

Godfrey Rhodes Godfrey Rhodes (March 8, 1815 – September 8, 1897) was a royal advisor on the Privy Councils of State to Hawaiian monarchs Kamehameha V, Lunalilo, Kalākaua and Liliʻuokalani. He was both vice president and president of the legislative assemb ...

(1876–1878) *

(1880) *

(1882–1884) * John Smith Walker (1886) *

Samuel Gardner Wilder Samuel Gardner Wilder (June 20, 1831 – July 28, 1888) was an American shipping magnate and politician who developed a major transportation company in the Kingdom of Hawaii. Life Samuel Gardner Wilder was born June 20, 1831, in Leominster, ...

(1887) * William Richards Castle (1887) *

(1888) * William Richards Castle (1888) * John Smith Walker (1890–1893)

Vice-Presidents of the Legislature

Samuel Northrup Castle Samuel Northrup Castle (August 12, 1808 –July 14, 1894) was a businessman and politician in the Kingdom of Hawaii. Early life Samuel Northrup Castle was born August 12, 1808 in Cazenovia, New York. His middle name is sometimes spelled "Northro ...

(1864) *

(1866) * John Mott-Smith (1867), ''pro tempore'' *

(1868) * Harvey Rexford Hitchcock Jr. (1870) *

David Howard Hitchcock Sr. David (; , "beloved one") (traditional spelling), , ''Dāwūd''; grc-koi, Δαυΐδ, Dauíd; la, Davidus, David; gez , ዳዊት, ''Dawit''; xcl, Դաւիթ, ''Dawitʿ''; cu, Давíдъ, ''Davidŭ''; possibly meaning "beloved one". w ...

(1872–1873) * Simon Kaloa Kaʻai (1874) *

Luther Aholo Luther Aholo ( – March 16, 1888) was a politician who served many political posts in the Kingdom of Hawaii. He served multiple terms as a legislator from Maui and Minister of the Interior from 1886 to 1887. Considered one of the leading Hawai ...

(1876–1886) * John Kauhane (1887–1893)

References

{{reflist, 30em Hawaiian Kingdom Hawaii law Hawaii, Kingdom 1840 establishments in Hawaii 1893 disestablishments in Hawaii