'Aloha from Hawai'i' - Revolutionary War Rarities – (SAR)
'Aloha from Hawai'i' is a podcast discussion between Jim Griffith (Sons of the American Revolution (SAR)) and Dr Puakea Nogelmeier (Professor Emeritus of Hawaiian Language at the University of Hawai'i).
Video can be found here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rxELvK2zdsA&t=37s
While Hawai'i was not known to the US Founders, Puakea shares that what the Founders did had a significant impact on Hawai'i.
Hawai'i and the US each had a similar shift in how the people were viewed and treated - from being strictly subjects of a King to citizens with established rights articulated in written documents and laws.
In America, the changes were made through revolution and war (with thousands of lives lost, lasting over 8 years (1775-1783)); in Hawai'i, the changes came through voluntary and peaceful recognition of 'rights' (that was bloodless, with immediate change).
Following is a comparison noting similarities of words in the US Declaration of Independence (1776) and the Hawai'i Declaration of Rights (1839):
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Each country's 'Declaration' has similar statements of individual rights:
- America's Declaration of Independence (1776): "all men are … endowed … with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness";
- Hawai'i's Declaration of Rights (1839): "These are some of the rights … life, limb, liberty, freedom from oppression; the earnings of his hands and the productions of his mind".
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Each country's 'Declaration' has similar statements of equality:
- America's Declaration of Independence (1776): "We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal";
- Hawai'i's Declaration of Rights (1839): "God … has given alike to every man and every chief of correct deportment … protecting alike, both the people and the chiefs of all these islands".
- Each has similar governance mechanism/documentation that allowed each to join the family of nations (with written Constitutions).
These comparisons (with notably similar context/text) link Hawai'i to the American Revolution and the 250th anniversary year of the adoption of the American Declaration of Independence.
https://imagesofoldhawaii.com/hawaiian-kingdom-constitution-and-us-governance-documents
Video can be found here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rxELvK2zdsA&t=37s