'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).
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