Democratic Revolution of 1954 (Hawaii)
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| Date | September 1, 1946 - June 6, 1958 |
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| Location | Hawaiian Islands |
| Participants |
People Parties Other |
| Outcome |
Overthrow of white minority rule.
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People
Parties
Other
Overthrow of white minority rule.
The Hawaii Democratic Revolution of 1954 was a nonviolent revolution that took place in the Hawaiian Archipelago consisting of general strikes, protests, and other acts of civil disobedience. The Revolution culminated in the territorial elections of 1954 where the long reign of the Hawaii Republican Party in the legislature came to an abrupt end, as they were voted out of office to be replaced by members of the Democratic Party of Hawaii. The strikes by the Isles' labor workers demanded similar pay and benefits to their Mainland counterparts. The strikes also crippled the power of the sugarcane plantations and the Big Five Oligopoly over their workers.
Historically Hawaii has had a dominant-party system since the 1887 revolution. The 1887 Bayonet Constitution took most of the power away from the monarchy and allowed the Republican Party to dominate the legislature. Beside a brief change of power to the Home Rule Party following annexation, the Republicans had run the Territory of Hawaii. The industrialist Republicans formed a powerful sugar oligarchy, the Big Five.
During the controversial Kahahawai murder and trial Republicans displayed their power by reducing the 10-year sentence for manslaughter to one hour. Many felt the trial was failure of justice from political forces. But this was not the only case of the government’s abuse of power; past misdeeds were mainly centered around economic gain. Among the unhappy residents of Hawaii was John A. Burns, a police officer during the trial. Burns founded a movement by collecting support from the impoverished sugar plantation workers. He also restored strength to the divided and weak Democratic Party of Hawaii.
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