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citoyenneté, démocratie, ethnicité,
nationalité - citizenship, democracy, ethnicity,
nationality
C. Citizenship Rights for Immigrants to the Kingdom
In its last half century, the government of the Kingdom actively sought
immigrants from around the world, to replenish a population sadly depleted
by disease, to recruit persons with modern skills, and to provide labor for
the growing sugar industry. As part of this effort, the Kingdom’s statutes
provided for easy naturalization of immigrants and offered political rights
even to immigrants who did not wish to give up their citizenship in the countries
from which they had come.
The Kingdom’s first written law code, published in Hawaiian in 1841
and in English translation in 1842, provided for naturalization of foreigners
who married Hawaiian subjects. In 1846, the Kingdom’s Civil Code provided
for naturalization of any alien immigrant who applied after living in Hawai`i
for at least one year. The Civil Code created a Bureau of Naturalization
within the Ministry of Interior.
The statute went on to provide that aliens who did not want to give up their
citizenship in the country they came from could become "denizens," entitled
to full legal rights of Hawaiian subjects. The status of denizen, like the
rule that aliens can be naturalized, goes back to the English common law.
The King of England, by exercise of his royal authority, could make an alien
a "denizen" of England, having most of the rights of an English subject.
In the Kingdom of Hawai`i, denizen status amounted to dual citizenship: a
denizen had the rights of a subject of Hawai`i without ceasing to be a citizen
of his native country. Denizens had the right to vote and hold public office.
Similar provisions for naturalization and denization can be found in the
subsequent Civil Codes of the Kingdom.
Using these provisions, many Americans, Europeans and Asians became naturalized
subjects or denizens of the Kingdom of Hawai`i. For instance, "between 1842
and 1892, 731 Chinese persons and three Japanese persons were naturalized
in Hawaii." Naturalized subjects and denizens held high public office, including
cabinet posts, legislative seats, and judgeships.
D. Voting Rights in Kingdom Elections
Under the constitutions of the Hawaiian Kingdom, being a subject was neither
necessary nor sufficient to be a voter. Denizens could vote if they met
applicable qualifications of gender, literacy and wealth. Women could not
vote, even if they were Hawaiian subjects.
Aliens voting rights in the U.S.A.
Le droit de vote des étrangers aux Etats-Unis
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