Proposed 1893 Constitution of the Kingdom of Hawaii

The proposed 1893 Constitution of the Kingdom of Hawaiʻi would have been a replacement of the Constitution of 1887, primarily based on the Constitution of 1864 put forth by Queen Lili'uokalani. While it never became anything more than a draft, the constitution had a profound impact on Hawaiʻi's history: it set off a chain of events that eventually resulted in the overthrow of the Hawaiian Kingdom.

Prior to 1887, the monarchs of Hawaiʻi ruled the kingdom as executive monarchs. Following the writing of the 1887 Constitution, however, the monarch was reduced to a mere figurehead.

During the 1890 legislature, the Hawaiian king, David Kalākaua, backed a number of proposals to amend or rewrite the 1887 constitution. However, all of these measures failed.

In 1891, Liliʻuokalani ascended the throne. In 1892, she backed measures in the kingdom's legislature to amend or rewrite the constitution. However, the measures failed as they had during the reign of her brother. Among the measures that failed was an amendment that would lower the property requirement to vote so most of the general public could vote. When that was voted down, many Hawaiian citizens protested. Thousands petitioned the Queen to issue a new constitution as Kamehameha V had done in 1864 (the Constitution of 1864). Liliuokalani was assisted by Hawaiian legislators Joseph Nāwahī and William Pūnohu White and the captain of the Household Guards Samuel Nowlein with the drafting of the new constitution.

The constitution that Liliʻuokalani proposed differed from the 1887 constitution in the following respects:

On January 14, 1893, the Queen met with her cabinet at ʻIolani Palace to discuss her proposed constitution. None of her ministers agreed to sign the constitution, believing that having the Queen simply proclaim a new constitution would spark unrest. The ministers went so far as to inform the Queen's political enemies of her plans, and were afraid of her threats of mob violence if they didn't follow her orders. The Queen finally gave in late that afternoon, but the wheels of her overthrow had already been set in motion.

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