Reciprocity Treaty of 1875
What was the Reciprocity Treaty of 1875?
How did the Reciprocity Treaty of 1875 impact Hawaiiâs economy?
What was a significant political outcome of the Reciprocity Treaty of 1875?
Reciprocity Treaty of 1875, free-trade agreement between the United States and the Hawaiian Kingdom that guaranteed a duty-free market for Hawaiian sugar in exchange for special economic privileges for the United States that were denied to other countries. The treaty increased Hawaiiâs economic dependence on the United States and also strengthened American political and strategic influence in Hawaii, which helped establish the groundwork for the Hawaiian Islandsâ eventual annexation by the U.S. in 1898.
Background
Throughout the early and mid-19th century, the sovereignty of the Hawaiian Kingdom was threatened by the imperial advances of Great Britain, France, and the United States. Of particular interest to those powers was Hawaiiâs burgeoning sugar industry, which had seen an increase in sales as a result of the American Civil War (1861â65); much of the sugar production in the United States had occurred in the Southern states that seceded from the Union. Members of the U.S. government and the Hawaiian planter class had tried to establish a treaty of reciprocity between the United States and Hawaii both before and after the war (1848, 1852, 1855, and 1867â70), but efforts undertaken in 1874â75 were the first to bear fruit.
The treaty and its terms
The Reciprocity Treaty of 1875 was signed on January 30, 1875, between the administrations of Hawaiian King Kalakaua and U.S. Pres. Ulysses S. Grant; it entered into force on September 9, 1876, after the U.S. government enacted the provisions necessary for the treaty to operate.
The treaty allowed Hawaii to export various forms of sugar and several other products, including rice, bananas, and vegetables, duty-free into the United States. In exchange, the U.S. was allowed to export a long list of products into Hawaii, such as animals, iron and steel, paper and books, and wool. Furthermore, the treaty prohibited Hawaii from leasing or similarly allocating access to land, ports, or harbors in the kingdom to any other country or granting duty-free privileges to any other country for products covered under the Reciprocity Treaty.
The prohibition was a compromise. The U.S. desired exclusive access to the harbor of Pearl River, something Hawaiian King Lunalilo (reigned 1873â74) had dangled in 1873 in return for a reciprocity agreement, but, because of opposition by Native Hawaiians at the time, the offer was withdrawn. King Kalakaua (reigned 1874â91) also would not agree to provide exclusive access to the harbor, but he did agree to not allow any other countries access to it or other areas, satisfying the U.S. for the time being.
The treatyâs duration was set at seven years from the date it entered into force. At the end of the seven years, either party could provide notice to the other that it wished to end the treaty, but the termination would not take effect until 12 months after that notice had been given, thus guaranteeing that the treatyâs terms would be in effect for at least eight years.
Impact of the treaty
After the treaty was enacted, Hawaiiâs sugar industry flourished, with sugar producers and those in related industries reaping full benefits from it. Sugar exports became increasingly tied to the American market, which led to an increased dependence on the United States. The treaty also served to increase the economic and political influence of non-Native plantation owners and business leaders in related industriesâpredominantly Americans, Europeans, or their descendantsâmany of whom later played leading roles in efforts to limit the authority of the Hawaiian monarchy.
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Although the treaty allowed the United States to increase its political influence in the Hawaiian Islands, economically speaking, the U.S. did not see benefits: Duty-free U.S. exports to Hawaii did not make much of an economic impact, and the U.S. government lost tariff revenue on the duty-free Hawaiian exports, primarily sugar. As the end of the seven-year term in September 1883 approached, there was considerable opposition in the U.S. to renewing the treaty, much of it pertaining to the lack of economic gains as well as the unwanted competition it provided to the U.S. mainland sugar industry. This was countered by supporters who felt the political and strategic importance of maintaining commercial ties with Hawaii outweighed the financial losses.
Renewal efforts and challenges (1884â87)
On December 6, 1884, a supplementary convention that simply extended the treaty was signed by representatives for the United States and the Hawaiian Kingdom. In the United States, ratification was delayed for two years because of opposition to the economic imbalance inherent in the treaty as well as other considerations. It was finally ratified by the U.S. Senate in January 1887 but only after the legislative body had amended it to include the long-sought access to what would become known as Pearl Harbor, granted as âthe exclusive right to enter the harbor of Pearl River, in the island of Oahu, and to establish and maintain there a coaling and repair station for the use of vessels of the United States.â It was a concession that would have long-term significance, as Pearl Harbor would become one of the most important U.S. naval installations in the Pacific.
In Hawaii, there was support for continuing the reciprocal trade arrangement with the United Statesâespecially among sugar producers, those in related industries, and investors who had directly benefited financially from the 1875 treaty. But the king was strongly against the cession of the harbor area to the United States, a sentiment shared by the public, and he initially refused to sign the supplementary convention.
However, from late June to early July 1887, a group of non-Native businessmen, with the backing of an armed militia, compelled King Kalakaua to make several changes in his administrationâincluding a new cabinet, selected with their assistanceâand to promulgate a new constitution, drafted by them, that was more favorable to them at the expense of the king and the islandsâ Native Hawaiian population; it was dubbed the Bayonet Constitution for the manner in which it was forced upon the king. The new cabinet later recommended that the king sign the controversial supplementary convention, which he did in October, and the United States and the Hawaiian Kingdom exchanged ratifications on November 9, 1887.
Assessment and link to 1898 annexation
The Reciprocity Treaty of 1875 greatly increased Hawaiiâs economic dependence on the United States, particularly because sugar exports became increasingly tied to the American market. The treaty also strengthened American political and strategic influence in Hawaii, laying the foundation for later efforts to annex the islands.
A line can be drawn from the Reciprocity Treaty of 1875 to the U.S. annexation of Hawaii in 1898. The increased economic and political influence of the United States in Hawaii that had grown in the years after the treatyâs enactment contributed to the conditions that culminated in the 1887 Bayonet Constitution, in which the powerful class of non-Native businessmen, including those who were proponents of annexation, were able to extract more political influence for themselves while reducing that of the king. This group, now with more political power, supported the controversial 1887 supplementary convention and saw it ratified later that year, which not only extended the favorable duty-free trade arrangements of the 1875 treaty but also saw Hawaii, whose increasing economic reliance on the U.S. market had reduced its leverage in negotiations, grant the concession of giving the United States access to Pearl Harbor. A few years later the Hawaiian sugar plantersâ advantages under the treaty and supplementary convention were voided under the U.S. McKinley Tariff of 1890. This led to an economic depression in the Hawaiian Kingdom in the following years, after which more Hawaiian plantation owners and those in related industries were willing to support potential annexation by the U.S.
The death of King Kalakaua in 1891 was followed by the accession of Queen Liliuokalani to the throne. She wished to restore the monarchy to its previous strength, and, to that end, in January 1893 she proposed abrogating the 1887 constitution that had entrenched the political power of the pro-American and non-Native business elite. Members of that group then moved to depose the queen on January 17 and did so with the support of the U.S. minister to Hawaii and U.S. troops from the USS Boston, which was anchored nearby. The group installed a provisional government that quickly signed an annexation treaty with the U.S., but the treaty was soon withdrawn by the newly inaugurated U.S. president, Grover Cleveland, who later voiced his opposition to the proposed annexation and his dismay at the circumstances in which the queen was overthrown. Undeterred, in 1894 the provisional government formed the self-declared Republic of Hawaii and continued to pursue an annexation treaty with the United States, eventually signing one in 1897. There was not enough support within the U.S. Senate to ratify the treaty, and the next year annexation was instead attempted through the Newlands Resolution. This was a joint resolution of Congress, which had a lower threshold of support than a treaty ratification in the Senate, and the validity of its use has remained the subject of historical and legal debate. The Newlands Resolution was passed by both houses of Congress and signed by Pres. William McKinley in 1898. (Hawaii would not become a U.S. territory until 1900 and a U.S. state until 1959.)
