Sanford Dole played an important role in the history of Hawaii. He led the provisional government of Hawaii established after the Hawaiian monarchy was overthrown in 1893 and later served as the first president of the Republic of Hawaii (1894–1900), the first governor of the Territory of Hawaii (1900–03), and judge of the U.S. district court of Hawaii (1903–15).
Dole was the son of American Protestant missionaries and was born in the Hawaiian Islands (1844). After studying law in Massachusetts, he returned to the Hawaiian Islands, practiced law in Honolulu (1869–87), and was twice elected to the Hawaiian legislature (1884 and 1886). In 1887 Dole was one of the leaders of the reform movement that forced Hawaiian King Kalakaua to adopt a constitution that was more favorable to the non-native business population at the expense of the king and the islands’ Native Hawaiian population; the constitution was called the Bayonet Constitution for the threatening manner in which it was presented to the king for his signature. Dole was also appointed a justice of the Supreme Court of Hawaii that year.
On January 17, 1893, Queen Liliuokalani (the successor to Kalakaua) was controversially overthrown by the Committee of Safety, a group that represented largely American and European business interests and supported having the United States annex the Hawaiian Islands. Although Dole was not an official member of the group, he had agreed to their request to lead the provisional government installed later that day. After initial annexation efforts failed, in 1894 Dole and his associates established the Republic of Hawaii, of which he was president, and continued to pursue U.S. annexation. The islands were annexed in 1898, and the U.S. established territory status in 1900, after which he served as the territory’s governor until he resigned in 1903 to become a U.S. district court judge.