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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SUFFRAGE
UNIVERSEL - UNIVERSAL SUFFRAGE
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