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Jefferson resident Jon D. Olsen makes the case for Hawaiian independence in his book “Liberate Hawai’i!” |
By Tim Badgley
In his book “Liberate Hawai’i!” published in March 2014, Jefferson resident Jon D. Olsen makes the argument that the 50th state is under unlawful occupation by the United States and should be returned to its previous status as a sovereign nation.
In a concise summary, Olsen traces events from 1843 that led to the overthrow of Hawaii’s Queen Liliuokalani monarchy, its annexation as a territory, and finally the plebiscite, or vote to either remain a territory or become a state, in 1959.
According to Olsen, these three events are comprised of fraudulent and illegal actions perpetrated by the United States on the sovereignty of the Hawaiian nation.
The crux of the story Olsen outlines begins in a London courtroom on Nov. 28, 1843 when the French and British governments, in a joint agreement, recognized Hawaii, then known as the Sandwich Islands, as an independent state.
Just prior to this, King Kamehameha had secured the assurance of U.S. President John Tyler that the U.S. would recognize Hawaiian independence.
This assurance was eventually formalized on Dec. 20, 1849 in the Treaty between the United States of America and the Hawaiian Kingdom. Ratifications of this treaty were exchanged on the island of Oahu on Aug. 24, 1850.
Another 11 nations entered into similar agreements and treaties over the next 29 years, according to Olsen’s research.
The foundational point Olsen makes is that these treaties remain in effect, that is, Hawaii’s sovereignty as a nation has never been revoked by any of these nations.
Olsen said in his book that these treaties “remain in suspended animation, as a result of the consequences of the events of the 1890s and since.”
According to Olsen, Queen Liliuokalani temporarily and conditionally yielded her authority as the Hawaiian constitutional sovereign in order to avoid the possibility of bloodshed.
“She didn’t surrender. She said, ‘I want to get this resolved diplomatically,'” Olsen said. “It was a coup d’état.”
The constitutional authority to which the queen referred rested in the last legitimate Hawaiian constitution of 1864. Olsen said the subsequent constitution of 1887 that was foisted onto the queen with the threat of war and bloodshed was never properly ratified.
According to Olsen, it was the queen’s desire to seek redress diplomatically with the U.S. to resume her place as monarch, revert to the 1864 constitution, and reclaim the sovereign nation status of Hawaii. That redress never took place, Olsen said.
Instead, under the circumstances of the queen ceding her authority to the United States, repeated attempts were made in Congress to annex Hawaii as a U.S. territory. The efforts eventually succeeded.
“Congress has no authority to annex a foreign country,” Olsen said. “That’s where the enormous fraud took place. That’s the critical point on which everything since rests.”
The final step was the plebiscite for statehood. Olsen said a third option was not presented to voters on the Hawaiian Islands.
“The question was not asked if they wanted to revert to an independent country,” Olsen said.
Instead, the two choices were either to remain a U.S. territory or to become a state. In 1959, Hawaii became the 50th state. In recounting these events, Olsen seeks to prove the injustice of the unlawful taking of Hawaii by the federal government.
“The objective is to restore the monarchy,” Olsen said. “The objective is to repudiate U.S. control 100 percent.”
According to Olsen, he is not alone in seeking these objectives.
Originally from Jefferson, Olsen lived in Hawaii for 36 years before returning to the family homestead in 2001. He now lives in his own house on the same acreage where the house he grew up in still stands.
While living in Hawaii, Olsen learned more about the burgeoning grass roots movement for Hawaiian independence. He listened regularly to a weekly radio broadcast by Dr. Keanu Sai, a leading scholar on Hawaiian sovereignty.
Olsen said his passion for restoring Hawaiian independence grew the more he thought about and studied the subject. That passion brought about the writing of his book.
The book was published by Goose River Press in Waldoboro. To purchase “Liberate Hawai’i,” send $20 to Jon Olsen, P.O. Box 362, Jefferson, 04348. For more information, call Olsen at 549-7787.
