July 6, 1887: Constitution of 1887

Signed by King Kalākaua on July 6 and promulgated on July 7, 1887, this was the last constitution of the monarchy. It was popularly known as the “Bayonet Constitution.” Dr. Jon Osorio explains in his book, Dismembering Lāhui: A History of the Hawaiian Nation to 1887, that on July 6, “a small committee of haole individuals brought a hastily scripted constitution to the king and forced his signature.” This document “significantly altered the meaning of citizenship and nationhood in the kingdom.”

Available in Constitutions: Constitution by his Majesty, 1887; the Hawaiian version, Kumukanawai o ko Hawaii Pae Aina, 1887, is available here.