August 15, 1875: Reciprocity Treaty

Available in Treaties U.S. 1874-1875.

King Kalākaua along with his plenipotentiaries Elisha H. Allen and Henry A. P. Carter, visited Washington and successfully concluded negotiations to enter into a Convention with the United States on January 30, 1875.  In sum, it established close economic and political relations between the two nations, “allowing certain products, including sugar, to be imported into the United States without a tariff and prohibiting the kingdom from allowing another nation similar privileges or any lease to Hawaiian harbors and ports.” See Melody Kapilialoha MacKenzie, Historical Background, in Native Hawaiian Law:  A Treatise at n. 152 (Melody Kapilialoha MacKenzie et al. eds., 2015). 

The convention was set to take effect once duly ratified by both governments, and after it obtained Congressional approval.  See Convention Between the United States and His Majesty the King of the Hawaiian Islands, 19 Stat. 625 (1875) (image below).

Convention Between United States and His Majesty the King of the Hawaiian Islands, 19 Stat. 625 (1875).

The enabling act for the treaty went into effect, and was signed by President Grant on August 15, 1876 (image below). Thus, it took a full year for the Reciprocity Treaty to go into effect.

An Act to Carry into Effect a Convention Between the United States of America and His Majesty the King of the Hawaiian Islands, 19 Stat. 200 (1876).