Hawaii

**Hawaii** is de-facto one of only two states present in the United States government since the end of the Second American Civil War. While it became a territory of the States in the 1890s, Hawaii experienced unprecedented turmoil during the collapse of America, but it with Alaska remained one of the last Federal strongholds the American army could retreat to.

Since then, Hawaii has been crucial in the survival of the United States, being the backbone to what remains of the economy, population and trade. Despite authoritarian measures to quell unrest, separatist groups and movements have been growing, being financed mainly by the Empire of Japan.

## The Territory of Hawaii, 1890s-1910s

Hawaii through its occupation of the United States was a long and hard battle. After the occupation had begun, the influence of the United States began to seep in. The economic boom of the late 1800s for America had also been felt in Hawaii. In the 1900s and onwards, the Hawaiian economy prospered especially through its tourism industry. It’s sugarcane plantations also expanded in size as Hawaii grew. As a result of this expansion, the Big Five, sugarcane processing corporations had considerable political and economical power.

Hawaii was admitted into the Union just as the United States entered the Insurgency Wars that kickstarted the downfall of American society. Hawaii, for its part however, was not the scene of anti-government political movements like the Northwest or Midwest, if only because any anti-American resistance movements were crushed as the army entered the archipelago. But as the mainland’s economy started to suffer, so did the Hawaiian economy, and frustrations among the working class and those dreaming of an independent Hawaii rose in the 1910s, but it never gained enough ground to be much of an issue even in the context of the civil war. The economy from the 1900s onward stagnated as sugar cane production, and its value had fallen.

## Role in civil war

The United States Army was quick to assemble its military to protect its non-mainland territories as it seemed more and more like the Federalists would need to evacuate if they wanted to survive. Martial law went into full effect in Puerto Rico, Hawaii and Alaska after April 4th, and measures only got worse as the war officially began. Many were quick to oppose the military intervening in the daily life of civilians, but their concerns yielded little effect as the Federalist cause seemed doom. But it was during the war when anti-American sentiment was at its zenith, compounded by previous decades worth of frustration and now the brutality of martial law.

In various sugar cane fields, workers organized a general strike in solidarity with the Peoples’ Union of America in April, 1922, in hopes of usurping the government in Hawaii, seemingly the last Federal stronghold, but their attempts went nowhere. The total amount of workers who would participate in the strikes grew to about 5,000 workers as they planned, but as the day came for them to strike, the military intervened. Aware of their plans, the military gave the workers the ultimatum of stopping the strike or being permanently fired from their jobs. Afraid of the strength the military possessed, some stopped striking, other continued and were fired. In Maui, a brutal confrontation between the national guard and strikers left 22 workers dead and only 2 officers injured. As Maui was the last stronghold of the strike, it was disbanded, and the right to strike was suspended in its aftermath.

While peace returned to Hawaii, the last outpost for Federal activity, it did little to restore people’s collective hope in the United States government, which collapsed from the mainland and even from Puerto Rico in the mid-1920s. As the Treaty of Ottawa cemented the end of the United States on the North American continent, the Federalists retreated to the sea, vengeful for returning to the mainland. For now however, they’ve remained in Alaska and Hawaii indefinitely, planning to return.

## The State of Hawaii

For the decade of the 20s until 1932, the United States was ruled by Frederick H. Gillett, and during this time, critical reforms brought about by his administration eventually cemented Federal rule over Alaska and Hawaii, even as popular support was lost after a second general strike by Hawaiian workers. 1922 was an important year for Hawaii, as the Two Year Plan was implemented, martial law was overturned and Hawaii officially became a state of America.

Hawaii under the Two Year Plan laid the ground for much needed economic stability that would later prove to be in the Union’s benefit. During this time, the United States government took out loans from various countries like Japan and Canada mainly in exchange for propping up foreign businesses for their economy. While this move was controversial among the government and the public, as the Japanese Empire originally planned to go to war for the Philippines in 1922, these loans were imperative towards cleaning up Honolulu and Anchorage to make way for incoming refugees, reopening businesses and creating jobs.

After 1924 when the Two Year Plan ended , so did the economic stimulation. Unemployment slowly began rising into the 30s with the collapse of a trusted American ally, Russia. The collapse of the British Empire in the early 1930s only further isolated the United States, and as a result Hawaii today is unstable. The economic growth of the early 20s had unintended consequences, mainly creating a domineering capitalist ruling class that have only deepened the economic divide Hawaii experiences. As the 1925 general strike was crushed yet again, the American military began to intervene in the daily lives of the Hawaiian people. Because of this, Hawaiian separatism has grown more popular, and though a political meltdown was feared by some, the election of Mitchell Palmer helped calm and heal the divide, but only momentarily. Should the government remain unpopular with the Hawaiian people, the dreams of reclaiming the mainland may be lost to history.