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The "Morgan Report" is today's name for a report to the U.S. Senate by its Committee on Foreign Relations, whose chairman was Senator John T. Morgan, Democrat of Alabama. Senate Report 227 of the 53rd Congress, second session, was dated February 26, 1894. It was an investigation into the events surrounding the Hawaiian Revolution of 1893, and the alleged role of U.S. peacekeepers in the overthrow of Queen Liliuokalani.
If you would like to volunteer to copy edit pages, please send an email with your full name and email address to: admin@morganreport.org.
May 3, 2006 Update
The USCCR recently posted a Media:Cm060120.pdf transcript of a January 20, 2006 hearing in which the Morgan Report and its online availability was mentioned. The additional information seemed to provide valuable insight to the commission members at the hearing.
The draft report included findings which were removed in the final report, which was approved by 4 members, and opposed by 2 members of the commission. One member abstained.
April 22, 2006 Update
It seems that some people have taken a joke attributed to the New York Sun on February 26, 1894 so seriously, they've made a pilgrimage to honor April 30th as a day of mourning declared by Grover Cleveland. (Note: examination of the microfilm for the New York Sun, February 26, 1894 shows no mention of any proclamation as alleged by Helena G. Allen in her book, The Betrayal of Liliuokalani.) For the real truth, see our article on the Joke Proclamation, and The Rest of The Rest of The Story. Also covered in WikiNews here, and in the Hawaii Reporter here.
Introducing the Morgan Report
A Beginner's Guide to using this site (aka Help!)
Historical Background and Importance of the Morgan Report
- Members of the Committee
- How the Morgan Report repudiates the Blount Report
- Larsen v. Hawaiian Kingdom Transcript
- Cleveland's 12/18/1893 Message
- Kingdom of Hawaii Constitutions
Editor's note: Anyone who has further information regarding other proposed constitutions from other sovereignty groups, please contact the editor to have them listed here.
Common critiques of the Morgan Report
- Isn't the Morgan Report racist?
- Wasn't the Morgan Report only signed by Morgan?
- How can the U.S. exonerate itself?
- Wasn't the Hawaiian Legation excluded from testimony?
- Wasn't the Morgan Report an orchestrated white-wash?
- Isn't the Morgan Report completely one-sided?
- Doesn't the '93 Apology Resolution trump the Morgan Report?
- Isn't there photographic evidence of the U.S. peacekeepers being aggressive?
Specific critiques of the Morgan Report
Contents of the Morgan Report
Outline of Topics
Morgan's Gems
How the Morgan Report Corrects Historical Revisionism, Speaks to Current Political Hot Topics, and Provides Valuable Historical Information About What Hawaii Was Like in the 1800s
Individual Pages
Individual pages with thumbnail images of the original pages
Transcribed Morgan Report (VERY LARGE!)
The entire Morgan Report in two parts. Digitized text only. If you get an error when you try to go to one of the extra large pages, please try again later when fewer people are using the website, or use the Outline of Topics to download smaller sections.
Information for scholars
Searching the Morgan Report
In the search box to the lower left, enter your term (such as "Blount" or "Spreckels"), and click "Search". If you would like to know who read the proclamation of the Provisional government, or other facts related to that event, enter "read proclamation." There are no diacritical marks in the Morgan report, so do not use 'okina or kahako when searching for Hawaiian (olelo) names or words.
Referencing the Morgan Report
The Morgan report is taken out of the bound volume Reports of Committee on Foreign Relations 1789-1901 Volume 6.
The section on the Hawaiian Islands does not begin until page 360. Anyone who feels a need to cite a page number as though the Morgan Report was a stand-alone document could subtract 359 from any of the page numbers seen on this website. However, that might not be wise.
There may have been other printings of this report with different numbering schemes. For example some page citations for the Morgan Report found in Gavan Daws "Shoal of Time" seem incompatible with the numbering system here.
Scholars or students citing page numbers from this website version of the Morgan Report should probably give citations something like this:
"I was sent over with a message from Capt. Wiltse, with his compliments to President Dole, to ask him if he had absolute control of the Government, police force, and everything, and if he did not, he, Capt. Wiltse, would have nothing to do with them."*
*Sworn testimony of Lieutenant Lucien Young, Reports of Committee on Foreign Relations 1789-1901 Volume 6 (The Morgan Report), p. 705 as found on http://morganreport.org
How We Did This (Guide to the tools and techniques used)
Notes on Formatting (General disclaimer)
What if I find a mistake? (How to help the editors, or join the team)
Further reading
- A Revolution In Hawaii - New York Times coverage of the Hawaiian Revolution
- Hawaii's Story By Hawaii's Queen - Covering some of the overthrow from Liliuokalani's perspective. She corroborates many of the assertions of the Morgan Report as to her actions that instigated the interregnum and the overthrow, but places the blame squarely on her cabinet and other aides.
- Hawaiian Sovereignty: Do the Facts matter? - Excellent study on the events surrounding the overthrow, refuting the claims of modern sovereignty activists. Although written by a descendant of one of the leading members of the Provisional Government, and often seen as an attempt to rewrite history, the facts discussed are well footnoted and independently verifiable.
- Unconquerable Rebel:Robert W. Wilcox and Hawaiian Politics 1880-1903 - Another excellent book with a fairly balanced depiction of the events surrounding the overthrow and annexation.