John P. Rosa
- Published in print:
- 2014
- Published Online:
- November 2016
- ISBN:
- 9780824828257
- eISBN:
- 9780824868468
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- University of Hawai'i Press
- DOI:
- 10.21313/hawaii/9780824828257.001.0001
- Subject:
- Society and Culture, Pacific Studies
The Massie–Kahahawai case of 1931–1932 shook the Territory of Hawai’i to its very core. Thalia Massie, a young Navy wife, alleged that she had been kidnapped and raped by “some Hawaiian boys” in ...
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The Massie–Kahahawai case of 1931–1932 shook the Territory of Hawai’i to its very core. Thalia Massie, a young Navy wife, alleged that she had been kidnapped and raped by “some Hawaiian boys” in Waikīkī. A few days later, five young men stood accused of her rape. Mishandling of evidence and contradictory testimony led to a mistrial, but before a second trial could be convened, one of the accused was kidnapped and beaten by a group of Navy men and a second, Joseph Kahahawai, lay dead from a gunshot wound. Thalia’s husband, her mother, and two Navy men were convicted of the lesser charge of manslaughter, despite witnesses who saw them kidnap Kahahawai and the later discovery of his body in Massie’s car. Under pressure from Congress and the Navy, territorial governor Lawrence McCully Judd commuted their sentences. After spending only an hour in the governor’s office at ‘Iolani Palace, the four were set free. This is a close examination of how Native Hawaiians, Asian immigrants, and others responded to challenges posed by the military and federal government during the case’s investigation and aftermath. The book provides a concise account of events as they unfolded, and shows how this historical narrative has been told and retold in later decades to affirm a local identity among descendants of working-class Native Hawaiians, Asians, and others. It looks at the racial and sexual tensions in pre-World War II Hawai’i that kept local men and white women apart and at the uneasy relationship between federal and military officials and territorial administrators.Less
The Massie–Kahahawai case of 1931–1932 shook the Territory of Hawai’i to its very core. Thalia Massie, a young Navy wife, alleged that she had been kidnapped and raped by “some Hawaiian boys” in Waikīkī. A few days later, five young men stood accused of her rape. Mishandling of evidence and contradictory testimony led to a mistrial, but before a second trial could be convened, one of the accused was kidnapped and beaten by a group of Navy men and a second, Joseph Kahahawai, lay dead from a gunshot wound. Thalia’s husband, her mother, and two Navy men were convicted of the lesser charge of manslaughter, despite witnesses who saw them kidnap Kahahawai and the later discovery of his body in Massie’s car. Under pressure from Congress and the Navy, territorial governor Lawrence McCully Judd commuted their sentences. After spending only an hour in the governor’s office at ‘Iolani Palace, the four were set free. This is a close examination of how Native Hawaiians, Asian immigrants, and others responded to challenges posed by the military and federal government during the case’s investigation and aftermath. The book provides a concise account of events as they unfolded, and shows how this historical narrative has been told and retold in later decades to affirm a local identity among descendants of working-class Native Hawaiians, Asians, and others. It looks at the racial and sexual tensions in pre-World War II Hawai’i that kept local men and white women apart and at the uneasy relationship between federal and military officials and territorial administrators.
John P. Rosa
- Published in print:
- 2014
- Published Online:
- November 2016
- ISBN:
- 9780824828257
- eISBN:
- 9780824868468
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- University of Hawai'i Press
- DOI:
- 10.21313/hawaii/9780824828257.003.0001
- Subject:
- Society and Culture, Pacific Studies
This introductory chapter begins with a description of the Massie–Kahahawai case, which shook the Territory of Hawaii to its very core. Thalia Massie, the twenty-year-old wife of a naval lieutenant ...
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This introductory chapter begins with a description of the Massie–Kahahawai case, which shook the Territory of Hawaii to its very core. Thalia Massie, the twenty-year-old wife of a naval lieutenant stationed at Pearl Harbor, alleged that on the night of September 12, 1931 she had been dragged into a car, taken to a remote location, and raped by “some Hawaiian boys”. Five young men were accused of the crime. A mishandling of evidence, shoddy police work, and contradictory testimony led to a mistrial when the case was brought to court in November 1931. But before a second trial could be convened, two acts of vigilantism were committed on behalf of Thalia, which resulted in the death of one of the suspects, Joseph Kahahawai. The chapter then sets out the book’s purpose, which is to tell the story of the Massie–Kahahawai case. It examines the complexities of telling and retelling the case’s historical events as a local incident in the islands as opposed to an American one that cast Hawaii as merely a small outpost of the United States.Less
This introductory chapter begins with a description of the Massie–Kahahawai case, which shook the Territory of Hawaii to its very core. Thalia Massie, the twenty-year-old wife of a naval lieutenant stationed at Pearl Harbor, alleged that on the night of September 12, 1931 she had been dragged into a car, taken to a remote location, and raped by “some Hawaiian boys”. Five young men were accused of the crime. A mishandling of evidence, shoddy police work, and contradictory testimony led to a mistrial when the case was brought to court in November 1931. But before a second trial could be convened, two acts of vigilantism were committed on behalf of Thalia, which resulted in the death of one of the suspects, Joseph Kahahawai. The chapter then sets out the book’s purpose, which is to tell the story of the Massie–Kahahawai case. It examines the complexities of telling and retelling the case’s historical events as a local incident in the islands as opposed to an American one that cast Hawaii as merely a small outpost of the United States.
John P. Rosa
- Published in print:
- 2014
- Published Online:
- November 2016
- ISBN:
- 9780824828257
- eISBN:
- 9780824868468
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- University of Hawai'i Press
- DOI:
- 10.21313/hawaii/9780824828257.003.0007
- Subject:
- Society and Culture, Pacific Studies
This epilogue brings the politics of local identity up to date. It discusses how local identity often involves recollections of the past that evoke emotions that usually go unrecorded by academic ...
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This epilogue brings the politics of local identity up to date. It discusses how local identity often involves recollections of the past that evoke emotions that usually go unrecorded by academic accounts of Hawaii’s history. The story of the Massie case has been one of the most powerful ways to express local identity—one that is often shared by indigenous Native Hawaiians and the descendants of Asian, Portuguese, and Puerto Rican immigrants who came to Hawaii to work the fields. Popular narratives of the case appeal to locals because they reach out to ethnic groups and individuals who recognize a common history of racism and oppression.Less
This epilogue brings the politics of local identity up to date. It discusses how local identity often involves recollections of the past that evoke emotions that usually go unrecorded by academic accounts of Hawaii’s history. The story of the Massie case has been one of the most powerful ways to express local identity—one that is often shared by indigenous Native Hawaiians and the descendants of Asian, Portuguese, and Puerto Rican immigrants who came to Hawaii to work the fields. Popular narratives of the case appeal to locals because they reach out to ethnic groups and individuals who recognize a common history of racism and oppression.
