
Local Story
The Massie-Kahahawai Case and the Culture of History
John P. Rosa(Author)
University of Hawai'i Press
Published on 31. August 2014
Book
Hardback
184 pages
978-0-8248-2825-7 (ISBN)
Description
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 Waik?k?. 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, Horace Ida, was kidnapped and beaten by a group of Navy men and a second, Joseph Kahahawai, lay dead from a gunshot wound. Thalia's husband, Thomas Massie; her mother, Grace Fortescue; and two Navy men were convicted of manslaughter despite witnesses who saw them kidnap Kahahawai and the later dis- covery of Kahahawai's 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.
Local Story 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. In addition to providing a concise account?of events as they unfolded, the book 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-in fact, this understanding of the term "local" in the islands dates from the Massie-Kahahawai case.
The Massie-Kahahawai case revealed racial and sexual tensions in pre-World War II Hawai'i that kept local men and white women apart. And this tension coexisted with the uneasy relationship between federal and military officials and territorial administrators.
Local Story 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. In addition to providing a concise account?of events as they unfolded, the book 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-in fact, this understanding of the term "local" in the islands dates from the Massie-Kahahawai case.
The Massie-Kahahawai case revealed racial and sexual tensions in pre-World War II Hawai'i that kept local men and white women apart. And this tension coexisted with the uneasy relationship between federal and military officials and territorial administrators.
More details
Language
English
Place of publication
Honolulu, HI
United States
Product notice
Unsewn / adhesive bound
Paper over boards
Dimensions
Height: 229 mm
Width: 152 mm
Thickness: 11 mm
Weight
376 gr
ISBN-13
978-0-8248-2825-7 (9780824828257)
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Schweitzer Classification
Person
John P. Rosa is assistant professor of history at the University of Hawai'i at M?noa.