History of the Pacific Islands Commons^™

“West Of The West?”: The Territory Of Hawai’I, The American West, And American Colonialism In The Twentieth Century, Aaron Steven Wilson

Department of History: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

Hawai’i holds a somewhat nebulous place in American History. While it easily fits in the dominant narrative surrounding the Spanish American War of 1898 and World War II, Hawai’i rarely factors into other major historical fields, often making a brief cameo appearance when it does. Because the state is geographically placed at the western extreme of America, one supposes that western historians would gladly accept the task of chronicling Hawaiian history; yet, even academics in this field hesitate to embrace the region. In fact, some scholars who study the American West completely dismiss the notion of including the Hawaiian Islands. …