Early Republic

Kamehameha I's Death and Succession

1819
Hawaii
Date
1819
Location
Hawaii
Type
transition of power

What happened

Kamehameha I died in 1819 and was succeeded by his son Liholiho, who established a unique dual-government system ruling alongside Dowager Queen Ka'ahumanu.

People involved

When this happened

Kamehameha I's Death and Succession occurred in 1819, during the early republic period of American history.

Where this happened

Kamehameha I's Death and Succession took place in Hawaii. Explore the full history of Hawaii and primary source records from this era.

Historical context — Early Republic

The early republic period saw the United States move from the weak Articles of Confederation to the federal Constitution ratified in 1788, with the Bill of Rights added in 1791. George Washington served two terms as president (1789–1797), establishing precedents for executive authority, and the federal capital moved permanently to Washington D.C. in 1800. The Louisiana Purchase (1803) doubled the nation's territory for roughly $15 million, opening vast trans-Mississippi lands to American expansion. The War of 1812 against Britain ended inconclusively but produced a surge of American national identity and eliminated most British support for Indigenous resistance east of the Mississippi. The Northwest Indian Wars (1785–1795) and the Creek War (1813–1814) broke Indigenous confederacies that had resisted US expansion. The Missouri Compromise of 1820 temporarily balanced slave and free states as the nation expanded westward, but embedded the contradiction of slavery in every subsequent territorial debate.

Source

Content adapted from Wikipedia under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License. Source: Wikipedia: Kamehameha I.

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About Kamehameha I's Death and Succession

What was Kamehameha I's Death and Succession?
Kamehameha I died in 1819 and was succeeded by his son Liholiho, who established a unique dual-government system ruling alongside Dowager Queen Ka'ahumanu.
When did Kamehameha I's Death and Succession happen?
Kamehameha I's Death and Succession occurred in 1819.
Where did Kamehameha I's Death and Succession take place?
Kamehameha I's Death and Succession took place in Hawaii.

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