Menu Close

Local Story: The Massie-Kahahawai Case and the Culture of History

<< Back

Local Story: The Massie-Kahahawai Case and the Culture of History

SKU: 839703

Price: $19.99
In Stock
Quantity:

Local Story: The Massie-Kahahawai Case and the Culture of History Product Description:

The Massie-Kahahawai case of 1931-1932 shook the Territory of Hawaii to its very core. Thalia Massie, a young Navy wife, alleged that she had been kidnapped and raped by “some Hawaiian boys” in Waikiki. A few days later, five young men stood accused of her rape. Mishandling of evidence and contradictory testimony let 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 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.

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.

Page Count 184
Publisher University of Hawaii Press Printed in USA
Publish Date April 2014
Dimensions 9” x 6” x 0.4”
Author John P. Rosa
About the Author John P. Rosa is assistant professor of history at the University of Hawaii at Manoa.
Binding Softcover
ISBN 13 9780824839703

Product Reviews Write A Review

Comments

No reviews yet, be the first to review this product!


Related Items
Between The Deep Blue Sea and Me
Between The Deep Blue Sea and Me

Price: $15.00
In Stock

Menehune Mystery -The Original Tales and the Origins of the Myth
Menehune Mystery -The Original Tales and the Origins of the Myth

Price: $13.95
In Stock

Hanalei: A Kaua’i River Town
Hanalei: A Kaua’i River Town

Price: $18.95
In Stock