Kuhina Nui - The Constitution of 1840

The Constitution of 1840

The 1840 Constitution of the Kingdom of Hawaiʻi codified the office of Kuhina Nui into law. The constitution specified the following duties and powers:

• The Kuhina Nui was to be appointed by the King.
• All business connected with the special interests of the kingdom which the King wished to transact was to be done by Kuhina Nui under the authority of the king.
• All documents and business of the kingdom executed by the Kuhina Nui were to be considered as executed by the King's authority.
• All government property was to be reported to the Kuhina Nui.
• The King was not allowed to act without the knowledge of the Kuhina Nui, nor was the Kuhina Nui allowed to act without the knowledge of the King.
• All important business of the kingdom which the King chose to transact in person, he could do only with the approbation of the Kuhina Nui.

The 1840 Constitution created a degree of power sharing between the King and Kuhina Nui. Both were given seats in the House of Nobles in the legislature and both also held seats in the Kingdom's judiciary.

The position was written into a constitution devised by patriarchal American attorneys and missionaries. In the United States, women held no political offices, were denied suffrage, and in some states could not even control their inherited property. Yet the Americans William Richards, John Ricord, and William Little Lee all believed it was appropriate to reinforce the power and authority of the Kuhina Nui as an equivalent to the King despite the fact it had become a "traditional" female office.