HIS TORY
ians to be dominated by white settler interests. 6, 7 There is no indication that Kentwell’s Chinese heritage played any role in his social, political, or business dealings in his early life, or even if this heritage was known to his peers. Indeed, later in life, Kentwell would remark that the “Chinese strain in my make up does not dominate the Anglo-Saxon.”8 Of his brother George, a Hawaiian immigration official observed: “…his appearance would never betray his Chinese extraction.”9 In 1897, upon his graduation from Oahu College, Kentwell, as one of the few students of his class “born under the British flag,” spoke of Queen Victoria’s reign, and “made an eloquent speech for the noblest of England’s sovereigns.”10 No mention is made of his Chinese heritage. Thus, it seems likely that Kentwell effectively “passed” as a haole (white settler) in the Hawaiian context. However, in October 1902, when Kentwell began a political campaign to serve as a representative of Hawaii’s Fourth District under the Home Rule platform (the same party and district as his fatherin-law), questions regarding Kentwell’s eligibility were raised that would ultimately call his ethnic background into question. Faced with allegations that he was not an American citizen and was there 6. “Marriage Announcement,” The Independent, 3 July 1901. 7. “The Democrats Endorse Wilcox,” The Hawaiian Star, 20 September 1902. 8. Kentwell to V.H. Metcalf, 27 February 1906, File 466-C, Chinese Arrival Files, Honolulu, Records of the US Immigration and Naturalization Service, RG 85, National Archives, Pacific Region, San Bruno, Calif. Note: as all correspondence hereafter is from the same location in the records of the US Immigration and Naturalization Services, letters will be cited using date followed by file, e.g., Kentwell to V.H. Metcalf, 27 February 1906, INS 466C. 9. Chinese Inspector in Charge to Commissioner-General of Immigration, 22 March 1906, INS 715C. 10. “At Oahu College,” The Hawaiian Gazette, 25 June 1897. 40 | UNFOUND
fore ineligible to claim office, Kentwell asserted that he had in fact been naturalized in September 1900. He stated passionately: “I am a citizen all right and have ample proofs to substantiate my heritage as an American.”11 Indeed, in a political speech delivered prior to his citizenship controversy, Kentwell remarked on the “great privilege” he had to address the audience as a “citizen of the foremost Republic on the face of the globe—the United States of America.” 12 Ultimately, the controversy raised by his political opponents led to formal review of Kentwell’s citizenship. A year after withdrawing from the race, his American citizenship was revoked on the grounds that the papers were “fraudulently secured.” The formal statement of revocation attested that Kentwell had become a citizen on September 6, 1900, after a sworn statement that he was a British subject, a white man, and had resided in Hawaii for the time legally necessary. The statement continued, “…[A]ll three allegations are now said to have been untrue.”13 Throughout this entire ordeal, this oblique reference to the fact that Kentwell was not, in fact, a white man, stands as the lone mention of Kentwell’s ethnic background. Subsequently, Kentwell temporarily withdrew from the public eye, growing his real estate business and family (three daughters, Elizabeth, Alice, and Winnifred Kentwell would be born between 1900 and 1903). But two years later, in February 1904, Kentwell’s background would again challenge his ability to move freely within elite Anglo/American contexts. This time, race, and the stipulations of the Chinese Exclusion Act, would take center stage, catalyzing an awakening of perceived racial difference that would shape the rest of Kentwell’s life. 11. “Kentwell Says He Is a Citizen,” The Hawaiian Star, 1 October 1902. 12. “Kentwell on Home Rule Program,” Evening Bulletin, 15 September 1902. 13. “His Citizenship Attacked,” The Hawaiian Star, 5 March 1903.