Princess Kaiulani: A Rose That Never

Bloomed

Rabia Syed, Kadison Hickman, and Emily Teranishi

Senior Division
Group Website

Process Paper
From the moment we heard about the 2014-15 National History Day topic, we wanted to
choose a topic that should be recognized by society. We were all interested in Imperialism, and
after studying many imperialistic leaders, we came across Victoria Kaiulani. Many people have
not been taught about Hawaiis monarchy and are unaware of the strife that occurred almost 122
years ago. Although Princess Kaiulani was not able to rule her country, she still had a great
impact in history. She took control of the situation she was in by trying to persuade the United
States to return her throne. While her ancestors inherited the throne, Kaiulani had to spend many
sleepless nights trying to save her country.
As soon as we had all agreed upon the idea, we began our research. We spent many
countless nights and days searching for secondary and primary sources on the internet and
California State Dominguez Hills library. Information and pictures from the Hawaii State
Archives as well as Linneas book, Princess Ka'Iulani Hope of a Nation, Heart of a People, set a
foundation for our research. We gathered many newspaper articles and documents to assist us in
establishing the website. To acquire more in depth information on the subject, we sent many
requests to history professors in nearby universities. Unfortunately none of the professors
responded to us, so we sought information from books.
After hours of debating which category would best display our ideas and creativity, we
concluded that a website would be the most efficient option. In the 21st century, people are
technologically inclined; we thought a website would allow people to have an easier access to
our project. A website would enable us to express our individuality as well as being able to go
back and fix problems at any given time. Our proficient technological abilities helped us to
override the complications and produce our website to perfection. We decided to input our
information in a sequential order so that it would be facile for one to follow the main points and
thoroughly understand the ideas presented. Our website was designed and written to help the
readers to follow along as easily as possible.
Implementing the NHD theme into our topic was an effortless job. The moment we knew
of Kaiulanis heartbreaking story, it wasnt difficult to imagine what could be her leadership and
legacy. With the help of our many reliable sources, we were able to discover that Kaiulani had
risen as a leader from the moment she had left England and discovered her throne amiss. She did
whatever she could to take it back fairly and stood up to the many intimidating and harsh
responses thrown at her from the United States. Her legacy remains as a model for all Hawaiians
today to follow.
(Word Count: 485)