United States Senate allows Navy to lease Pearl Harbor
- When
- 1887
- Where
- Pearl Harbor; Pearl Harbor (possession site); ratification exchange not tied to a supplied place
- Episodes
- 2
On January 20, 1887, the United States Senate authorized the Navy to maintain a coaling and repair station at Pearl Harbor. This action stemmed from the Reciprocity Treaty of 1875, which granted exclusive use rights to the US in exchange for trade benefits. The Senate's approval preceded the formal exchange of ratifications in December 1887, establishing a naval presence in the Hawaiian harbor.
Episodes
- Senate Authorization of Naval Station
The US Senate granted the Navy exclusive rights to maintain a coaling and repair station at Pearl Harbor on January 20, 1887.
- Possession and Ratification
The US took possession of the Pearl Harbor site in November 1887, followed by the exchange of treaty ratifications in December.
Background and detail
Background. The Reciprocity Treaty of 1875 established a free trade agreement between the United States and the Hawaiian Kingdom. In return for market access, Hawaii guaranteed it would not cede or lease lands to other foreign powers. A later extension negotiated exclusive use of specific lands, including those at Pearl Harbor, setting the stage for the Senate's 1887 authorization of naval facilities.
Implementation. Following the Senate's authorization, the United States government obtained exclusive use of the inlet and the right to maintain a repair and coaling station for ships in 1887. The US took possession of the site on November 9, 1887. Treaty ratifications were exchanged on December 9, 1887, extending the agreement for an additional seven years.
People involved
- United States Senate · Legislative body granting naval rights
- United States Navy · Agency authorized to maintain station
Sources
- Pearl Harbor Wikipedia, revision of 2026-09-04
- Reciprocity Treaty of 1875 Wikipedia, revision of 2025-12-14
Machine-drafted from the cited Wikipedia passages and checked by a reviewing model, not by a human editor. Every passage cites the revision it was written from; dates and places follow those passages.