“Hawaiian by Birth is a superb study at the dynamic intersection of imperial, Hawaiian, cultural, and childhood histories. Joy Schulz is a passionate writer, and her work is filled with surprising implications for the history of nineteenth-century Hawai‘i.”

—David Igler, author of The Great Ocean: Pacific Worlds from Captain Cook to the Gold Rush

“We understand that the normative, heterosexual family constitutes the nation-state. This remarkable, innovative study reveals the centrality of that family in ‘birthing empire’ through a history of childhood. Race, gender, sexuality, class, and religion intersect to advance U.S. imperialism in the Pacific and settler colonialism in Hawai‘i.”

—Gary Y. Okihiro, author of Island World: Hawai‘i and the United States