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Terhune (Warren Jay) papers
M2132
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Table of contents
Language of Material:
English
Contributing Institution:
Department of Special Collections and University Archives
Title: Warren Jay Terhune papers
Identifier/Call Number: M2132
Physical Description:
1.5 Linear Feet
(one box, one small flat box)
Date (inclusive): 1898-1955
Abstract: Warren Jay Terhune (1869-1920) was a Commander in the United States Navy and the 13th Governor of American Samoa who committed
suicide while in office.
Physical Location: This collection was purchased by Stanford University, Special Collections in 2016.
The collection contains correspondence, documents, ephemera, and photographs. Much material post-dates Terhune himself and
involves his widow Josephine Lee Terhune and son John A. Terhune, who was a Lieutenant in the Navy at the time of his father’s
death and continued a naval career through World War Two. Included are letters of condolence from Secretary of the Navy Josephus
Daniels, two documents of support for Terhune from Samoan District Governors, as well as letters concerning Warren’s interment
and Josephine’s pension. John also wrote to his mother while stationed at Pearl Harbor in 1940. Also present is a diary Warren
Terhune kept while serving on the U.S.S. Atlanta in the 1890s which features detailed entries on his travels, as well as photographs
and sketches of ships and scenery.
Open for research. Note that material must be requested at least 36 hours in advance of intended use.
While Special Collections is the owner of the physical and digital items, permission to examine collection materials is not
an authorization to publish. These materials are made available for use in research, teaching, and private study. Any transmission
or reproduction beyond that allowed by fair use requires permission from the owners of rights, heir(s) or assigns.
[identification of item], Warren Jay Terhune papers (M2132). Dept. of Special Collections and University Archives, Stanford
University Libraries, Stanford, Calif.
Warren Jay Terhune was born in New Jersey on May 3, 1869. He graduated from the U.S. Naval Academy in 1889 and was subsequently
was stationed in a variety of ships and locations, including Florida, Europe and South America. He served in the Spanish-American
War in Cuba and Puerto Rico. When President William Howard Taft ordered the Marine Corps to Nicaragua in an attempt to quell
a rebellion primarily out of Managua, Terhune commanded the USS Annapolis, which landed hundreds of troops to protect American
civilians and property. During World War I Terhune was an instructor at the Naval Academy. On June 10, 1919, Terhune was appointed
Governor of American Samoa. His administration was controversial, and in the midst of various power struggles Terhune took
his life on November 3, 1920 two days before a Naval Board of Inquiry arrived to investigate the situation. Terhune is interred
at Arlington National Cemetery. His ghost is rumored to walk the Government House's grounds at night.
Warren Jay Terhune (1869-1920) was a Commander in the United States Navy and the 13th Governor of American Samoa who committed
suicide while in office.
Political unrest in American Samoa during this period mostly centered on the handling of taxes on copra (dried coconut), the
buying and selling of land, and the ways in which the system infringed on fa’a Samoa customs and protocols. While the Western
Samoan Mau resistance movement had begun around the turn of the century, in the East the Mau grew out of a series of fono
(meetings) in early 1920. Terhune had tried to ban these meetings because they had begun to take on the air of protests. Some
attendees were reported to show up armed. However, the Mau movement was non-violent. Rather than advocate for independence,
the Mau reacted to “arbitrary Navy rule” and pushed for more autonomy and financial transparency. Terhune’s attitude towards
native Samoans was generally patronizing if not disdainful, and he enacted many divisive and restrictive rules, particularly
the outlawing of interracial marriage.
Lt. Commander Creed H. Boucher, who was Terhune’s first executive officer, began to be vocally critical of the administration
and even expressed an interest in the governorship himself. Boucher was joined by civilian journalist Arthur Greene, whose
wife was related to Mau leader Samuel Ripley. At first, Boucher approached Terhune with the suggestion that he be hired to
manage the copra tax. At the same time, both Boucher and Greene were trying to stimulate anti-imperialist feelings among the
Samoans.
After Terhune dismissed him for insubordinance and other offenses, Boucher made a formal report to Naval authorities in California,
accusing him of incompetence, misappropriation of funds, and native abuse. Boucher was replaced as Captain of the Yard by
Commander Arthur C. Kail, who also supported the move to oust Terhune. Kail received a petition signed by 178 chiefs asking
for a new governor, as well as an end to the marriage ban, improved financial reporting, better schools and roads, printing
of all laws in Samoan, more frequent fono with legal power, and the creation of a chief-based advisory council. Kail subsequently
tried to persuade the post’s surgeon to declare Terhune insane. A copy of Kail’s letter to the doctor was found in Terhune’s
quarters after his death.
Meanwhile, a Naval Board of Inquiry was formed in response to Boucher’s formal complaint. Two days before the Board arrived
on the battleship Kansas, Terhune, depressed, in poor health, and frustrated by his inability to handle the crisis effectively,
committed suicide by shooting himself through the heart on November 3, 1920.
The Inquiry proceeded, exonerating Terhune and his administration of any wrong-doing. The copra tax process was also declared
above board. However, the Board also found that Terhune "while financially honest, lacked tact and firmness, due to his mental
and physical condition, as indicated by his failure to correct the feeling of unrest and discontent by immediate and effective
action." Boucher was subsequently court-martialed and found guilty of encouraging Samoan dissidence. Greene was deported,
and Kail was reprimanded. Captain Waldo Evans, who led the Board, became the next governor of American Samoa.
Subjects and Indexing Terms
American Samoa
United States. Navy -- History
Terhune, Warren Jay
Terhune, Josephine
Terhune, John A.