Increase in land ownership by businessmen, either missionary descendants or more recent investors, led to a proliferation of non-Hawaiians being elected to the kingdom's legislature. In 1887, Kalākaua was forced to sign the Bayonet Constitution, codifying the legislature as the supreme authority over any actions by the monarchy. Sanford B. Dole, who helped draft it, asserted that key issues were the king's handling of finances, and the lack of a system of checks and balances over the monarchy's stewardship. The new law allowed non-residents to vote, while also placing economic and literacy restrictions on voting rights of residents. Asians, the primary work force on the plantations, had their voting rights stripped.
