This Land Is My Land, Not Yours
Battle of Annexation: Hawaii Kingdom vs. United States
Introduction
Thesis
President Grover Cleveland
President Grover Cleveland was the first Democratic president after the Civil War in 1885. He did not want to annex Hawaii because it was another country. He explained how the Committee of Safety did an illegal action that was an act of war. He sent Secretary Blount to Hawaii to write a report on the Hawaiian annexation. Blount reported to Cleveland that the overthrow was illegal and immoral. Cleveland commanded the Americans in Hawaii to return the kingdom to Queen Liliuokalani and to bring down the American flags in Hawaii but this never happened. He did nothing further to prevent this from happening. He played a key role of the Hawaii Annexation because he was president during the time after the overthrow of the Hawaiian monarchy and there was still a debate on whether or not Hawaii should be part of the United States. He disagreed with the annexation but failed to do anything, causing him to be in favor due to his actions.
President William McKinley
President William McKinley became president in 1897 after the overthrow of the Hawaiian Kingdom and during the Spanish American War. He was interested of the idea of New Imperialism. He thought the Pearl Harbor was a strategic value to put the US Navy ships and was in favor of the annexation. He submitted a proposal to the Senates but it did not happen. The president feared that the Japanese Empire was going to take over the islands due to the growing Japanese community in Hawaii. He tried to do the annexation resolution again and was passed in July 6 by the Senates and McKinley signed it a day later. On August 12, 1898, the United States was in possession of the Hawaiian Islands and became US territory in 1900. McKinley played an important role to the Hawaii annexation because he made the annexation happened with the help of the Senates and House of Representatives. He was the president during the time the annexation resolution went in affect.
Minister John L. Stevens
Minister John L. Stevens was the U.S. minister of the Political Office. During his time, he was assigned to Hawaii to represent Hawaii on all matters including political. He was in favor of the Hawaii annexation and supported the overthrow of the Hawaiian Kingdom. He was a racist and thought the Hawaiians were childlike and unfit to rule. He ordered marines to disembark off the USS Boston and their quarters and marches to Downtown Honolulu without permission and recognized a new government and proclaimed Hawaii as US territory. He threatened the Queen to give up the throne and she surrendered peacefully, avoiding violence. He played a key role in the Overthrow of the Hawaiian Kingdom because he was involved with the attacks to the Hawaiian monarchy as he threatened Queen Liliuokalani to surrender and ordered 300 marines and Navy sailors to come to Hawaii to protect the Committee of Safety, a group of businessmen who wanted to annex Hawaii for economic and territorial reasons. He was one of the main people who made the overthrow happen on January 17, 1898.
Historical Significance
The Hawaiian Kingdom was overthrown by the United States in 1893 and annexed in 1898 with President Grover Cleveland, President William McKinley, and Minister John L. Stevens as the key roles who made this happen. This topic is highly important to the Hawaiian History because it ended the Hawaiian Monarchy. There are no kings and queens ruling Hawaii anymore after the events in the late 1800s. It expanded the United States territory and the growth of America's Imperialism. It also strengthens the US Naval base by putting US ships into Pearl Harbor. The consequences of these events were that the Hawaiian population became to decline as westerners arrived in Hawaii. The Hawaiian ethnicity is a dying breed with less than 5,000 Native Hawaiians left. This is long term significance because it changed the way the Native Hawaiians lived and disappearance of the Kingdom of Hawaii. To this day, even after Hawaii became a state in 1959, many continue to argue about the overthrow and annexation, supporting the side of the United State should not have done these actions to Hawaii.
Is Hawaii Legally and Lawfully A State of the Union?
Supplemental Information
Sorrows of the Ali'i
The US Flag Stands Tall
Kue Petition
Cite
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"Annexation." N.p., n.d. Web. <https://tatyanachanel.files.wordpress.com/2013/01/sesq1annexation_b.jpeg>.
"Grover Cleveland." N.p., n.d. Web. <http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/5/55/StephenGroverCleveland.png>.
"Jan. 17, 1893 | Hawaiian Monarchy Overthrown by America-Backed Businessmen." The Learning Network Jan 17 1893 Hawaiian Monarchy Overthrown by AmericaBacked Businessmen Comments. N.p., 17 Jan. 2012. Web. 06 Mar. 2015. <http://learning.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/01/17/jan-17-1893-hawaiian-monarchy-overthrown-by-america-backed-businessmen/?_r=0>.
"John L. Stevens." N.p., n.d. Web. <http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/0/04/Johnlstevens.jpg>.
"Kue Petition." N.p., n.d. Web. <http://www.archives.gov/education/lessons/hawaii-petition/images/hawaii-petition-02.jpg>.
"Miller Center." American President: American President. N.p., n.d. Web. 12 Mar. 2015. <http://millercenter.org/president/events/07_07>.
"PRESIDENT GROVER CLEVELAND'S MESSAGE." PRESIDENT CLEVELAND'S MESSAGE. N.p., n.d. Web. 12 Mar. 2015. <http://www.hawaii-nation.org/cleveland.html>.
"William McKinley." N.p., n.d. Web. <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:William_McKinley_by_Courtney_Art_Studio,_1896.jpg>.