Aloha 'Oe
Farewell to The Hawaiian Kingdom
Thesis
The Hawaiian Kingdom ended on January 17, 1893, a day of a bloodless revolution. Without President Benjamin Harrison, President Grover Cleveland, and Minister John L. Stevens it would not have been possible.
President Benjamin Harrison
Benjamin Harrison was president during the reign of Kalakaua. In 1887, after the Spanish-American War, Pearl Harbor was used for the export of sugar from Hawaii. The Reciprocity treaty was shown to Kalakaua by Harrison and was made so that Hawaii wouldn't be charged a tariff (tax) on the sugar they sent to the US. The second Reciprocity treaty was the same as the first one, but in this treaty Hawaii had to sign over Pearl Harbor for the US to use its ports for exploration of sugar and for military purposes. Still in 1887 Kalakaua was forced to sign the bayonet constitution. The bayonet constitution gave white foreigners, even those who had not taken the oath of allegiance, the power to control the Hawaiian legislator and Cabinet even though she did not want to sign the constitution. The native Hawaiian was disenfranchised in 1897 was introduced to the treaty of annexation which made Hawaii apart of the US.
President Grover Cleveland
President Cleveland replaced President Harrison and withdrew the treaty. CLeveland believed annexation was an act of war. Cleveland sent Secretary James Blount to investigate the circumstances of the revolution, which Minister Stevens and the military took place in. Secretary Blount sent a 1,400 page report about how the overthrow of Queen Liliuokalani was illegal and immoral. Blount's instructions was a secret, but it was known that his word would be "paramount". Cleveland ordered the troops back to their ships and the American flag to be taken down and replaced by the Hawaiian flag. Cleveland returned the kingdom to Queen Liliuokalani since she was imprisoned for treason in 1895. During the Queens imprisonment she wrote diaries, she wrote her most famous ideas and thought like the "Haunting Queens Prayer". After Cleveland tried taking the American flag down, Minister Stevens refused for the American flag to be taken down, and Cleveland did nothing.
Minister John L. Stevens
Minister Stevens was assigned to Hawaii by the US to represent them on all matters includiing political representation of the US. Minister Stevens believed Hawaiians are child like and barbarians, also that they don't have the right to rule their own government. Minister Stevens supported the Committee of Safety (CS) for the overthrow of the Hawaiian Kingdom. Without the permission of the US president or gorvernment, Stevens proclaimed Hawaii as property of the US when Queen Liliuokalani suggested a change in the constitution, Thurston used it as an excuse to call for the overthrow of the queen and was supported by his buisness men the helped make the Bayonet Constitution and Minister Stevens, and he supported Thurston's law. Minister Stevens gave orders to the Marines to march down town Honolulu. He threatens Queen Liliuokalani and asks her to surrender to the provisional government, the queen say no. Since queen Liliuokalani did not want to surrender to the provisional government, Stevens then threatens to kil every hawaiian citizen, Queen Liliuokalani then surrenders but not to the provisional governtment, but to the US.
Historical Significance
If it wasnt for Minister Stevens, President Cleveland, and President Benjamin, Haweaii wouldnt have been annexex to AMetrica on January 17,1883. This topic is important in history because if it wasn't for the overthrow of the Hawaiian Kingdom, America probably wouldn't have pearl harbor which could have been the downfall in war that was overseas. The unintended consequences was probably the lost of the Haweaiian culture due to the fact that America wanted Hawaii's government and way of life to bell like theirs..
Is Hawai'i Legally and Lawfully a State of The Union?
I think that Hawaii is lawfully and legally a state of the union based on all of the paperwork such as the signing of the Bayonet Constitution. I don't think that it was fair that Thurston used Queen Liliuokalani's and the people suggestions in government as an excuse to overthrow Queen Liliuokalani, those were just suggestions from the people not demands.
Supplemental Information
This video is about how the Hawaiian Kingdom was overthrown in 1883.
Attempted Overthrow of the Hawaiian Kingdom,1893
Cite
"The Overthrow of the Monarchy." The Overthrow of the Monarchy. N.p., n.d. Web. 05 Mar. 2015.
"Attempted Overthrow of the Hawaiian Kingdom,1893." YouTube. YouTube, n.d. Web. 13 Mar. 2015.