A Wrongful Overthrow
The Final Breath Of A Monarchy
Thesis
There were many events that led to the overthrow of the Hawaiian government. President Grover Cleveland actually did not support the overthrow but Minister John L. Stevens and President William McKinley did support the overthrow.
President Grover Cleveland
President Cleveland was new to presidency when he withdrew a annexation treaty of the islands of Hawaii. He was against the annexation of Hawaii and got the support of Queen Liliuokalani by replacing the American flag and its stripes with the Hawaiian flag. He was even more liked by the Hawaiians when he called for a possible Hawaiian revolution afforded that it is well planned. He wanted to prove evidence of a conspiracy of the Americans in Hawaii who wanted to overthrow the island. President Cleveland even recommended that the Hawaiian monarchy should be restored since he saw it as a injustice and a "substantial wrong" had been done. Unfortunately, his proposal was rejected by congress. The house of representatives did want to adopt a resolution that opposed the annexation but congress did nothing to restore the Hawaiian monarchy. On December 18, 1893 in Washington, President Cleveland made a speech about the islands and his message was about how he so wanted to make the islands its own nation again.
Minister John L. Stevens
Minister John L. Stevens played a crucial part in the overthrow of the Hawaiian monarchy. As a matter of fact, if it wasn't for Stevens, there may not even be a overthrow of the government. It was he that led the people who wanted the overthrow to happen, actually happen. He supported the committee of safety whose purpose was to turn Hawaii to become part of the United States. Stevens ordered military to be stationed on Hawaii although the United Stated cabinet opposed it. When Queen Liliuokalani questioned why the soldiers came (and ironically were staying at her childhood home) she was told that it was for her safety and protection. Stevens and his conspirators then moved on to keep on recruiting supporters of the overthrow at a lodging house. By then the Queen was now questioning why the soldiers were there in Hawaii instead of protecting American properties. When Stevens saw that the time was drawing nearer for the overthrow, he gave speeches that the Hawaiian government was weakening and that it's time for the American government to takeover.
President William Mckinley
When Hawaii officially (and perhaps wrongfully) became part of the United States, the President was William McKinley who not only favored the annexation but also signed the treaty that made it official that Hawaii was of the United States. After the signing he then gave the treaty to the United States senate for ratification. For the Hawaiians, they were obviously against the annexation and 21,268 native Hawaiians signed a petition that went against the annexation. The petition was in both English and Hawaiian. The petition was brought with Queen Liliuokalani who presented it to the congress. The treaty was defeated in the senate. Hawaii was not able to become a state until 1959 but before that, Hawaii was just a United States territory. What was used to really annex the islands was what McKinley signed that was known as a joint resolution. This was similar with Texas and how it joined the union in 1845.
Historical Significance
What made these men's influence on how Hawaii became an American property to state so significant is how President Cleveland opposed it but Minister Stevens was able to persuade more Americans to turn Hawaii to an American property. Then it was finalized by President McKinley with the joint resolution.
Is Hawaii Legally and Lawfully a state of the Union?
Depending on how your mind thinks and how you feel about these events, there are those who believe it was legal and those who think it is illegal. For me I do think it was illegal but in the long run I think it may have been beneficial for Hawaii a little bit since it is under such a strong nation like Hawaii other nations are not trying to take it over.
Citations
"Tag Archives: John L. Stevens." Theumiverse. N.p., n.d. Web. 13 Mar. 2015.
"Hawaiian Annexation." Ushistory.org. Independence Hall Association, n.d. Web. 01 Mar. 2015.
"Digital History." Digital History. N.p., n.d. Web. 12 Mar. 2015.
"President Cleveland's Message about Hawaii December 18 1893." N.p., n.d. Web. 12 Mar. 2015.