Monarchy to Republic
Who was the cause of all of this?
Thesis
President Benjamin Harrison
President Benjamin Harrison was the president at the time of the reign of King Kalakaua. During his term as president in 1876, there was a treaty called the “Reciprocity Treaty,” where Hawaii wouldn’t be taxed or charged a tariff on sugar they sent to the U.S. In order for the Reciprocity Treaty to be renewed, U.S. wanted the same conditions but also wanted to have Pearl Harbor as their territory. In 1887, Kalakaua was forced to sign the Bayonet Constitution, which would give the cabinet the executive power and gives U.S. Pearl Harbor. Kalakaua becomes a figure head. In 1897, a Treaty of Annexation was introduced for Hawaii but it didn’t pull through because less than 2/3 of the Senate was needed for approval. After awhile, less than 2/3 of them approved and signed the Treaty of Annexation. But before the Senate could even ratify it, President Harrison’s term as a president has ended and a new president was elected. The new President was Grover Cleveland.
President William McKinley
After the term of President Grover Cleveland, President William McKinley came into office. He was inaugurated in 1897. During his term as president, he though that Pearl Harbor was of value and he wanted it as U.S. territory. He was also in favor of annexation. McKinley and three other representatives have signed the Treaty of Annexation and he had submitted it to the senate to get it ratified. During this time, many Hawaiians at the time were against annexation and did everything they could to stop the annexation from happening. So they created a petition named the “Kue Petition,” 21, 269 Native Hawaiians have signed it and it turned out to be a 556-page petition with people’s signatures or names from many parts of Hawaii. Along with Queen Liliuokalani, her and some delegates presented this petition in Washington D.C. to the senate on December 6. The Treaty of Annexation was defeated by the senate and didn’t get ratified. Congress proposed that Hawaii to be annexed using a join resolution which required a majority vote of both houses. Hawaii was annexed.
U.S. Minister John L. Stevens
U.S. Minister John L. Stevens was a representative for the U.S. on all matters and he was assigned to Hawaii. His opinion was that Hawaiians are child-like, unfit to rule, and semi-barbaric. He supported the Committee of Safety and their plan to overthrow the Hawaiian kingdom. The Committee of Safety talked to him about coup de tat, which is sudden change in government illegally or by force, and he supports them all the way. Stevens gives orders to the marines to get off the U.S.S. Boston and marches them to downtown Honolulu. Without any permission, he recognized the new government and proclaimed Hawaii under protection of the U.S. (U.S. Protectorate) The Committee of Safety proclaimed Hawaii a Provisional Government. He then threatens Queen Liliuokalani to surrender her throne but she never did surrender to the Provisional Government but she did surrender to the U.S.
Historical Significance
The Overthrow of the Hawaiian Kingdom on January 17, 1893 would not have been possible without the actions that President Harrison, President McKinley and U.S. Minister John L. Stevens made. This topic is important in history because it describes how Hawaii becomes a part of United States union. The actions that they played were a crucial role in the Overthrow. If it weren’t for their actions, then Hawaii would still be a Hawaiian Monarchy and not a democracy like how we are today. The Hawaiians were against the Overthrow and how they felt knowing that they weren’t able to have a voice when it came to this decision. They lost the land that they had cultivated and lived on for a long time. The long-term significance of their roles in the Overthrow will show students that are taking Modern History of Hawaii the actions that have been taken when Hawaii stopped and that before, instead of being a democracy, we used to have Kings and Queens like in other places of the world. Knowing that the monarchy system didn’t work for Hawaii, we won’t go back to having that kind of government.
Is Hawai'i Legally and Lawfully a State of the Union?
In my opinion, Hawaii is not legally and lawfully a state of the union because the actions that were taken for Hawaii to be a part of the U.S. were self-proclaimed. The Hawaiians didn’t have a say on what was happening and they didn’t get to vote. The missionaries and the Americans that were in Hawaii were in the cabinet that made of all the decisions for Hawaii since King Kalakaua was just a figurehead. U.S. Minister John L. Stevens self-proclaimed Hawaii to be a Provisional Government and took actions that were against the law and also against the treaties that Hawaii had with the U.S. I think that Hawaii would be legally and lawfully a state of the Union if majority of the Hawaiians had the right to vote on what was happening.
Supplemental Information
The Committee of Safety tries to get Hawaii annexed by the United States with a treaty, a voluntary treaty. They conspired with U.S. Minister John L. Stevens and he then landed troops on Hawaii to overthrow the Hawaiian monarchy. Queen Liliuokalani then says that the American troops landed on Hawaii in violation of international law and treaties that Hawaii had with the U.S. Secretary Blount goes to Hawaii to do investigation and came to a conclusion that the Provisional Government was not a lawful government and was self-proclaimed.
The marines that U.S. Minister Stevens ordered illegally landed in Hawaii.
Citations
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/9/9a/Mckin.jpg
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/0/04/Johnlstevens.jpg
"The 1897 Petition Against the Annexation of Hawaii." National Archives and Records Administration. National Archives and Records Administration, n.d. Web. 02 Mar. 2015.
http://hawaiiankingdom.org/blog/wp-content/uploads/2013/10/USS_Boston_landing_force_1893.jpg