Goodbye to the Kingdom of Hawaii
Immoral takeover
Thesis
The overthrow of the Hawaiian Kingdom on January 17, 1893 would not have been possible without the role of President Grover Cleveland, President McKinley and Minister John L. Stevens has played.
Minister John L. Stevens
John Stevens held a political position in the government that led to the end of Hawaiian monarchy. He was the United States Minister to the Kingdom of Hawaii. He was accused of conspiring to overthrow Queen Liliuokalani in association with the Committee of Safety. U.S Minister John Stevens first went to the Hawaiian Island to describe the wishes of the United States government. He described the Hawaiians as childlike, semi barbaric and unfit to role the government of Hawaii. The Committee of Safety and U.S Minister John Stevens had the same view about the Hawaiians and its ruling. They supported Coup d’état. As he requested, American marines to disembark off the USS Boston and had American troops land at downtown Honolulu. He declared that he would support the provisional government and assured that he would not support the queen. He also assured that he would support her government against armed insurrection. Queen Liliuokalani was threatened but he only surrendered to the US government and never to the provisional government.
President Grover Cleveland
During Grover Cleveland's term as a president of the United States, he received petitions from the Hawaiians regarding the overthrow of Queen Liliuokalani. As a response, he ordered an investigation into its legality. He withdrew the annexation treaty and sent Blount to Hawaii for investigation that took approximately 4 months. From the Blount's long report, it shows that the overthrow was illegal and immoral. Cleveland said that it is an "act of war" denouncing the taking of lands without the consent of the Hawaiians. President Cleveland later wrote, "the provisional government owes its existence to an armed invasion by the United States. By an act of war...a substantial wrong has been done." He said that he would do everything to reinstate the queen. He told them to lower all the American flags in Hawaiian buildings and put Queen Liliuokalani back to the throne. Though, when he recommended that the monarchy be restored, the Congress rejected it. American public sentiment strongly favored annexation. Cleveland was unwilling to overthrow the government by force. Therefore, he couldn't do anything about it.
President William McKinley
During William McKinley's term as the president of the United States, he played a big role in the annexation of the Hawaiian Islands and its people. President William McKinley believed that the smaller countries should be taken over by the larger countries which is called New Imperialism. His term as a president was the time of the Spanish-American War that took place in the Pacific. He then thought that Hawaii particularly Pearl Harbor was was the best location for naval bases due to its location. He signed a joint resolution annexing the islands. He was in favor of annexation. On June 16, 1897, McKinley along with three representatives of the government of the Republic of Hawaii which was Lorrin Thurston, Francis Hatch and William Kinney - signed a treaty of annexation. Then, President McKinley submitted the treaty to the United States Senate for ratification. On July 14, 1900, Hawaii was under control of the United States.
Historical Significance
The annexation of Hawaii and overthrow of the Hawaiian kingdom wouldn’t happen without the President Grover Cleveland, President McKinley and U.S Minister John L. Stevens and the actions that they have taken regarding the overthrow and annexation. This topic is important in history because it give the people the knowledge and understanding on what led to Hawaii being the 50th state of U.S today. It also made people understand why Hawaii is what it is today. From this project, I want the reader to understand and able to describe the role of the United States government including the different administrations during that period of time and U.S Minister John L. Stevens in the overthrow.
Is Hawai'i Legally and Lawfully A State of the Union
After studying the overthrow of the Hawaiian Kingdom, I think that Hawai'i is not legally and lawfully a state of the union. The Hawaiian Islands was forcefully taken away from the Committee of Safety and the presidents during that period of time without the approval of the Hawaiians.
Supplemental Information
Bibliography
"Hawaiian Annexation." U.S. History. Independence Hall Association, 2008. Web. 01 Mar. 2015. <http://www.ushistory.org/us/44b.asp>.
"Rivalry over the Annexation of Hawaii." Pacific Gibraltar. N.p., n.d. Web. 13 Mar. 2015. <http://www.pacificgibraltar.com/>.
Sheppard Software. N.p., n.d. Web. 13 Mar. 2015. <http://www.sheppardsoftware.com/>.