Long Live The Kingdom
Coup De Tat
THESIS
On January 17, 1893 the Kingdom of Hawaii was overthrown by 3 major powerful people, President McKinley, President Cleveland, and Minister John L. Stevens.
President William McKinley
William McKinley was the 25th president to serve for the United States of America from March 4, 1897, until his assassination in September 1901. President McKinley played a large role in the Overthrow of Hawaii's Kingdom in 1893. He took part in the final stages of the overthrow; he was the one who called for Hawaii to be annexed to the U.S. During the time of his sentence, A turning point in U.S.-Hawaiian relations occurred in 1890, when Congress approved the the McKinley Tariff and the Spanish-American war broke out in 1898. The McKinley Tariff raised import rates on Hawaiian sugar, this rose the idea to sugar growers, mostly White Americans that if Hawaii were to be annexed to the U.S. the tariff would naturally disappear. Because of the Spanish-American war happening years later, President McKinley desired for the Pearl Harbor in Honolulu, Hawaii. He felt that it was a strategic location for its bases to transport his soldiers to the Philippines.
President Grover Cleveland
Grover Cleveland was the 24th president to serve for America. President Cleveland played a part in the Overthrow of Hawaii’s Kingdom by in a sense “doing nothing”. During the time of the overthrow and annexation of Hawaii, President Cleveland was the one who opposed the annexation of Hawaii. As the provisional government plan to overthrow Hawaii's kingdom, Cleveland ordered Secretary James Blount to investigate what they had been doing, by the time he was done investigating he wrote a report claiming that the overthrow was “Immoral and Illegal”. Once President Cleveland knew what they had been doing, he commanded that the provisional government do two things: lower the U.S. flag from Iolani Palace, and restore/return the kingdom back to Queen Liliuokalani. The provisional government did take down the flag, but did not restore and return the kingdom back to the queen. They told President Cleveland that if they were to do such a thing, he would have to command U.S. military to attack U.S. citizens. Because of this President Cleveland refused to do anything else and decided to just let them be.
Minister John L. Stevens
John L. Stevens was a Minister who was appointed to Hawaii in 1893 to represent the U.S. and protect the Committee of safety. As Stevens stayed in Hawaii, he noticed a farmer named Stanford B. Dole plan out a tactic to overthrow the Hawaiian Kingdom with the help of others like the Committee of Safety. After recognizing the tactic, the Committee of safety then approached Minister John L. Stevens, asked to help support the overthrow (Coup De Tat), he responded to them, and said yes he would support it. Minister John L. Stevens played a large role in the overthrow of the Hawaiian Kingdom because he had much power over the U.S. Navy and Marines. Because he now supported the Coup De Tat, he threatened to overthrow the queen and her kingdom by disembarking Marine ships and U.S soldiers to the throne of the queen. He used the Marines and Navy by threatening the queen that if she did not surrender, then he would command his men to open fire on Iolani Palace. Because of this, the queen then surrendered, but not to him and the provisional government but to the U.S.
HISTORICAL SIGNIFICANCE
IS HAWAI'I LEGALLY AND LAWFULLY A STATE OF THE UNION?
SUPPLUMENTAL INFORMATION
Lowering of the Hawaiian Flag
Signing of the Annexation bill
U.S. Navy protect the Iolani Palace
CITATIONS
1) "Hawaii: Creating the Aloha State." US History Scene. N.p., n.d. Web. 12 Mar. 2015.
2) "United States Annexation of Hawaii." United States Annexation of Hawaii. N.p., n.d. Web. 12 Mar. 2015.
3) "HAWAI'I (Western Colonialism)." Whatwhenhow RSS. N.p., n.d. Web. 12 Mar. 2015.
4) "Hawaiian Annexation." Ushistory.org. Independence Hall Association, n.d. Web. 01 Mar. 2015.
5) "William McKinley." William McKinley. N.p., n.d. Web. 12 Mar. 2015.
6) "NJDEP-Parks and Forests-Centennial of NJ State Historic Site." NJDEP-Parks and Forests-Centennial of NJ State Historic Site. N.p., n.d. Web. 12 Mar. 2015.
7) "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.