The Country that Could Not Be Saved
Hawaiians Defended By No One
Thesis
The overthrow of the Hawaiian Monarchy, would not have been possible without the "help" of Pres. Harrison, Pres. Cleveland, and Minister John L. Stevens.
President Harrison
Benjamin Harrison was President of the United States during King Kalakaua's reign. He was a apart of the reciprocity agreement between the US and Hawaii; which was a treaty that allowed sugar to be transported to America without a tariff (tax). In 1887, there was a change in the reciprocity treaty. The Americans, as usual took advantage of their power over Hawaii. The new treaty came with a new condition. In order to renew the treaty between the US and Hawaii. Kalakaua had to give the Americans Pearl Harbor. The Americans saw interest in Pearl Harbor because of it's strategic military location. Kalakaua definitely did not agree with this. He tried to do right for his people and save part of the Hawaiians home. President Harrison did not accept that. The king of Hawaii was forced to comply with what the Americans wanted.
President Cleveland
President Grover Cleveland was one of the few Americans that did not support the annexation of Hawaii. He himself, believed that the idea of annexing Hawaii (by force) was an act of war. Cleveland decided that he was going to send Secretary James Blount to Hawaii and overlook what was taking place in the islands. Blount realized the Americans were definitely trying to overthrow the government and take over all of Hawaii, rather than annexing Hawaii after a mutual vote between the Hawaiians and Americans. He wrote a 1,400 word report about the American tyrants. He stated in his report that it was definitely illegal and immoral for the US to overpower a country that was not theirs. President Cleveland received the report and ordered that the American flag needed to be brought down from I'olani Palace and the kingdom was to be returned to Queen Emma. Sanford B. Dole was the man that was "in charge' of the Americans that were in Hawaii. He refused to follow the president's orders. Nothing was done. It was as if Cleveland gave up on Hawaii Nei. Sadly, the queen did not get her thrown back and Hawaii remained to be victims of tyranny, first hand.
Minister John Stevens
John Stevens was the worst man of them all. He had an obvious hate for the Hawaiians. He was completely oblivious towards the people of the land. He enjoyed the overthrow of the Hawaiian government. He was a racist he believed that Hawaiians were child-like, unfit to rule a government, lazy, semi-barbaric, and so much more. When the Committee of Safety ask Stevens if he supports coup de' tat (Illegal seizure of power from a government) he inevitably approved. This awful man had all the say. He sent US Marines to march to downtown Honolulu to force Queen Emma to give up her kingdom, once and for all. Queen Emma was a very strong minded and driven person. She surrendered to the US but never to the provisional government, breaking the hearts of all of those who did not support Hawaii's "annexation."
Historical Significance
In conclusion it is obvious that the overthrow of the Hawaiian Monarchy, would not have been possible without the "help" of Pres. Harrison, Pres. Cleveland, and Minister John L. Stevens. This topic in my opinion, is a crucial part of history. It had a ripple effect of the loss of culture. This was all caused because of American Greed. The US couldn't just stay allies with Hawaii. They wanted to make money of Hawaii's abundant resources and use their strategic military location to their advantage. Unfortunately, Hawaii's fight wasn't strong enough because they were just a smaller nation and no one seemed to have enough heart to defend a nation overthrown.
Is Hawaii Legally and Lawfully a State of the Union?
Hawaii is not legally and lawfully a state of the union. Looking at the coup d'e tat, Queen Emma just surrendered to the US. There is no treaty of annexation because Hawaii's power was illegally taken away. It's ironic to think that to this day, over a hundred years later, Hawaii is not supposed to be a state of America. The US bled Hawaii of all their power unjustly. America stands for justice, but hypocritically was the cause of a huge injustice.
Supplemental Information
This picture was taken at Arlington Hotel in Honolulu, Hawaii during the overthrow of the Hawaiian Monarch. In this picture the Hawaiian league is on one side and a Hawaiian guard on the other. (January 1893)
This political cartoon has a very deep meaning. It depicts the horrible situation Queen Liliuokalani was facing. Americans had a way of twisting things. America made it seem like the overthrow of the government was a positive thing because it led to the annexation of Hawaii, but it reality the US gave all of Hawaii Nei a life or death choice, They either gave up their kingdom, or died trying to fight for it.
Citation
Overthrow of the Kingdom of Hawaii." Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation, n.d. Web. 11 Mar. 2015.
"Grover Cleveland." Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation, n.d. Web. 02 Mar. 2015.
"Мартенс, Фёдор Фёдорович." Словари и энциклопедии на Академике. N.p., n.d. Web. 13 Mar. 2015.
"U.S. Minister John L. Stevens." Pacific Gibraltar USJapanese Rivalry over the Annexation of Hawaii 18851898. N.p., n.d. Web. 12 Mar. 2015.