Vanquished
The Hawaiian Kingdom Ends
Thesis
President Grover Cleveland
President Grover Cleveland was an anti-imperialist who had just taken office and was not in favor to annex Hawaii. During his time of the Overthrow of the Hawaiian Kingdom, Queen Lili’uokalani writes a letter to him about the Americans plan to annex Hawaii. He then sends his secretary James Blount to write a 1,400 page report on how the overthrow was illegal and immoral. Cleveland had not authorized anyone to do such a thing because he believed it was an act of war and demanded the Committee of Safety to lower the American flag and return the kingdom to the Queen. But the Committee of Safety rebelled against him and told President Cleveland, that if he wants them to do as he asks, he must grab a gun and shoot all the Americans who were there to annex the Hawaiian Kingdom. He therefore gives up on helping Hawaii, because he was afraid to kill his only people.
President William McKinley
During the overthrow of the Hawaiian Kingdom, President William McKinley became president after Cleveland in on March 4, 1897. He served in the congress from 1876-1890 aand was an important national leader. McKinley favored annexation and gained support to annex Hawaii in early 1898, when the United States just entered the Spanish-American war. Because the war took place in the Pacific, McKinley had seen Hawaii as a strategic location and that Hawaii was a great pacific naval installation. He then led the nation to victory in the Spanish American War. McKinley raised protective tariffs to promote American Industry. On July 7, 1898 he signed a resolution to annex Hawaii and by June 1900, Hawaii became a United States territory.
Minister John L. Stevens
United States Minister John L. Stevens was assigned to Hawaii in the year of 1893, during the overthrow of the Hawaiian Kingdom. He was part of the Committee of Safety and supported the annexation of Hawaii. The committee asks for him to support Coup D Tat and says yes. He gathered the United States Marines to Hawaii and ordered them to protect American residents. Their presence made it difficult for the Native Hawaiians to defend their kingdom which gave them a further advantage to annex Hawaii. They disembark the ships from their quarters and marches to downtown Honolulu. The committee tries to threaten the Queen to surrender, but she did not want to surrender to the Provisional Government, instead she surrendered to the United States, hoping they would do the right thing and gives back her kingdom in the future. And with the help of the armed Americans, on January 17, 1893 the committee was able to overthrow Queen Lili’uokalani.
Historical Signifcance
The Overthrow of the Hawaiian Kingdom on January 17, 1893 would not have been possible without the role Pres. Cleveland, Pres. McKinley, and Minister John Stevens played. This topic is important to history to learn about how Hawaii became a United States territory and what the Native Hawaiians and monarchy had to go through to try and protect their kingdom. It is also important to learn the roles of these American officials and how the Americans annexed Hawaii and wanted it for its strategic location for war. The long term significance is that Hawaii gets to be a part of the United States and it is known for Pearl Harbor being a great naval installation. And also, Hawaii residents can acknowledge and remember the people who tried to help protect the kingdom with statues, hospitals and buildings that they have built for us.
Is Hawai'i legally and lawfully a state of the union?
Hawaii is not a legally and lawfully state of the union because Hawaii was never rightfully given to the United States. The Hawaiian League forced King David Kalakaua to sign the Bayonet Constitution which diminished the powers of the monarchy and disenfranchised the Native Hawaiians, giving the Americans the advantage to take over Hawaii. Later on when Kalakaua died, Queen Lili’uokalani took the throne and decided to create a new constitution which scared the Americans. They later on created the committee of safety to overthrow the Queen and have her surrender her kingdom. The Hawaiian kingdom was not peacefully given to the United States, it was forced to be given up which makes Hawaii not a legal and lawful state of the Union.
Supplemental Information
Cite
"Lorrin Thurston Led an Overthrow of the Kingdom of Hawaii with the American Flag First Raised over 'Iolani Palace Today in 1893. Now WE Know Em." Nowweknowem. N.p., 17 Jan. 2014. Web. 12 Mar. 2015.