The U S Annexes Hawaii Hawaii before the

The U. S. Annexes Hawaii

Hawaii before the 1890 s • British explorer James Cook “discovered” the islands and named them the Sandwich Islands in 1778 • The isles became an important harbor & supply depot for British & American explorers & whalers • Eurasian diseases devastated the indigenous population throughout the 1800 s

• Many missionaries from all branches of Christianity settled in the islands in the 1800 s, & a large minority of natives converted • Throughout this time, a native monarchy more or less controlled Hawaii, though there was always much foreign influence • King Kameha III became Hawaii’s first Christian king in 1819

From Kingdom to U. S. Territory • In 1887, white Hawaiians forced King Kalakaua to sign a constitution stripping him of most of his power • His sister Queen Liliʻuokalani succeeded the throne in 1893 • A Committee of Safety – composed of pro. American annexationists – overthrew her in ’ 93 & proclaimed Hawaii a republic

Queen Liliʻuokalani • The Queen was forced out of power when the provisional government took over Hawaii • She moved to Washington DC briefly to lobby the U. S. to restore her, & became friends with President Cleveland • In 1895, pro-royal forces rebelled but were defeated • The Queen was arrested & sentenced to hard labor, but the sentence was soon dropped

Debate in the U. S. • President Grover Cleveland was a friend of Queen Liliʻuokalani & demanded her reinstatement • Cleveland issued the Blount Report which concluded the overthrow was illegal • Congress, a year later, issued their own report (Morgan Report) that contradicted Cleveland

A New Policy • In 1896, Republican William Mc. Kinley won the presidency (Cleveland was a Democrat) & the issue was renewed • Mc. Kinley was much more open to annexation, and in 1897 the US Secretary of State met with representative of the republic • In July 1898, Hawaii officially became a U. S. territory (it would become the 50 th state in 1959)

So. . who cares? !? ! • Some argue that the annexation of Hawaii began a new age of U. S. imperialism. But how so? • Hawaiian sugar was extremely profitable, & 5 American families eventually owned all sugar production and, basically, the whole island by 1890 • In the 1800 s, hundreds of thousands of Chinese, Japanese, Koreans, & Filipinos were “imported” to work the sugar fields