Ohana Means Family (Annexing Hawaii)

Around the 1820’s, the United States began to want to spread their influence further internationally, but how? The US was late to the party you could say, for large amounts of territory were already claimed on other continents by various other countries. This included territory in South America, Africa and China, that the US was just not fast enough to lay claim to. But then an opportunity came along…

Before any battles for power occurred, the US was doing sugar trade with Hawaii. As the business continued, America was not selling their sugar at full value, creating unrest in Hawaii. With McKinley Tariff passed by Congress, if Hawaii became part of the US, their tariff would be significantly decreased. The problem was, Queen Liliuokalani of Hawaii was not a fan of foreign affairs.

In 1893, Hawaiian sugar planters under Sanford Ballard Dole started to revolt against the queen. Liliuokalani became queen in 1891 but refused to recognize the constitution of 1887, instead, giving herself more power. During this time, they asked for assistance from the United States. Without permission from the president (newly inaugurated president Grover Cleveland), US marine troops came to the planter’s aid, dethroning the queen. Dole’s group, “Committee of Public Safety”, took control of Hawaii while Liliuokalani had to pay a fine and was sentenced to five years hard labor.

Upon hearing about the event, Cleveland was ashamed of America’s actions for he was an anti-imperialist. He was in favor of restoring the queen back to her throne while the American public was leaning towards annexing Hawaii.

The issue remained untouched until President Cleveland left office. Around 1896, the new Republican president, William McKinley, proposed a joint resolution to Congress (similar to how Texas was annexed). With the combined factors of the war in Spain and the concern that Japan would annex Hawaii first, Congress agreed to pass the joint resolution. By passing this, the United States could now use Hawaii to their advantage in the military and gain claim to territory in the Pacific.

Later down the road, on August 21, 1959, Hawaii became the 50th state in the United States of America.

Sources:


https://2001-2009.state.gov/r/pa/ho/time/gp/17661.htm


http://www.ushistory.org/us/44b.asp


http://www.digitalhistory.uh.edu/disp_textbook.cfm?smtid=2&psid=3159


https://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/americans-overthrow-hawaiian-monarchy