Hawaiian Annexation in 1898 guaranteed American citizens access to a tropical paradise. It also denied native Hawaiians control of their future. U.S. Expansionists seized valuable land, arguing that America had to claim the islands before Japan or another imperial power beat them to it. They asserted that a strategic mid-Pacific naval base was essential for America’s defense.
European and American profiteers saw the Hawaiian Islands as a windfall for businesses including sugar and pineapple farming. For decades, they manipulated Congress, the White House, the media and public opinion. They argued that the monarchy was corrupt and that indigenous Hawaiians were barbarians incapable of self-rule. Ultimately, they masterminded the overthrow of Queen Liliuokalani.
Could similar arguments and strategies be used today to annex countries like Greenland, Cuba, Venezuela or Canada?
After more than a century of American rule, many native Hawaiians remain bitter about the U.S. seizure of their islands. Following are Nine beats Leading To Hawaiian Annexation.
#1-King Kamehameha I Unified Hawaii
Although Hawaii is known for eight major islands, the chain has 137 islands, atolls, and islets. Polynesians who arrived centuries ago were its first inhabitants and original farmers of crops including sugarcane, bananas, coconuts, and breadfruit.
For centuries, warring groups ruled the islands, with each having its own noble class and chief.
In 1810, even as foreign influence was increasing, Kamehameha I unified the islands of Hawaii, Maui, Lāna‘i, Moloka‘i, and O‘ahu; Kaua‘i into the Kingdom of Hawaii.
#2-Foreign Influence Escalated Across The Islands
In 1778, Captain James Cook made the first documented European contact. He named the “Sandwich Islands” after his British sponsor, the 4th Earl of Sandwich.
In 1820, the first missionaries came to Hawaii. They brought Christianity, written language and diseases. The indigenous population of the islands decreased from roughly 300,000 to 70,000 by 1853.
In 1835, American farmers established the first sugar plantations. They brought laborers from countries including China, Japan, Korea, the Philippines, and Portugal.
In 1839, King Kamehameha III proclaimed a Hawaiian Declaration of Rights with the Hawaiian Constitution established the following year.
In 1851, King Kamehameha III secretly requested Hawaiian Annexation to America for military protection from European powers. This was a direct response to France’s invasion of Honolulu in August of 1849. Secretary of State Daniel Webster declined his request, stating that: “No power ought to take possession of the islands as a conquest…or colonization.”
Subsequent monarchs wanted to maintain Hawaii’s independence. (Digital History)
#3- American Tycoons Dominated Hawaiian Economics
American presence in Hawaii increasingly influenced the islands culturally, politically, and economically.
In 1875, the “Reciprocity Treaty” allowed America to import sugar from Hawaii without paying tariffs. Hawaii was allowed to import goods including meats, metals, cotton, and lumber without paying duties. This exclusive trade status with Hawaii paved the way for an American monopoly on Hawaiian sugar and ultimately, to Hawaiian Annexation. (National Archives)
In 1885, Kalā kaua the last king of Hawaii (ruling 1874 to 1891), signed a trade reciprocity treaty with the United States. It laid the groundwork for future Hawaiian Annexation.
By 1887, Hawaii was overwhelmingly controlled by white businessmen. With the king’s sovereignty severely weakened indigenous people were denied basic rights including their native language and Hula dance.
The islands reluctantly edged toward Hawaiian Annexation to the United States. (National Archives)
#4- The Bayonet Constitution Seized Power
On July 6, 1887, the Hawaiian League, a political party mostly comprised of non-native U.S. businessmen lead by Lorrin Thurston, forced King Kalā kaua to sign a new constitution. It stripped him of his power and native Hawaiians of their rights.
It also established financial requirements that limited voting rights to the wealthiest individuals, thereby ensuring their lock on power with the ultimate goal of Hawaiian Annexation.
#5- Queen Lili’uokalani Succeeded King Kalā kaua
In 1891, King Kalā kaua died, leaving his sister Lili’uokalani in power as Hawaii’s last monarch. She introduced a new constitution to reinstate Hawaiian rights.
Queen Lili’uokalani, along with heir apparent Princess Kaiulani, publicly fought Hawaiian Annexation.
#6- The Last Hawaiian Monarch Deposed By American Tycoon
Once again, powerful U.S. businesmen and politicians defeated the will of the Hawaiian monarch and her people.
Despite their efforts, a small group of American sugar and pineapple tycoons calling themselves the Committee of Safety deposed Queen Lili’uokalani. John Stevens, the U.S. Minister to Hawaii, and a contingent of Marines from the U.S.S. Boston aided their assault on the Queen.
“ On January 17, 1893 “they imprisoned the queen and seized 1.75 million acres of crown land and conspired to annex the islands to the United States.”
The conspirators announced the overthrow of the queen’s government and the Committee of Safety proclaimed itself to be the Provisional Government.
On February 1, 1893, With out permission from the U.S. State Department, Minister Stevens recognized the new government and proclaimed Hawaii a U.S. protectorate. President Benjamin Harrison signed a treaty of annexation with the new government.
But the president died before the Senate could ratify the Hawaiian Annexation. (National Archives)
#7-President Grover Cleveland Resisted The New Government
When Grover Cleveland took office, he called the actions of the “Committee on Safety” illegal.
On December 18, 1893, President Grover Cleveland formally denounced Sanford Dole’s Provisional government, declaring the regime “neither de facto nor de jure” and that the U.S. military intervention against Queen Liliʻuokalani was an “act of war”.
On March 1893, Cleveland withdrew the proposed Hawaiian Annexation treaty from the U.S. Senate.
July 1893, the Blount Report, concluded that the U.S. had unlawfully used military force to aid the overthrow.
Late 1893, Cleveland ordered Sanford Dole to step down in order to restore Queen Liliʻuokalani to her throne. But Dole defied the president’s order, declaring himself president of the of Hawaii.
Cleveland avoided further conflict with Dole, allowing him to continue his defiance.
#8-Dole Waited Until Cleveland Left Office
In 1897 William McKinley took office and Dole continued his push for Hawaiian Annexation. But Congress rejected his new treaty in response to the efforts of a group of indigenous Hawaiians called the Hawaiian Patriotic League.
On June 16, 1897, McKinley and three representatives of the government of the Republic of Hawaii – Lorrin Thurston, Francis Hatch, and William Kinney – signed a treaty of Hawaiian annexation. President McKinley then submitted the treaty to the U.S. Senate for ratification, but did not have a two-thirds majority. NA
On February 15, 1898, the U.S. Battleship Maine was blown up in Havana Harbor in Cuba.
The ensuing Spanish-American War, part of which was fought in the Philippine Islands, established the argument that the Hawaiian islands would be strategically valuable as a mid-Pacific fueling station and naval installation.
According to the National Archives, the League’s victory was short lived. World events once again forced the annexation issue.
“With the explosion of the U.S.S. Maine in February of 1898 signaling the start of the Spanish American War, establishing a mid-Pacific fueling station and naval base became a strategic imperative for the United States. The Hawaiian islands were the clear choice.”
Hawaii was not annexed by a passed treaty. Instead, the Newlands Resolution was signed into law. Congress moved quickly to Hawaiian Annexation.
On July 7, 1898, the Joint Resolution passed with a simple majority. The Hawaiian islands were officially annexed by the United States.
In a last, unsuccessful attempt to return control of her homeland to native Hawaiians, Queen Liliʼuokalani sent a letter of protest to the U.S. House of Representatives. She stated that her throne had been taken illegally, and that any U.S. efforts to annex Hawaii without the due process of law would be unacceptable. (National Archives)
From 1900 to1903 Dole served as the first Governor of Hawaii.
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