Annexation Of Hawaii Research Paper

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In 1897, Petitions led by Queen Liliuokalani who was jailed for trying to stop annexation of Hawaii wanted to get rid of the annexation. The petitions were signed by 21,269 Native Hawaiians more than half of the 39,000 Hawaiians living in Hawaii. The petition was just a buildup of what the Hawaiians had been through with a sugar trade inviting a movement of Japanese to want to work in the trade, leading the U.S. to use Hawaii as a naval base to gain more power around the world, so they would not expect a Japanese’s invasion. The annexation of Hawaii with the sugar trade, Japanese, and the U.S. involvement is a real result of bringing the Spanish-American war in to effect. By the time the United states wanted to look beyond its own borders…show more content…
Hawaiian sugar planters were now being sold at a lower price in the American market, and as a result, a depression swept the islands. The sugar growers, knew that if Hawaii were to be annexed by the United States, the tariff problem would naturally disappear. In order to not have any sort of Hawaiian resistance, the `Bayonet Constitution' was established, stripping the Hawaiian King of his powers and demolishing democracy in the Hawaiian Islands and the Hawaiian community. Native resistance, attempted to set up a republic in the replacing of the Bayonet Constitution. These efforts resulted in the creation of the U.S. to cancel the islands well acquired status in the sugar trade, sending the islands into a depression. In 1891 Liliuokalani, the sister of the late King Kalakaua, ascended to the throne, refusing to recognize the constitution of 1887 and determining the root of the problem was foreign interference and by increasing her personal authority. Following negotiations, the U.S. agreed to resume sugar trade in return for getting the islands as a protectorate. In January 1893, the sugar growers staged an uprising to overthrow the Queen. Along with a “Committee of Safety,” organized by Sanford B. Dole, staged the uprising against Queen Liliuokalani with the support of the United States. Marines stormed the islands, and…show more content…
They met up with lili’uokalani who was already in the U.S. fighting against the annexation, where they created a strategy to present the petition to the Senate. By this time, Grover Cleveland had been inaugurated President. Cleveland was an anti-imperialist and thought Americans had acted very wrong in Hawaii. Cleveland wanted to restore Liliuokalani to her throne, but American public opinion strongly favored annexation and Dole refused to step aside and instead proclaimed the independent Republic of Hawaii. Cleveland was unwilling to overthrow the government by force, and his successor, President William McKinley, negotiated a treaty with Dole. In 1898, the Spanish-American War broke out, and the use of a naval base at Pearl Harbor during the war convinced Congress to approve annexation. The annexation was achieved due to the threat of the Japanese invasion. many of Japanese came to the islands in increasing numbers to work in the sugar trade. U.S. leaders feared potential Japanese would take over the islands and create a naval base in the center of the Pacific. This provided enough force in Congress to pass a annexation bill, in order to save themselves from the perceived threat of the Japanese. President William McKinley signed a joint solution to annex the islands. Two years later, Hawaii was organized into a U.S. territory and in 1959 the United States became a 50th state. Hawaiian

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