In understanding the history of Hawai’i’s overthrow, it is important to consider the crucial moments that caused it, its effects, and how a government can be legitimate. Exploring the causes of Hawai’i’s overthrow reveals that economic interests of the Hawaiian Kingdom, Western imperialism, and annexation ideology are notable factors. These elements led to significant effects, including the creation of the Republic of Hawai’i and the eventual annexation by the United States. Yet, this new government raises questions about legitimacy since governments are dependent on various factors, but broadly speaking, they rely on their citizens’ consent and support from foreign powers. Looking deeper into the economic interests of the Hawaiian Kingdom …show more content…
Additionally, Hawai’i joined the Family of Nations, and members abided by The Law of Nations, which stated how they should act towards each other. By the early 1800’s, many foreigners came to the islands. However, these foreigners wanted to own some parts of the land. This concept of owning land was new to Native Hawaiian people since land is shared. To ease the tensions between Hawai’i and its foreigners, King Kauikeaouli now had to worry about the economic interests of these new foreign businessmen and investors who increasingly wanted to own more and more things. Kauikeaouli solved this problem with the help of British officials ruling in favor of Hawai’i, further solidifying the economic interests of the Hawaiian Kingdom. Many years later, the newly elected King David Kalakaua faced a similar issue that caused Western imperialism to take over Hawai’i. Furthermore, the issue started to arise with the Reciprocity Treaty, a free trade agreement between Hawai’i and the United States. The original agreement included the United States gaining exclusive use over Pearl Harbor, but Kalakaua …show more content…
Later, when the treaty was nearing its end, the United States once again demanded the rights to Pearl Harbor, but again Kalakaua denied it. This time, foreigners and sugar businessmen in Hawai’i wanted the King to agree to the treaty. Frustrated by his refusal, they decided to create a political group called the Reform Party, with many members also members of the Honolulu Rifles. As a result, these rifle club members surrounded the palace, and inside the Reform Party threatened King Kalakaua to sign a document, known as the Bayonet Constitution. Under immense pressure, he signed the constitution, which reduced his political authority significantly and gave power to a new cabinet composed of Reform Party members. With their newfound power, the party renewed and agreed to the original treaty giving America exclusive rights to use Pearl Harbor. This uncontrolled shift in power further demonstrated that Western imperialism was taking over the Hawaiian Kingdom. Unfortunately, a new act, named the McKinley Tariff Act, caused turbulence in the Hawaiian Kingdom’s
According to the PBS show “Hawaii's Last Queen” the Republic Hawaii's president Sanford Dole annexed the kingdom of Hawaii to the U.S on August 12, 1898. An organization supporting annexation called the Hawaiian League led by Lorrin Thurston which took many other forms forced King Kalakaua to sign the bayonet constitution. This constitution striped the power of the monarchy and when his death came his sister Lili'uokalani ascended to the throne and her hopes were to restore power to the Hawaiians which the constitution took away. The missionary boys did not like the queens ideals so they planned to overthrow the monarchy for good which they did later on in history. The annexation was an unjust act done by a group of bisness men wanting power and Hawaii as a territory of the U.S. Although some might argue that annexation was good because it allowed trade to the U.S tariff free others oppose that it was biased because it stripped Hawaiian of their rights to vote and destroyed the Hawaiian monarchy.
Hawaii’s political economy went through some major changes. The development of plantations and tourism paved the path for how Hawaii’s economy is today. I will discuss how tourism, ethnicity, gender and education both constrain and enable opportunities in contemporary Hawaii.
A small archipelago off the northwest coast of Britsh Columbia is known as the “islands of the people.” This island is diverse in both land and sea environment. From the 1700’s when the first ship sailed off its coast and a captain logged about the existence, slow attentiveness was given to the island. Its abundance, in both natural resources physical environment, and its allure in the concealed Haida peoples, beckoned settlers to come to the island. Settlers would spark an era of prosperity and catastrophe for the native and environmental populations.
In 1893, Queen Lili’uokalani of Hawaii gave up her throne to the United States of America. About five years after in 1898, Hawaii was officially annexed and became a part of the U.S.A. During this time, the Hawaiian people were bitter and mournful as they watched the foreigners slowly take over their kingdom. Many foreigners came to Hawaii to achieve one goal, to increase the power of foreigners and decrease the power of Native Hawaiians. The kingdom of Hawaii was overthrown with the use of force and was unethically taken. Although Hawaii received benefits that were mainly in their economy, it still does not make up for the wrongful taking of the Hawaiian kingdom.
The United States should not annex the Philippine islands, the Philippines, already a country of their own should not be forced to adapt to American culture and civilization. Prior to the annexation of the Philippines, America had major conflict with Spain in order to free Cuba from their brutal tactics for dominance. Tension continued to rise, until President Mckinley decided to take action and go to war against Spanish forces to enable a more stable government as well as provide protection for the citizens of Cuba. After months of fighting, the Spanish admitted defeat and began discussing peace terms of the Treaty of Paris. In this treaty Cuba was guaranteed independence, also the Spanish were forced to give up Guam and Puerto Rico. They Spanish also complied to selling the Philippines to the U.S for 20 million. However, the Filipinos wanted independence, not just a change in who governed them, this desire led many Philippine citizens to break out, beginning the Philippine- American war, which lasted three years, and caused the death of over two hundred thousand American and Filipino citizens.
Ever human being has its own race, it is a categorization of human beings, for example, people are divided into black, white, Asian, Hispanic (Latino), and Hawaiian or others. These people share different cultures and languages, somehow these people immigrant into the same country and produce the next generation of “mix” cultures. This concept can be seen in both The End of Race: Hawaii and the Mixing of Peoples, by Steve Olson, and What 's Black, Then White, and Said All Over by Leslie Savan. In The End of Race: Hawaii and the Mixing of Peoples, Olson addresses the idea that someday there will be no race exist, but human might still share different cultures, and in What 's Black, Then White, and Said All Over, Savan describes the black language
John L. Stevens came to the island of Oahu in September 1889, acting as the U.S. Minister to Hawaii. While his mission in Hawaii was not clearly stated, his political actions on the islands clearly showed that Stevens thought that the annexation of Hawaii was proper and inevitable.
Since 1840 the Hawaiian Islands have been an escape to a tropical paradise for millions of tourists. People all over the world encounter alluring, romanticized pictures of Hawai'i's lush, tropical vegetation, exotic animals, beautiful beaches, crystal clear water, and fantastical women. This is the Hawai'i tourists know. This is the Hawai’i they visit. However, this Hawai'i is a state of mind, a corporate-produced image existing on the surface. More precisely, it is an aftermath of relentless colonization of the islands' native inhabitants by the United States. These native Hawaiians experience a completely different Hawai'i from the paradise tourists enjoy. No one makes this as clear as Haunani-Kay Trask, a native Hawaiian author. In her book, From a Native Daughter: Colonialism and Sovereignty in Hawai'i and through her poetry in Light in the Crevice Never Seen, Trask provides an intimate account of the tourist industry's impact on native Hawaiian culture. She presents a negative perspective of the violence, pollution, commercial development, and cultural exploitation produced by the tourist industry. Trask unveils the cruel reality of suffering and struggling through a native Hawaiian discourse. Most of the world is unaware of this.
While walking down the beach, the white, warm sand mushes between your toes. The sun’s radiant rays beam off your glowing skin. The sound of waves crashing blocks out the external world. There is no other place like the gorgeous tropical islands of Hawaii. The wide range of flowers, cuisine, and wildlife makes it one of the most diverse places on Earth; however, the unappealing aspects Hawaii makes it one of the most dangerous in the world.
The Hawaiian Seizure The annexation of Hawaii was an important event in the history of the world. It is still not easy for the Hawaiians to accept the fact that America has taken over a land 2500 miles away from the West Coast. In 1917, Hawaii was considered the 50th state supported by the islanders after a plebiscite. Queen Lydia Kamakaeha Liliuokalani was overthrown because of the support of the United States army as well as naval forces to a group of businessmen belonging to the sugar and pineapple industry. The Armed forces of the United States were ordered to provide this support on the directives of the minister of the United States to Hawaii.
“If all of this seems long ago and far away, it is worth remembering that the past is never past.” (Faulkner cited in Ellison, P.274)
One of the critical tasks that faced the new nation of the United States was establishing a healthy relationship with the Native Americans (Indians). “The most serious obstacle to peaceful relations between the United States and the Indians was the steady encroachment of white settlers on the Indian lands. The Continental Congress, following [George] Washington’s suggestion, issued a proclamation prohibiting unauthorized settlement or purchase of Indian land.” (Prucha, 3) Many of the Indian tribes had entered into treaties with the French and British and still posed a military threat to the new nation.
American Hawaii Hawaii is known for its beautiful beaches, it’s nice year-round weather, and its culture. Thousands of vacationers come to Hawaii each year to get away from the stressful city and relax. But do they know how cruel the Americans were to the natives? Do they know how we corrupted their culture and their religion? Do they know how Hawaii really became a state? Probably not. When most people think of Hawaii, they think of happy Hawaiian babes hula dancing and palm trees swaying in the warm breeze. Hawaii has still held on to many of their traditions although they were invaded by Americans. But you have to go to a museum to see their old way of life. Hawaii is now populated mostly by Americans. Native Hawaiians have adapted to our American lifestyle and much of their old traditions and beliefs are lost in history books. America dominated over the Hawaiians just as they did with the Native Americans. The Hawaiians didn’t even stand a chance against big brother. They probably feel the same way towards America just as a child does with stubborn parents. Now I will tell you about the history of Hawaii so you will see how the United States came to annex Hawaii. Hawaii was first inhabited by the Polynesians. They came in canoes from other islands around the pacific. They called the new found island "Hawaii", which means "home" in Polynesian language. Hawaii was their home until the white man came in and took advantage of these simple, happy aborigines. The corruption of this unique and fragile culture first started when Captain James Cook ran into the islands on January 18, 1778. After Cook’s discovery, many other foreigners (mostly American) visited the islands. They brought clothes, livestock, orange trees, horses weapons and souvigners. Foreigners also brought with them a handful of deadly diseases such as smallpox, measles, syphilis, tuberculosis, and whooping cough. During the time period of Cook’s arrival in 1778 to 1820, the population of Hawaii dropped from 300,000 to 135,000 due to the diseases! Another problem was the introduction of alcohol. Like the native americans, Hawaiians were not immune to alcohol. Hawaiian’s were very sensitive to alcoholism. Hawaiians religion was a very complex one with many gods. They worshiped idols and they belived in many f...
John Louis O'Sullivan, a prominent editor and columnist in 1845, supported the rising American belief in manifest destiny, the idea that the United States was destined by God to expand its territory and spread their culture and ideas across the North American continent. In his essay "Annexation," O'Sullivan had advocated for the annexation of Texas into the United States and predicted the eventual acquisition of California. Through his writing, O'Sullivan expressed expansionist sentiment that drove American territorial desire during the 19th century. In the beginning of O'Sullivan’s writing he celebrated the annexation of Texas, stating “checking the fulfillment of our manifest destiny”. He describes Texas not merely as a geographical space but as an integral part of the nation, emphasizing the symbolic significance of its
...n. In this assignment I have covered the rights and responsibilities that the treaty contains and an explanation of the differences in wordings and I have also contextualised my understanding of the differences of wording against the Maori Worldview and the Declaration of Independence.