Hawaiian Kingdom Research Paper

638 Words2 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: Hawaiian history chrapter 14

Thinking back through history, the overthrow of the Hawaiian Kingdom was a monumental, sadening take over. The Committee of Safety or the Annexationist were at a verbal war with power of the Hawaiian Islands. Hawaii has been in the threat of annexation for a while and while some support the monarchy others despise it. For the Reciprocity Treaty to the Bayonet Constitution to the Spanish American War, all of these events lead up to the overthrow of the Hawaiian Kingdom mostly unfairly and illegally. The overthrow of the Hawaiian Kingdom was unjustified because of the unfairness and illegalness from the opponents such as, John Stevens and the secrecy from the Committee of Safety. The overthrow of the Hawaiian Kingdom was completely unfair and consisted of many illegal actions from the opponents to gain power. One of the many consisted of the United States Minister, John Stevens (Potter, Kadson, Rayson). Stevens favored annexation and was for overthrowing the queen, allying with the opposing side. While in an uncomfortable position where the Committee of Safety or the …show more content…

The Committee of Safety also known as the Annexationist, Hawaiian League, or Annexation Club was created in 1800s with their name changing constantly (Potter, Kadson, Rayson). Their leader, Lorrin Thurston, was a missionary boy along with others from the Committee of Safety. The Committee of Safety was established with one goal, to annex the Hawaiian Kingdom. After accusing Liliuokalani of secretly proposing to alter the constitution and announcing that the queen betrayed her cabinet, they secretly wrote another constitution that would officially annex Hawaii, later forcing the queen to sign it. The Committee of Safety forcefully made the queen sign the new constitution threatening her that six of her people would be executed, Queen Liliuokalani signed the document for fear of Hawaiian blood shed

Show More
Related

  • Decolonization in the Hawaiian Islands

    785 Words  | 2 Pages

    The people of Hawaii and other Pacific Island Nation groups have experienced great injustice from their colonial powers and the acts of imperialism. Lands were seized, cultural practices banned, language lost, and people were even forced to move away from their homes for the purpose of bomb testing. The United States and other countries abroad sent out representatives to do their work for them; in return their future actions would be justified in describing the Hawaiians and other Pacific Islanders as savages that need to have wider powers enforced upon them; thus resulting in a tangled web of political mythologies.

    Read More

  • Annexation Of Hawaii

    590 Words  | 2 Pages

    Stevens held firm beliefs about the future of Hawaii in the hands of the United States. From the start of his stay in Hawaii, Stevens made it clear whose side he was on in the political war. He would openly criticize Hawaii’s monarchy, and at times would refer to Queen Liliuokalani and her advisors as “incompetent”(2). Stevens may have not held anything against the Queen herself or any of her cabinet members, but rather degraded them simply to achieve his goals of the annexation of Hawaii, something that he considered “the only effective remedy for Hawaii’s troubles.” (2) Queen Liliuokalani naturally spoke out against the degradation of herself and her cabinet, and on behalf of her position of defending the Hawaiian Monarchy. “The U.S. Minister John Stevens was influenced by the annexationists. As a diplomat, his role was to foster a friendly, trusting relationship with the Hawaiian government. Instead, he often criticized the monarchy in public. I complained to the U.S. government about Stevens’ attitude and conduct but no action was taken.” (1)

    Read More

  • Hawaiian Apology Resolution

    219 Words  | 1 Pages

    When the Hawaiian islands was overthrown, the united states made an Apology Resolution that states that the Hawaiian islands were its own independent territory owned by nobody except King Kamehameha the Great. Who had reunited the island chain. Also this resolution states that Queen Liliuokalani” issued statements yielding her authority to the united states government rather than the provisional government”.

    Read More

  • The annexation of Hawaii

    1420 Words  | 3 Pages

    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 had 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. In reality they were missionaries who had been welcomed for several years by the Hawaiians who did not see the annexation in advance. Subsequently they became influential politicians and destabilized the monarchy. They indirectly wanted Hawaii to become a part of the U.S. so that they did not have to face the dilemma of paying the tax. Despite her plea “to undo the actions of its representatives” U.S. government did not allow her to access the throne again. One side of the story told by the businessmen was that the reason they overthrew the queen was because it was a corrupt and dissolute regime. They were more interested in installing the advance democratic principles. The Western power was keen on acquiring the island because of its rich coaling station and a promising naval base. The native population became an ethnic minority by 1891 due to western diseases, cholera, smallpox and leprosy, they were vulnerable to. America used the imperial force to attain Hawaii (Thurston 1897). Imperialism, as it is defined, is an extension of country’s ideals and values over another nation, and ...

    Read More

  • Hawaiian Sovereignty

    1726 Words  | 4 Pages

    Many different groups today are seeking the sovereignty of Hawaii. The reason being that these mostly Native Hawaiian groups feel that they suffered a severe injustice when they were annexed into the United States against their own free will. They feel that since they were treated like objects rather than human beings with rights and emotions, they now deserve reparations. The intentions of the different groups vary. Some only want reparations in the form of money and acknowledgements of the inhuman acts that were committed against them and others want it in the form of independence for the island. However, restoring sovereignty to Hawaii would cause great injustices toward the non-natives living on the island today. So these groups should not be granted the sovereignty they are seeking.

    Read More

  • The Hawaiian Monarchy

    836 Words  | 2 Pages

    One reason the Overthrow was unjust was because it marked the end of Hawaiian sovereignty. For example, at President Donald Trump’s inauguration, President Trump announced the continuation of the Dakota and Keystone XL pipelines. According to Merriam-Webster.com, pipelines are long, underground pipes, mainly meant for carrying oil. Parts of the pipelines will be passing under sacred rivers and land belonging to Native Americans at Standing Rock, North Dakota (Washington Post).

    Read More

  • American Hawaii

    1284 Words  | 3 Pages

    ...ature consisted of a council of chiefs and an elected house of representatives. In 1842, the Hawaiian islands were seen as an independent government. Sugar production was Hawaii’s largest buissiness. Tons of sugar was grown in Hawaii. Many of the Hawaiians worked on the sugar farms. Sugar was sold to the United States and large amounts of money flowed into Hawaii. Hawaii’s economy grew and banks were built. Annexation America’s main goal was to overthrow monarchy and Annex Hawaii as the 50th state. In 1887, the Americans forced king Kalakaua to sign a new constitutions that lessened the king’s powers and limited the rights of native Hawaiians to hold office. After Kalakaua’s death, Queen Liliuokalani ruled Hawaii. She was stubborn and wanted Hawaiian independence. But the Americans took over the government and ended monarchy and set up their own government. They put up the American flag where the Hawaiian flag originally flew. So, in other words, Hawaii was stolen from its original owners. Defenseless, Hawaii couldn’t do anything about United States’ control. Hawaii was then Annexed to the United states in 1898.

    Read More

  • Should The King Have Authority Over The Colonies

    654 Words  | 2 Pages

    The colonists who settled in the new colonies should not have followed through on such betrayal and treason against the king by not doing something as simple as obeying the law. It is not that difficult to follow a few simple rules that could help you and your country with order, peace, and safety. All the king wanted to do by appointing rules and commanding the colonists from across the ocean, is keeping his citizens safe, but when the citizens are not responsible, it can be a little more difficult. The king does have authority over the colonists because the colonies settled with his permission, the colonists’ governors were appointed by the king, and he issued a charter to outline geographic boundaries and how they should be governed. The king was only trying to help make the new land a better place by the attempt at order.

    Read More

  • Overthrow

    1227 Words  | 3 Pages

    Hawaii was the only country from the imperial era that wanted annexation to the United States while they were still under the rule of their queen Liliuokalani. One day Queen Liliuokalani made the United States focus its attention in Hawaiian territory. Queen Liliuokalani announced a “new constitution” under which only Hawaiian citizens had the right to vote. Queen Liliuokalani was trying to gain back the native Hawaiian political power. This decision made the American minister to Hawaii, John L. Stevens, worried due to all the investments Americans had made on Hawaii. John Colburn, the interior minister of Hawaii, rushed down to alert his friend Lorrin Thurston, a firebrand lawyer and antiroyalist plotter. John Stevens and Lorrin Thurston were linked with one thing in mind, overthrow the Queen Liliuokalani. The Committee of Safety (Lorrin Thurston was leader and included other government officials) signed the appe...

    Read More

  • The Overthrow Of The Hawaiian Kingdom

    609 Words  | 2 Pages

    This included the loss of privileges such as voting rights and the use of Pearl Harbor. The loss of voting rights caused for foreigners to vote for the government instead of pure Hawaiians and the use of Pearl Harbor was given to the United States because they saw it as a great location to use during the Spanish-American war. Also, the overthrow ended the Hawaiian monarchy and in result the Hawaiians lost their power. Many Hawaiians tried to fight back, such as group that goes by the name Hui Aloha Aina that got more than 21,000 signatures opposing the annexation(The Overthrow Part III worksheet). In addition to that, The Overthrow Part 1 worksheet states that Robert Wilcox and his men marched down to the Iolani Palace with a new constitution for King Kalakaua to sign, but the Cabinet forcibly put down the

    Read More

  • Why Is The Hawaiian Kingdom Unjust?

    879 Words  | 2 Pages

    The overthrow of the Hawaiian Kingdom was unjust, and everyone involved knew it. Even the president of the United States recognized this, and and called for his country to “restore its honor and sense of justice” by restoring the Hawaiian Monarchy. The Hawaiian Kingdom was independent for a very long time, and its people did not agree to annexation by the United States of America. Queen Liliuokalani fought annexation. According to the findings of an American commision led by James Blount, the overthrow was brought about by a group of American citizens, who posed as a legitimate political party, but secretly sought to annex Hawaii with the improper help of the American military. It was a change in leadership in the United States and other political

    Read More

  • Essay On The Overthrow Of The Hawaiian Kingdom

    459 Words  | 1 Pages

    To start off, one reason that the overthrow was an unrightful event was because Lorrin A. Thurston had done many wicked and unrighteous acts. Thurston was a grandson of a missionary and also a member of the Hawaiian League, Annexation Club, and the Committee of Public Safety (Potter). Planning and executing the Bayonet Constitution was one action that Thurston did. He had pointed bayonets toward the King of Hawaii to get him to sign a constitution, making the foreigners get more voting rights and reduced the King's power (Part 1). Wholly, Thurston had done many unlawful acts in order to overthrow the Hawaiian Kingdom.

    Read More

  • The Pros And Cons Of Hawaiian Annexation

    751 Words  | 2 Pages

    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.

    Read More

  • Government Power in 1984, by George Orwell

    1058 Words  | 3 Pages

    The U.S. government thought all Japanese-Americans were a national threat. In order to feel safe in the United States, all Japanese-Americans were ordered to evacuate their homes, sell all their items for low prices, leave their whole life behind, some were even separated from some of their family members, and were taken to camps across the nation. Once, at the camps they were obligated to check in, get a number, assigned a bunk, and required to stay within the barbwire camp. Japanese-Americans weren’t criminals, yet they were treated like they were. The Oceania government treated their citizens the same way as prisoners.

    Read More

  • Hawaiian Cuisine In Hawaii

    1045 Words  | 3 Pages

    Hawaii is the United States most recent and 50TH state. Hawaii joined the United States in 1959 and is located in the Pacific Ocean 2,100 miles southwest of the mainland United States. Hawaii is the only state in the United States that’s composed of islands and it is the only state not located on the continent of North America Hawaii is an island chain of eight major islands, several atolls, numerous smaller islets, and undersea seamounts in the North Pacific Ocean that extends 1,523 miles long. There are an estimated 1.4 million people that reside in the state of Hawaii. The eight main islands in Hawaii including Niihau, Kauai, Oahu, Molokai, Lānaʻi, Kahoolawe, Maui and the Island of Hawaii. The language that spoken in this state are mainly English and Hawaiian. There are multiple reasons why Hawaii is very diverse, from the cuisine to culture than other states in the United States.

    Read More

More about Hawaiian Kingdom Research Paper

Open Document