Today in class we talked about American imperialism, or as Mr. Stewart likes to call it "Manifest Destiny 2.0". We talked mainly about Cuba, Puerto Rico, and the Philippines, but I was also interested in Hawaii so I did a little more research.
By the late 1800s, American mainly considered Hawaii as an unofficial part of the US and urged other countries to stay out of the way. Americas main interests in Hawaii were trade, whaling, and spreading Christianity there. America also had many fruit and sugar companies on the island, encouraging an official take over. Americas large economic strength pretty much controlled the islands. Due to this increased influence of the Americans in Hawaii, natives grew more and more hostile towards Americans. However, Americans in Hawaii favored the US annexation, unsurprisingly. A concern that President McKinley might increase the tariff on Hawaiian goods and/or that Japan may try to take over Hawaii created unrest in the islands. The US decided the only solution would be to annex Hawaii for good. Queen Liliuokalani resisted the annexation, believing the native Hawaiians should run Hawaii. Soon after, in 1893, the Americans in Hawaii revolted. The new president at the time, Grover Cleveland, didn't approve of the way the annexation was occurring, and stopped it. The revolt and the annexation together was unsuccessful. 5 years late in 1898, the US would officially annex Hawaii.
Source: https://www.boundless.com/u-s-history/textbooks/boundless-u-s-history-textbook/race-empire-and-culture-in-the-gilded-age-1870-1900-21/war-empire-and-an-emerging-american-world-power-164/american-imperialism-896-3410/
& The American Pageant 14th Edition
I was also really interested in the US annexation of Hawaii and particularly Queen Liliuokalani. I did some further research about her and learned a lot more about her that I think helps create a clearer picture on the annexation of Hawaii. Queen Liliuokalani truly believed it was her job to preserve the Hawaiian islands for their residents. She was born to the high chief Kapaakea and the chiefess Keohokalole, and was one of ten children! At birth, Queen Liliuokalani was adopted by Abner Paki and his wife Konia. When her biological brother King Kalakaua died, Liliuokalani was the next person in line to take the throne. One of her first actions as queen was to adopt a new constitution that took power out of the monarch's hands and gave it to the native Hawaiians. Despite Queen Liliuokalani's best efforts to reform the Hawaiian islands, the McKinley Tariff weakened the economy, and when a group led by Sanford B. Dole strove to overthrow the Hawaiian monarchy, Queen Liliuokalani could not prevail.
ReplyDeleteSource: http://www.uic.edu/depts/owa/history/liliuokalani.html
This is so fascinating to learn about how Queen Liliuokalani wanted to keep the native culture preserved, because it is still very apparent that Hawaii has a separate culture than the rest of the USA. Alaska is really the only other state that has kept ahold of its roots and native background. Both the Hawaiian and Alaskan natives have done a great job at protecting their unique traditions alive, no matter how frequently they are disturbed by other Americans.
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