When was the acquisition of hawaii

In both cases, there was not enough support for the measure to pass. Between and , the nation fiercely debated Hawaiian annexation. Those in favor argued that Hawaii was ideally located as a gateway to Eastern markets and could provide rich commercial advantages. They also recognized the strategic importance of Pearl Harbor, which could serve as a military outpost and coaling station for merchant ships in the Pacific.

Critics of annexation, including President Cleveland who thought it unwise and immoral, denounced the sugar interests for their plot to depose the Queen and reproached Minister Stevens for making the U. Because Hawaii was not part of the continental United States, some anti-annexationists saw the taking of this overseas territory as a departure from the progress of westward expansion and a violation of American principles.

They raised concerns about the constitutionality of annexation and argued that the United States could have a thriving trade with Hawaii and secure access to Pearl Harbor without the burdens of official annexation.

Racist perceptions of the Hawaiian people further motivated the opposing side. Over the course of the nineteenth century, the native Hawaiian population had been decimated by disease, dropping from more than , in to fewer than 35, by The resulting labor shortage created incentives for workers from Japan and China, derogatively called coolie laborers, to immigrate to Hawaii, soon becoming the second-and third-largest ethnic groups, respectively, in the islands.

Antipathy toward Chinese and Japanese immigrants in the United States had led to the passage of stringent exclusionary policies to prevent their arrival in the mainland. Hawaiian annexation, however, raised the prospect of undermining those restrictions. As a result, language was written into the annexation treaties that came before the Senate prohibiting future immigration from East Asia into Hawaii, to ease concerns about an increasing Asian presence in the United States.

When President William McKinley took office in , he officially endorsed Hawaiian annexation in his presidential platform. He also pressed for a revision of the tariff policy and favored the idea of resuming the earlier reciprocity arrangement. Despite their opposition, however, McKinley resubmitted the annexation treaty to the Senate on January 16, Unable to achieve the necessary two-thirds majority to pass it, pro-annexationist Senators tried to bypass the constitutional requirement by getting the treaty passed through joint resolution, which required only a simple majority from both the Senate and the House of Representatives.

Even with this tactical move, the joint resolution did not have enough support. The annexation of Hawaii had failed yet again. What ultimately tipped the balance in favor of annexation was the Spanish-American War of Immediately after Admiral George Dewey defeated the Spanish fleet in the first major naval engagement of the war, the Battle of Manila Bay in the Philippines, annexationists resubmitted the joint resolution that had been pending since President McKinley lobbied Congress to pass it, calling annexation a necessary war measure and claiming the U.

On June 15, , the House passed the resolution by a vote of to 91; three weeks later, the Senate passed it by vote of 42 to Annexation had finally succeeded, passed by a joint resolution rather than by treaty. Marines were present at the Hawaiian annexation ceremonies on August 12, In signing the joint resolution, President McKinley did not ask for the consent of the Hawaiian people, nor did he compensate Queen Liliuokalani in any way.

Annexation was a critical part of his larger vision to expand U. With the passage of Hawaiian annexation in , her control of the throne was permanently lost, and Hawaii became a U.

Hatch, Thurston, and Kinney, purporting to cede those Islands to the territory and dominion of the United States. I declare such a treaty to be an act of wrong toward the native and part-native people of Hawaii, an invasion of the rights of the ruling chiefs, in violation of international rights both toward my people and toward friendly nations with whom they have made treaties, the perpetuation of the fraud whereby the constitutional government was overthrown, and, finally, an act of gross injustice to me.

He was forced to sign a new constitution stripping him of his power and many native Hawaiians of their rights. It also replaced the cabinet with non-native politicians and businessmen. Though she introduced a new constitution that would restore her power and Hawaiian rights, she would be Hawaii's last monarch. Her move was countered by the "Committee of Safety," a group of non-native U.

Led by Sanford Dole, they had monetary reasons for doing so — they feared that the United States would establish a tariff on sugar imports, endangering their profits, and wanted to protect Hawaii's free-trade status.

The United States was the major importer of Hawaiian agricultural products. Supported by John Stevens, the U. Minister to Hawaii, and a contingent of Marines from the warship, U. Boston, the Committee overthrew Queen Lili'uokalani in a bloodless coup on January 17, The Committee of Safety proclaimed itself to be the Provisional Government. Without permission from the U.

President Benjamin Harrison signed a treaty of annexation with the new government. Before the Senate could ratify it, however, Grover Cleveland replaced Harrison as president and subsequently withdrew the treaty. Dole sent a delegation to Washington in seeking annexation. Instead, President Cleveland appointed special investigator James Blount to look into the events in the Hawaiian Islands.

Lili'uokalani never regained power, however. Sanford Dole, leader of the Committee of Safety and the president of the Provisional Government of Hawaii, refused to turn over power. Dole argued that the United States had no right to interfere in the internal affairs of Hawaii. The Provisional Government then proclaimed Hawaii a republic — the Republic of Hawaii — in , with Dole its first president. The overthrow of Lili'uokalani and imposition of the Republic of Hawaii was contrary to the will of the native Hawaiians.

In fact, there had been a series of rebellions by Native Hawaiians since the imposition of the Bayonet Constitution in On January 5, , during the "Wilcox Rebellion," an armed revolt was suppressed by Republic of Hawaii forces.

The leaders of the revolt were imprisoned along with Queen Lili'uokalani. McKinley was in favor of annexation, and the change in leadership was soon felt. President McKinley then submitted the treaty to the U. Senate for ratification. Queen Liliuokalani and her fellow citizens successfully protested the annexation by petitioning Congress. Two Hawaiian groups, Hui Aloha 'Aina and Hui Kulai'aina, one group for men and one for women, organized a mass petition drive.

They hoped that if the U. Between September 11 and October 2, , the two groups collected petition signatures at public meetings held on each of the five principal islands of Hawaii.

Ultimately, annexation was achieved due to the perceived threat of the Japanese invasion. Waves of Japanese came to the islands in increasing numbers to work in the sugar trade. This provided enough fuel in Congress to pass annexation legislation, in order to save themselves from the perceived "threat of the Asiatics. Hawaiian protests immediately followed the annexation of the islands and U. Our website houses close to five decades of content and publishing. Any content older than 10 years is archival and Cultural Survival does not necessarily agree with the content and word choice today.

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