AMERICA's ANNEXATION of HAWAII by BECKY L. BRUCE
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A LUSCIOUS FRUIT: AMERICA’S ANNEXATION OF HAWAII by BECKY L. BRUCE HOWARD JONES, COMMITTEE CHAIR JOSEPH A. FRY KARI FREDERICKSON LISA LIDQUIST-DORR STEVEN BUNKER A DISSERTATION Submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in the Department of History in the Graduate School of The University of Alabama TUSCALOOSA, ALABAMA 2012 Copyright Becky L. Bruce 2012 ALL RIGHTS RESERVED ABSTRACT This dissertation argues that the annexation of Hawaii was not the result of an aggressive move by the United States to gain coaling stations or foreign markets, nor was it a means of preempting other foreign nations from acquiring the island or mending a psychic wound in the United States. Rather, the acquisition was the result of a seventy-year relationship brokered by Americans living on the islands and entered into by two nations attempting to find their place in the international system. Foreign policy decisions by both nations led to an increasingly dependent relationship linking Hawaii’s stability to the U.S. economy and the United States’ world power status to its access to Hawaiian ports. Analysis of this seventy-year relationship changed over time as the two nations evolved within the world system. In an attempt to maintain independence, the Hawaiian monarchy had introduced a westernized political and economic system to the islands to gain international recognition as a nation-state. This new system created a highly partisan atmosphere between natives and foreign residents who overthrew the monarchy to preserve their personal status against a rising native political challenge. These men then applied for annexation to the United States, forcing Washington to confront the final obstacle in its rise to first-tier status: its own reluctance to assume the burdens and responsibilities of an imperial policy abroad. Ultimately, the formal step of annexation was a reaction to events in the periphery, not an aggressive move by the United States minister or in response to the Spanish-American War. ii DEDICATION For My Family iii ACKNOWLEDGMENTS I am pleased to have this opportunity to thank the many colleagues, friends, faculty, and family members who have helped me with this research project. I am most indebted to Howard Jones, the chair of this dissertation, whose research expertise and editing genius guided me through a project that was at points overwhelming. I am exceedingly grateful for his efforts in the final stages of the dissertation. I would also like to thank Joseph Fry, not only for his input in the theoretical approach of my dissertation, but also for directing me through a master’s degree. I have a special thank you for Kari Frederickson and Lisa Lindquist-Dorr for not only serving on the committee, but also being wonderful mentors to me. Finally, I would like to thank Steven Bunker who gave me much appreciated feedback on this project, as well as great advice with my academic career. My survival in graduate school would not have been possible without the valuable assistance of Kay Branyon, Fay Wheat, and Ellen Moon who not only knew the right paperwork to fill out, but also gave me good friendly/motherly advice when needed. Most importantly, I want to thank the entire history department for the incredibly supportive environment it created for all graduate students, not only through financial support for research and travel, but with its commitment to providing opportunities in every facet of graduate education. This project would not have been possible without the support of my friends and fellow graduate students. I would like to thank my friend and colleague John Mitcham who helped me iv weed through theoretical ideas, while keeping my sanity in the beginning stages of researching. I am grateful to Stephanie Chalifoux, Megan Bever, and Jill Cooley for being a great support system during those frustrating moments. Research cannot be completed without the help of great archivists. I would like to thank Brett Spencer at Gorgas Library for his brilliant help in starting the research process. I would also like to thank the assistance I received at the Hawaiian State Archives and the Bishop Museum archives in Honolulu. Finally, and most importantly, I want to thank my family for whom I have dedicated this dissertation. My mother Sheron Farrow has not only been a great mother, but a close friend and emotional support throughout my academic endeavors. My father and stepmother, Daniel and Pam Bruce, always managed to lighten my mood when I needed a good laugh. My grandparents Wayne and Elnora Perry were my biggest supporters, bragging about me to anyone who would listen. I am forever grateful for their love and support, which gave me the courage to return to school and accomplish my goals. v CONTENTS ABSTRACT ................................................................................................ ii DEDICATION ........................................................................................... iii ACKNOWLEDGMENTS ......................................................................... iv INTRODUCTION .......................................................................................1 CHAPTER 1: The “Big Fish” and the “All-Sided Men,” The Foundation of American Interests in Hawaii ..............18 CHAPTER 2: “A Shadow of Events to Come” .........................................67 CHAPTER 3: “Today We Begin a New Era” ........................................110 CHAPTER 4: “Clouds are Gathering and the Waves Grow Boisterous” 160 CHAPTER 5: “It is Living on a Volcano; There is No Telling When it Will Explode” .....................206 CHAPTER 6: “And That Little Roll Can Change the Destiny of a Nation” .................................................254 CONCLUSION ........................................................................................298 BIBLIOGRAPHY ....................................................................................303 vi Introduction On a stage built at the steps of Iolani Palace draped with red, white, and blue bunting and small American flags, and surrounded by a well-dressed crowd of Honolulu’s most prominent white citizens, U.S. minister Harold M. Sewall opened the ceremony transferring the sovereignty of the Hawaiian Islands to the United States. The Hawaiian National Guard had already escorted American naval forces from the Philadelphia and Mohican , parading them through the streets of Honolulu to where they now stood guard in the driveway, flanked by the Hawaiian Citizens Guard and police force of Honolulu. The minister began with a prayer before reading the joint resolution of annexation passed by Congress in Washington and signed by President William McKinley a month earlier on July 7, 1898. Sanford B. Dole, President of the Hawaiian Republic, accepted the copy and “with full confidence in the honor, justice, and friendship of the American people,” he yielded the sovereignty of the islands to the government of the United States. Then, with a wave of his hand, the Hawaiian National Guard fired a salute to the Hawaiian flag, joined by naval personnel on the U.S. ships in the harbor, while the Hawaiian National Band played “Hawaii Ponoi.” At that moment, the trade winds over Honolulu died down leaving the native flag symbolically lifeless on the pole just before “Taps” sounded to signal its lowering. Minister Sewall graciously accepted the transfer and the U.S. naval officers slowly raised the American flag while the band played the “Star Spangled Banner.” At fifteen seconds past twelve o’clock, the trade winds 1 picked up, giving new life to the Stars and Stripes as it reached the top of the pole, thus officially ending the existence of an independent Hawaii. 1 This short ceremony, attended by very few native Hawaiians, marked an important event in the history of both the United States and Hawaii, but also took on much greater significance to contemporaries and historians alike. At face value, it formalized a change in the governance of the islands, making a once sovereign nation a territory of another. For the Pacific Commercial Advertiser, it symbolized the last breaths of the independent Hawaii at the hands of an aggressive United States. For historians, it finalized the United States’ rise to world power status by becoming an imperial nation. For contemporaries, such as Minister Sewall, it was the “inevitable consummation of the national policies and the natural relations between the two countries now formally and indissolubly united.” 2 To an extent, these are all correct. The annexation of Hawaii was the culmination of a century long relationship between two nations, which was created and impacted by each state’s own struggle to find and sustain its place in the world system. One started as a colonial possession with enormous potential to rise quickly in the international hierarchy. The other began as an independent nation hoping to sustain its sovereignty while lacking the resources to compete against the world powers. Both needed each other at different points in their evolutions, and both worried about the potential problems their relationship could bring. The annexation symbolizes the completion in this evolutionary process, with the United States taking the final step into its first-tier status as the Hawaiian Islands lost its struggle to retain independent sovereignty. 1 Sewall to Day, August 15, 1898, Vol. 31, FM T30, Roll 31, Dispatches from the United States Minister to Hawaii, 1843-1900, Records Group 59, Microscopy