Information About U.S. Foreign Policy on Hawaii
Total Page:16
File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb
InformatioAnb outu .s. ForeignP olicyo n Hawaii During the eighteenthc entury, the United Statesb ecamei nterestedi n the Hawaiian Islandsa s a way station and provisioning point for shippers,s ailors, and whalers trading withAsian nations. New England missionariesp reaching Protestant Christianity also settled in the islands in 1,820.M any of the descendantso f these missionariesb ecamep rosperouss ugar growors who dominated the econorny and governmento f Hawaii. TheseA mericans, as well as those on the West Coast, This picture shows Queen Liliuokalani,t he last monarch of Hawaii (center), seated with Sanford B. Dole (eft), the first head of the gradually came to regard the Hawaiian provisional government after Hawaii became a U.S. territory. Islands as an extensiono f the United States and sought to gain more direct influence over the islands.D uring the 1-840sth e United States warned other powers to stay out of Hawaii. In the late 1800st he United Statesm ade a commercial trade agreementw ith the Hawaiian govemment,f ollowed by a treaty guaranteeingt he United Statesa naval base at pearl Harbor. In 189L Queen Liliuokalani came to power. She insistedt hat native Hawaiians control Hawaii. She attemptedt o restore the power of the Hawaiian monarchy and reduce the power of foreign merchants.T his alarmed the white planters,w ho were mostly Americans. Although the whites were a minority, they organizeda successfulr evolt in 1893. The revolt was openly assistedb y U.S. troops, who landed under the unauthorwedo. rders of the expansionist U.S. minister to Hawaii, John L. Stevens.T he whites seizedp ower and set up a provisional government. Following the revolt, the American whites applied to the U.S. Congressf or U.S. annexation of Hawaii. However, before the Senatec ould act on the annexationt reaty, President Grover Cleveland withdrew it from consideration. The presidentb elieved that the United Statesw as guihy of improper actions in Hawaii. He ted an investigation into the overthrow, during which he discovered that the majorify of native Hawaiians did not favor annexationt o the United States.P resident Cleveland made a formal apology to eueen Liliuokalani and soughtr unsuccessfully to have her restored to power. However, Cleveland's actions only slowed the imperialists and white revolutionaries who held economicc ontrol in Hawaii. Five years larer, following the Spanish-American War, manyAmericans recognizedt he strategic and commslgial value of Hawaii. In 1898 the islands were annexeda nd officially becamea possessiono f the United States.U .S. intervention resultedi n long-lasting resentmenta rnong many native Hawaiians. @ Teachers' Curriqrlum Institute USH-12-1A, ctivity 3.3, Page1 6 The Hawaiian pear is fully ripe and this is the golden hour for the United States to pluck it. -John L. Stevens,U .S..ministert o Hawaii [The U.S. Sovernmentm ustJc hannel the energieso f Americans toward the expansion of trade abroad. Increasedforetgn trade will create iobs that might give ambitiius people the sameo pportunity thef rontier had oncep rovided. -Frederick JacksonT urner, University of Wisconsin professor of history Apowerfut Navy is essentialt o prottect trade routes.... Hawaii would.b e an important naval base in the Pacific -AdmiralAlfred T. Mahan, U.S. Navy was necessary [It to confiscate all plantations andJ drive foreigners from the island.s. -Queen Liliuokalani @ Teachers'Curriculun Institute USH-12-1A, ctiyity 3.3,P age7 7.