Download US Foreign Policy on Hawaii

Information About U.S. Foreign Policy on Hawaii
In the 1700s, the United States became interested in the
Hawaiian Islands as a point for ships traveling to trade with Asian
countries. Missionaries spreading Christianity also settled in the
islands in 1820. Many of the descendants of these missionaries
became sugar growers who dominated the economy and government
of Hawaii. These Americans, and those on the West Coast of the
United States, started to think of the Hawaiian Islands as part of the
United States and wanted to gain more power in the islands. During
the 1840s the United States warned other countries to stay out of
Hawaii. In the late 1800s the United States made a trade agreement
with the Hawaiian government and they also signed a treaty allowing
the U.S. to have a naval base at Pearl Harbor.
In 1891 Queen Liliuokalani came to power. She insisted that
native Hawaiians control Hawaii. She tried to restore the power of
the Hawaiian kings and queens and reduce the power of foreign
merchants. This scared white planters, who were mostly
Americans. Although the whites were a minority, they organized a
successful revolt in 1893 that was helped by U.S. troops. Whites
took power and set up a temporary government.
After the revolt, the Americans living in Hawaii applied to the
U.S. Congress for annexation of Hawaii. Before the Senate could
annex Hawaii, President Grover Cleveland withdrew the
application. The president believed that the United States was guilty
of unfair actions in Hawaii. He led an investigation where he
discovered that most Hawaiians didn’t want to be annexed to the
United States. President Cleveland made a formal apology to Queen
Liliuokalani and tried to have her restored to power. However,
Cleveland’s actions only slowed the imperialists. Five years later,
after the Spanish-American War, many Americans realized the
strategic and commercial value of Hawaii. In 1898 the islands were
annexed and officially became a possession of the United
States. U.S. involvement resulted in resentment among many native
Hawaiians.