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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.